Hello and Welcome to a New Chapter in the Marc R. Micciola Story!
Hey there reader! I don't know how you found this blog, but I am happy that you did! This first post is going to be a pretty simple, get to know the author type of post, but I will be posting more in depth things about me, my mental health, my likes and dislikes, updates on my books, and more! So add yourself to my mailing list if you find yourself interested in me and my rambling!
My name is Marc R. Micciola, and I am a 29 year old dark fantasy author trying his best to make a childhood dream come true. Ever since I was 10 years old and discovered that my favorite author at the time, Christopher Paolini, started his writing career at 15 years old, I've had the idea of doing the same. When I was roughly 13, I tried my hand at writing a novel...a couple times. It was harder than I thought it would be, and as the life of a teenager took over, I slowly gave up on it. In high school I was directed to find a more reliable career, one that I could go to college or university for and make the big bucks. Of course, as I think some of you may have found out as well, that doesn't always happen. Still, I looked at career paths outside of writing, such as a psycholoist, a criminologist, a historian, a hockey scout, and even a police officer. I was just grasping at whatever I could get to start a career as soon as possible, because when I was younger, I never felt like I had much time to do anything. I felt hurried and rushed, and so I would dive into decisions and situations perhaps a bit faster than others would. I would discover later in my life how that was actually a part of my mental health issues, which I'll get into a little bit later.
For now, after a little tidbit of the past, I'll give you some current stuff. I have been actively working on a career writing fiction books for four years now, dating back to 2019. I started slow, but with the help of my therapist, I really buckled down and worked. I now have 8 books completed: three novels, a novelette, a short story series, and an anthology. Something I have lacked in my early career is a solid marketing strategy, something that my mental health has kind of prohibited me from doing, but I've been better lately, and I got a good idea of what to do next. One of those things I decided to do was this blog! I tried to write a blog years ago but I just never felt like anyone was reading. Now I know that it doesn't matter much if it's read by thousands of people; I just want a safe space for people to get to know me and for me to let out some stuff I maybe would have kept inside before. I'm working almost every day on writing, editing, illustrating, or marketing my books, so I'm hoping that one day all that work turns into a successful career that I can be proud of.
I've talked a lot about my writing, so maybe something outside of that now yeah? If I'm honest, I don't have a crazy life. It's simple and quaint, sometimes lonely, but I have a lot to be happy about. The few friends I do have are incredibly kind, passionate, caring, loving human beings who support the hell out of me. My family, while they may have their warts, are supportive of what I'm trying to do with my life. I have two incredibly sweet, playful, adorable dogs named Ace and Rielly. I'll post a picture of the two of them below this paragraph. Ace is the little black one, and Rielly is the cookies n cream one. They're both retriever/border collie mixes and I cannot put into words how much I love both of them. I could go on for hours how their constant love and affection has kept me going most days.
I guess now we can get into hobbies a bit? I don't have too many, but the ones I do have I enjoy a fair bit. I decided to put up some nice bookshelves in my bedroom a couple years ago and started collecting books that I like, including special editions of anything Tolkien/MiddleEarth related. The books I have are actually part of a grander collection of Lord of the RIngs stuff, including figurines and even replica swords. On the topic of collections, I also collect fountain pens, and the ones I have so far are really pretty to look at. I would use them, but right now I don't actually write much, and I think the ink would just dry up and the pen would be ruined and blah blah blah. I'm fine just looking at them in their special case for now! I'm not just a nerdy collector! I also have a great passion for the sport of hockey. While I'm not the best skater (I still don't know how to stop it's sad) I did play ball hockey for a few years from about 16 to maybe 22 years old. Won some championships too! My main source of hockey comes from watching games. I'm a massive Leafs fan, so there's been a fair bit of pain for roughly two decades, but I still enjoy the sport as a whole. I've slowed down on video games and tv shows, but I make time for ones that really catch my eye. Most story driven games are appealing to me, and anything fantasy/superhero related tv wise usually gets me interested fairly easy. Outside of that, it's the generic 'hanging out with friends' and what not. I used to read SO much when I was younger, but I've slowed down in that part of my life. I'm aiming to change that going forward.
I want to do a blog dedicated to this next bit so I won't go too in depth, but as I have said before here, I do have mental illnesses that effect my day to day life. I'm diagnosed with Anxiety and Panic Disorder, Depression, and Borderline Personality Disorder. Again, I'll go into depth in a later post on what all that means generally and to me personally, but yeah. Mental health is real, it's a bitch to handle, and anyone out there who has a mental illness and is fighting to live a fulfilling, successful, happy life despite that is an incredible strong person in my book. Therapy works. There is no shame in being on medication. Whatever works for you, so long as it doesn't harm others, don't be embarrassed or ashamed of it. You aren't alone, and you're more powerful than you know.
And with that, I think that's all I have for this post. I hope you enjoyed this little inside look into who I am. If you're a fantasy fan, especially fantasy of the darker kind, please check out my books! I also have a mailing list that you can join on my website! Announcements for new blog posts, new book releases, contests, giveaways, polls, and more are all planned for my new newsletters going forward. I hope to see you again, but if not, I hope you are well and happy. Be kind to one another!
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