Day #8955 - February Favorites

Zombies and sci-fi and Shakespearean tragedies,
these are a few of my February favorite things!


Also, happy birthday to my pals born on February 29th. Because I never know if it's appropriate to say that a day early or on March 1st (which feels really late because then we're in a new month).

Day #8951 - Five Years, Five Things

Five years ago today I made my YouTube account, so I of course had to make a video to mark the occasion.

Day #8944 - On Doing it Anyway

Isaac Asimov, a notable science fiction author, once said, “You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you’re working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.” 

It’s a sentiment I really like on the whole, but I’m not going to lie: that last line sort of eats away at me. It is my greatest fear with this dream I have with writing and now video making, that ‘if you have talent’ part.

Because the first part, I have got down. I keep on posting on my various blogs, even when my view count has inexplicably plummeted in recent months. I keep making videos and trying new things which is a lot of fun, but still I don’t have a very large audience or reaction. I keep  working on fiction, lately trying my hand at short stories and again, having a lot of fun trying, but who do I share them with when I have no agent or ‘readership’? Could it be Mr. Asimov was right and that maybe I just don’t have the talent?

It’s a question I can’t answer, and I’m not sure if anybody can. The rejection letters seem to imply I do not have talent, but I’m not ready to admit defeat just yet. So I’ll keep blogging and filming and writing. Even if for no one else, even if it’s just for me, I think that counts as some measure of succes in that I’m taking on my fear of failure by simply, simply trying. By doing it anyway, I succeed.

Though if you want to comment and subscribe and all those other fantastic things, I’d be really appreciative of that, too. =)

Day #8941 - Single Awareness Day

In which I share a true story about one of my favorite Valentine's Days. Hope everyone has a great day, no matter your relationship status!

Day #8926 - January Favorite Things

Day #8908 - And Then it Began

It started with reading something on Twitter, which led to a blog post, which resulted in writing my first ever piece of fan fiction. And then just a few weeks later, it led to something that has felt so impossible for so long suddenly becoming very real.

So let me back up. On December 4th, YA author Lisa Burstein tweeted that she was sponsoring a contest in honor of her upcoming novel, Dear Cassie. I went over to her website, read more about it, and spent the month toying around with a few ideas and the prompt. Then finally on the very last day submissions could be sent in, the last day of the year, I threw a Hail Mary and emailed in my submission because, hey, what's the worst that could happen? Rejection? I've been a resident of Queryland for a while now, so I'm so used to that.

On January 7th, I found out my entry, a diary entry from the perspective of Doctor Who's Amy Pond, was a finalist. Voting would take place for a few days, and the finalist that got the most votes would get their story printed in the final copy of Dear Cassie.

And yesterday as I was about to shut down my computer at work and head home for a relaxing weekend, I decided to check my email one more time. And then it began. "Monica, Congratulations you won!"

To say I'm excited puts it mildly. This is what it feels like when something you dreamed of happening finally starts to unfold a little bit. I understand that it's one 750-word piece of fan fiction, but in just 52 days, I'll be able to walk into a bookstore, pick up a copy of Lisa's novel, flip to the back and see the words "By Monica Fumarolo" staring back at me. And that's nothing short of a miracle to me.

So I must of course thank my family and friends who have always stood by me. And there are the many people who took the time to vote for me, too - this wouldn't have happened if not for you. March 5th is the currently posted release date for  Dear Cassie and I cannot wait!

And since I'm also such a music nerd, you should know this is the song playing in my head since I got the news =)

Day #8901 - December Favorites

In which I share a few of my favorite things from last month.