As a new year begins, it’s time to look back and reflect on the blessings, accomplishments, challenges, and setbacks that I experienced in 2021, my second year as a professional writer and creative.

Freelance Writing

While I still haven’t yet managed to build a sustainable career from my freelance work, there’s no denying that my writing saw abundant success this past year. I had thirty-two new articles published in 2021. I’ve continued to write for Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. I’m also still a regular contributor to Philip Kosloski’s Voyage Comics Blog. Two of my posts from this year were featured on Best of Voyage Comics Blog 2021 year-end round-up! “Tolkien’s abandoned sequel to ‘The Lord of the Rings'” was one among the most popular articles of the year (based on traffic). This article was subsequently published in book form (more on that later) and was spotlighted by the National Catholic Register in their Best in Catholic Blogging segment! “What might C.S. Lewis have thought of Star Wars?” was chosen by Philip as an editor’s pick. Other websites I’ve contributed to this year include Aleteia, Busted Halo, and Catholic World Report. You can find links to all my published articles here.

This year also saw the beginning of a fruitful partnership with Jake Doberenz, founder of Theophany Media, and Brannon Hollingsworth, COO/Creative Director at Brainy Pixel. Besides publishing two of my reviews on the Theophany Media Blog, Jake’s advice and encouragement were an immense help to me, especially during dark periods when I thought my creative writing was never going to amount to anything. In addition, Jake’s tech skills are responsible for the relaunch/redesign of this website! I can’t thank him enough for all the time and effort he put into this project. He was super responsive and understood my needs and concerns perfectly. Thanks to Brannon, I am now a contributor to the Brainy Pixel Blog. His kind, patient guidance has helped me to crystalize some admittedly eclectic ideas I have for a novel-length fiction project. Jake, Brannon, and I are laying the groundwork for a SUPER SECRET PROJECT that, God willing, we will be able to launch in 2022. Stay tuned!

The Book!

This year I was approached by Philip Kosloski of Voyage Comics to collaborate with him and the other VC Blog writers on a new book: Tolkien and Faith: Essays on Christian Truth in Middle-earth. My essay on “The New Shadow,” J.R.R. Tolkien’s abandoned Lord of the Rings sequel, was included as one of the chapters. I can’t describe how exciting is was to finally see my work published in book form! Hopefully, as Voyage Comics continues to grow, they will consider other book projects.

The Comics!

My professional relationship with Voyage Comics bore much fruit this year! In addition to contributing many blog posts and the book chapter, I was given the incredible opportunity to script edit issues of two of Voyage’s flagship comic book series! My name appears in the credits of The Phantom Phoenix #1 and Finnian and the Seven Mountains #5. It was a dream come true to see my name in an actual, physical comic book issues! I am immensely grateful to Philip for allowing me to assist in bringing these wonderful comics to life. I hope to collaborate with him on future issues of both these series.

Podcasts

I appeared on five podcasts in 2021! It’s long been a goal of mine to record podcasts, and this year finally saw this dream become a reality. I was featured on programs such as Saintly Witnesses, Theophany Media’s Creatively Christian Podcast, and Know the Faith, Defend the Faith. Thanks to my new friend Mike Creavey, host of The Gracious Guest, I was put in contact with Dom Bettinelli and the folks over at StarQuest/SQPN, fulfilling yet another dream! Just before Christmas, I debuted as a panelist on StarQuest’s long-running Secrets of Movies and TV Shows. I had a blast, and I’m certain I will be collaborating with SQPN for many years to come. Mike and I have plans to bring me back on The Gracious Guest early in the new year, and there are at least two other podcasts that I recorded in 2021 that have yet to be released. Again, stay tuned!

Future Plans

Despite all the financial and personal difficulties I struggled with this year, it’s clear that my creative work has grown by leaps and bounds. I thank God for all the blessings and opportunities he has bestowed upon me, and I will continue to move forward in faith, trusting that the Lord will lead me to the place he has prepared.

I have many projects in the works for 2022. Many in-progress articles, essays, and interviews should be published in the weeks and months ahead. I am also interested in branching out into new forms of writing. I would like, for example, to write devotional reflections on the Psalms. I would like to start a newsletter on Substack this year, but I don’t have any solid plans for that yet. I will continue worldbuilding and outlining a fantasy novel. I made some decent progress in 2021, but there’s still a lot of work to be done before I can begin writing a first draft. I would also like to write more sci-fi and fantasy short stories this year. I would like to publish an anthology someday. As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be appearing on more podcasts this year. I would like eventually to start my own show but first I need a clear idea for a topic.

A special thanks to everyone who supported and encouraged me over the long and rough ordeal of 2021. It means more to me than you can know. I post big updates on this blog from time to time, so be on the lookout for those. I’ll be praying for all my readers and listeners. May God grant you a happy and blessed new year!