There are 2 parts to the following posts so read each heading first.
Film Fury
So as many of you know, I have been a pretty established member of the NC film community for nearly a decade now. After falling into a depression then a flurry of even worse jobs, I ended up getting back into the film-game around 2021 with most of my roles presented in 2022. After working with nearly ten different directors and probably twice as many projects from voice-over to physically acting, I've got to say, I'm not too impressed. Many people in this industry on this side of the coast are very interested in starting drama with everyone including blades of grass, and while my opportunities have grown, those who were once closest to me have fallen by the wayside due to their own choices. I made a choice too, to change for the better. That's called maturity. I've been on a mental health crash course since 2019 and I am absolutely burnt-out from all that I have going on. At the end of the day, God first--all the time--and anything else that pulls you away from him is a waste of time, which is essentially a waste of your life AND your talents/skills etc. I'm looking for the people, the non-bad-apples of the bunch who are going to have my back and I have theirs. I'm looking for the film team to spend the REST OF MY LIFE filming with. As some of you know, I also had physical health concerns during all of 2023. An entire year of my life wasted starting on the day of my birthday, so you can understand my l i m i t e d patience with certain circumstances and the drama that ensues has simply been a waste of that perfect time. NOW for the record, everything is overall better, but at the expense of several relationships I thought were genuine when they weren't. I'm too stubborn to walk-away from filming completely, but I may step back to give those problem-people plenty of time to get themselves blacklisted. It won't take long. After all, the film-world of my imagination does not connect to the creative mind in my books which I deem far more important at the moment. Now, onto the next bit.
Books for Who?
If you skipped the treacherous journey for the previous section, here's a cookie. If you didn't, I'm sorry you had to go through that too. NOW, I have announced numerous times that I have aimed for 15-20 books. Nothing has changed there. My goal remains the same, but the format may look slightly different. I have at least 2-5 books being worked on as graphic novels, another trade I'm starting to learn from scratch, but fittingly starting with nothing other than a script. Funny how things have a tendency of coming back around. Any-who, Metamorphosis: A Princess Quazar Story, REALLY took off this month, especially with me noticing the color pink everywhere suddenly, so I feel inspired to complete that script by August as a rough draft. Because of the mostly dialogue-driven plots, even as seen in Rise of Tourniquet, I will most likely not be hiring an editor for the graphic novels bit. Guys...it costs nearly $3000 to publish, and while I appreciate the support, I still haven't exactly broken even left. There are 19 physical copies of my only published novel available now which means once they sell out, they are gone. Thank you to those who have it and/or the audiobook as well. Your support doesn't go unnoticed. However, this didn't take off nearly as much as I thought it would by now. What has been a 3-year "witness" to you has been a 10-year process for me, SO here's my plan (God willing).
Speaking of God, we all know His favorite number is 7. Why? I don't know, go ask him :) 7 represents fullness and completion, so I figured STARTING NOW, I will write and develop the rest of the first half of the series, the first 10 books, within the next 3.5 years whether I publish them or not at that time. I will take a year off to splurge, relax, and travel as I want to, without rushing to projects back and forth. THEN I will do the same for the last 3.5 years for the last half of the series, thus completing it by approximately age 34-35. At that point (if we still have a planet) I would like to travel to cons, revisit filming, and of course, DRASTICALLY pursuing voice-acting in between those times. The biggest concern and reasoning for all of this is who am I making this for and what is a movie or book if no one wants to watch or read them? It's been a hard decision to come to, but I am done with people who crave nothing more than to steal your peace. God has blessed me with life, a good job, and inspiration now more than ever. I really do want to make more contributions to the film and book community, but only if people want it, and I'm also tired of people who's NEVER written a book talk crap about mine. There are reasons why things happen. But now, I'm just thankful to have even made it this far.
Two of my three LIFE GOALS have been achieved. Maybe it's time to pursue the third.
With love in Christ, have a blessed day.
Daniel Allen Dorn