A new year of riches
Happy New Year to you and all your loved ones!
As I kick off the first day of 2014, I want to thank you for all your enduring love and support, and share with you my latest and looking-forward developments.
WRITING & MUSIC
As some of you may know, earlier last year I decided to take a temporary break from music to focus on completing my novel, We Are the Love Gods. My book chronicles the interracial friendship of two ambitious men, and how their lives change through their affair with the same woman.
I had been feeling for quite some time the need to return to my book—my characters persisted in patiently nudging me as the years passed. When vocalist Nadine Shanti decided last spring to leave COCOA MARTINI, I realized that I had a golden opportunity to take a much-needed rest after years of managing a band, practicing between rehearsals, rehearsing ’til late every week on a weeknight, branding and marketing, pitching club owners, negotiating and executing contracts, booking gigs, performing, and bookkeeping — all while holding down a full-time job. Yes, this girl was overloaded!
I have many exciting ideas for where to take my music, and will share them with you as concepts emerge. For now, I am giving myself space to create and embrace the joy that comes with artistic expression.
Re-dedicating myself to writing also required me to ratchet back my social life, a change I am still making. Between my job, yoga practice, and social engagements, I was out every night of the week, and doubling or tripling up on weekends. There was very little time for Kimberly – which baffles me, now that I look back on it, since I have always been a deeply introspective woman who cherishes her solitude. As I deepen the expression of my literary voice and preserve and refuel my energy for the work that lies ahead, solitude and quiet will assume even greater prominence in my life.
LOOKING AHEAD
Those of you who follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn know that We Are the Love Gods is done. Woo-hoo! I begin agent pitches this month. I will also start writing the sequel and reshaping my web presence, including adding more content to kimberlyreasonwrites.com, redesigning and relaunching kimberlyreason.com, and feeding more content to my neglected blog, epiphanyrain. After these projects, a rough draft of the prequel to We Are the Love Gods awaits more work.
So where is all this headed? Short-term, I plan to successfully publish Love Godsand sell my rights to other platforms. Long-term, I plan to publish other books, fiction as well as nonfiction. I am also contemplating where to take the COCOA MARTINI brand, which I’ve invested many years in creating and building, and of which I am very proud. More on all these ideas as they take shape.
As for when I’ll be singing next, I don’t have any shows planned for the moment. I continue light vocal work at home, and while my brain’s been playing around with a few ideas, I’m being careful not to bite off more than I can chew. I look forward to resuming my performances once I have the time, space and energy to do so, and promise to let you know when I do.
2013 was a year of artistic riches. Thank you for being part of it by cheering me on, especially over Facebook and Twitter, where I provide regular updates on my progress in publishing Love Gods. I am grateful not only for the support and love you give me, but also for honoring the major life changes I am making so I can write, grow and become the fullest expression of Who I Am. I hope my stories will touch you as deeply as they touch me, and bring new meaning and dimension to your own emotional landscapes as we all walk this rich, complex thing called Life.
