Wishing you all a wonderful New Year!

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about this last year, and how all of you have made it possible for me to do what I do.  Thank you to each and every one of you has shown support in ways both big and small over this last year.

In an effort to express just how important all of you are to me and what I do, I figured I would share how I came to be where I am today. (I think I've shared all of this in bits and pieces over the last year, but never in its entirety.)

When I was a kid, preteen to early teen, I loved to write and did so every chance I had.  Unfortunately, becoming a writer was something that I never really saw as a legitimate career option, and lacking much else that I was good at, I found myself working factory jobs, doing hard physical work for a living.  My hyperactivity meant that I was always a hard worker, but my small frame resulted in sore joints and a bad back.  But through it all, I loved to work, and I always viewed hard work as its own reward in a way, taking pride in how much I accomplished.

About 7 years ago now, I crushed a disk in my spine.  With that, I spent several years barely able to walk, and nearly all of my time in some pretty significant pain in spite of physical therapy and pain medications.  I dealt with some very dark depression during this time.  My hyperactivity making me want to crawl right out of my skin, and my lack of being able to do anything useful making me feel completely useless.

As I slowly got better, my twin boys were born, and since I was unable to work a regular job due to my inability to perform any noteworthy physical labor, or even stand for any period of time, I became a stay at home dad.  Not going to lie, raising children is not something I ever pictured myself doing full time, but somehow I made it work.  I even ended up with several local parents who started bringing their kids by for me to watch.  And that quickly became how I supplemented my wife's income enough to make ends meet.  It wasn't much, but it WAS enough to keep the bills paid, if barely.

During all of this time, I had started to write a little again, mostly to pass the time and to hold onto some semblance of sanity.  While it was something I enjoyed when I was younger, I found that I loved it just as much now, and more surprising, I realized for the first time that I actually had at least a little talent for writing.

I poured my heart into it, and when my kids (And most of the kids I was watching regularly)  were nearing kindergarten age, I realized I was at a crossroads in my life.  I needed to either start looking for work that I COULD do, or I could find a way to making a living off of the hobby I loved so much.

After a lot of discussion, about a year ago, my wife and me had a long talk about whether my writing would be enough, or if I needed to look for work elsewhere.  

We came to an agreement, if by the end of December I was making less than $800 a month, then I would need to look for work elsewhere.  If I was making more than $800 I would have to look for part time work.  And if I could reach $1000 a month, then I wouldn't have to go looking for work because I could afford to do this full time!  

As you can all see from our Patreon page, we've surpassed that final goal easily.

So thank you, every last one of you, for your support and encouragement.  Because of you, I can continue to invest myself whole heartedly into these projects, living my childhood dream of being a writer, and bringing joy to all of you in the process.

Thank you all for making this last year one of the best years of my life, and every indication is that this year will be every bit as good as the one that's just come to a close.

I sincerely hope that my projects can bring to you every bit as much joy as all of you have brought to my life over this last year.