Breaking The Mold

I'm excited. This past week I released my debut eBook, "A Hero's Rise." It has its flaws I'm sure, without professional editing, but the spirit and tale I wanted to portray is all there. A city that comes to life. A villain you can believe in as a truly bad human being. And of course a hero.

If you read my last post, you know about my ten year old alter ego and superhero 'Coolkid.' Well, 13 years later, Coolkid is back and brought to life for all to see. From my imagination as a kid, to my imagination now, Coolkid has certainly come a long way. This is my story, about my story.

As a little kid I loved heroes. Whether with superpowers or regular people with nothing but a handgun and two fists, heroes amazed me. And so came Coolkid, a ten year old crime-fighter who loved to trash talk, dance, and fight his way through hordes of enemies. Without a care in the world and his favorite Hawaiian shirt, Coolkid was unstoppable.

Fortunately for you and me, I wasn't writing books when I was ten, and as I matured, so did Coolkid. (THANK GOD) Stuck in my memory like an imaginary brother, Coolkid shared in the trouble of being a teenager. The happy-go-lucky, dancing Coolkid lost a spring in his step, becoming more of a loner striving for attention. I was always a bit mature for my age, despising teenage hijinks, therefor Coolkid too saw past such immature behavior.

It wasn't until times of my own frustration did Coolkid ultimately take shape. Using my character as an outlet for anger, Coolkid became a rage fueled machine. That is when I could see a story to tell. A Hero's Rise is only the beginning of Coolkid's journey. Starting out as a naive, awkward teenager, only a few glimpses are shown as to what Coolkid will eventually become. And what he becomes, in my opinion, is one of the most sympathetic and greatest hero's ever told.

I love Coolkid, making it all the harder to watch my friend, brother, and hero suffer so greatly.

You can check out the kindle version of my book here: amazon.com/a hero's rise

Finding A Dream

I'm now a fifth year college senior. After two years of civil engineering and three years of accounting, I'm one more semester away from graduating. And you know what I've learned after all these years? I hate everything. I hate all of it. Engineering wasted two years of my life. Accounting has been much more tolerable, but is that a career goal?  Should I be happy with a job I can tolerate?

Three years into my college career, I needed to figure things out. I needed to "find myself," so to speak. What can I do? What am I good at? Apparently the answer has been there all along, right in front of my face. In elementary school, I used to write short stories and read them to the class. When I was ten, I imagined myself a movie star, playing the role of the epic crime fighting superhero, 'Coolkid.'

As I got older, my imagination matured, but it was still there. For whatever reason, maybe because living in fantasy is so much more fun than reality, I kept on creating characters. I gave them lives, personalities, traits. What is an eighteen year old doing imagining up an espionage assassin? What a loser. But three years into college it hit me. I could never be a movie star, but I could sure as hell write a book.

After a few failed attempts to get the juices flowing, it finally happened. Chapter after chapter raced through my mind. I spent an entire summer perfecting my work, and in that time I realized; this is what I want to do. I want to be a writer. For years characters have been manifesting in my head, and now I can share these imaginary friends of mine with the world.

On January 30, 2012, my self-published eBook, "A Hero's Rise,"  hit iTunes. Why am I telling you this story. Not so you'll be happy for me and buy my book. I had to write this article because there are loads of people like me, searching for a path to happiness. And while I have a long way to go before I can consider myself a writer, I know one thing. I will never give up. Writing is my passion. One day, I might be sitting in some office getting yelled at by some balding hack, but that won't stop me from accomplishing my goal. I'll be writing books till the day I die, whether I sell millions or handfuls.

My message to you is this: You may not be able to live your dream, but never settle for anything less than happiness.

This has been my first ever blog. I hope you enjoyed it. Constructive feedback would be much appreciated. If you have any questions I promise to answer them. And if you find yourself in my shoes, lost and confused, let me know. I'd love to help!