Welcome to 2022, Here We Go Again

Written by Shawn S. Lealos

Shawn S. Lealos has been a journalist for the last 25 years and is now working as a published author.

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It is 2022.

Honestly, it seems like I always update by blog at the start of the year and have big ideas for the year. That lasts about a month.

2020 and 2021 have been very tough years, with 2020 canceling almost everything I enjoy and 2021 bringing it back, but still with a lot of the same problems that 2020 delivered.

By the time 2021 ended, there was too much COVID spreading around the country again, and things started looking bleak once again. Despite this, for mental health purposes, I need to look at what I can do for myself and my family and not pay as much attention to the dumpster fire burning around us.

So, what are my plans for 2022?

The thing that I always do at the start of the year is making “resolutions” that I never follow through with. Are they even worth it? Of course they are, but when I find I am too busy doing silly things like making a living, it makes it hard to find time to do anything else.

However, this year, I have a resolution that I really think I want to keep. I am going to do what I say I am going to do. I don’t mean things like saying I will work out regularly in 2022 or I will finally get Fallen Star published or things like that. I am talking about incremental steps. When I say I am going to do something, I will do it.

If I say I am going to the gym on Monday, I will go to the gym on Monday. Giving myself a generic, I will work out more in 2022, never works. Saying I am going to go to the gym tomorrow is a lot easier to see and I will make myself keep these short-term promises to myself.

Same thing with my novel. Just saying that I will get it published is too broad to matter. I need to make smaller plans. I will write on my novel tomorrow – and then do it. That is something that I should be able to tell myself and get it done.

Anyway, here is what I have in the pipeline.

I have planned out the initial trilogy of my first fiction novels. It all starts with Fallen Star and will go from there. I have names for the next two books and their basic plots, but I will unveil those at a later date.

I also have plans to be a lot more active on social media for a myriad of reasons, including Twitter (where I have a blue check mark now), Instagram, Facebook, and I am also starting a TikTok page based around my novel career. I’ll also be starting a newsletter for anyone who follows my writing career.

That is about it for now, but be on the watch for Fallen Star news, coming soon.

What I am reading, watching, and listening to right now

There hasn’t been any new music in a few weeks that I am interested in, so I have been going back to an older album this week with The Killers Wonderful Wonderful. It always makes me happy.

The last few things I have watched included

In theaters: Spider-Man: No Way Home, Matrix Resurrections, and Nightmare Alley.
At home: The Oklahoma Sooners bowl game win (go Sooners!!!) and AEW wrestling every week. Also, loved Hawkeye and really liked The Book of Boba Fett premiere.
Lots of awards screeners – voting is this weekend for the OFCC.

I just finished reading Sandman Slim Book 3, Aloha from Hell, and then got all the rest of the books (12 total) for Christmas. I love this series so far. Since I was waiting for them, I also just started Angel of the Overpass by Seanan McGuire and like it so far. I also had no idea this was the third book in a series, so I should go back and catch up.

When I finish it, it is likely either back to Sandman, or jumping over to finally read the last two books in the Dresden Files series (which I still haven’t read yet since I was waiting for the paperbacks to come out).