Project Gratitude 2018 in Review

Dear Reader,

I’m happy to announce that Project Gratitude 2018 has been a smashing success! A worthwhile exercise in thankfulness, remembrance, and writing. Two copies of In Verse now exist in book form (proofs) and I’m more than halfway through putting the finishing touches on the final first edition. The best way to track its trajectory between now and its Amazonian debut is by following this Facebook page. I hope to have the book on the market by the end of January. An E-Reader edition should follow shortly and, maybe - just maybe - eventually an audio version. As a frequent mumbler, dictating the book could serve as a good personal exercise in enunciation.

I didn’t expect or receive a response from everyone who got a letter from me in 2018 but, when I did, that served to confirm mailing addresses, which will make it easier for me to confidently order their promised copy of my novel. I'm putting the list here to track who’s copy has been sent, and who I would like verification from.

Several responses to letters last year were immensely gratifying. There was the indirect compliment on my writing from none other than Ray Stevens [ raystevens.com ] via Cyrus "Buddy" Kalb, the lyricist who penned Mississippi Squirrel Revival, one of my all-time favorite Ray Stevens ballads:

And then there was a touching letter in reply from my best friend from high school, David, who I hadn’t talked to in almost 20 years. It lead to a reunion at Martin House Brewing in Ft. Worth a couple of weeks before Christmas. We found that our careers bring us both to DFW on a regular basis, so I’m sure we'll be catching up more frequently going-forward.

The MVR (Most Valuable Reader) award goes to Steve Dymale, who’s encouraging feedback on many posts, via email and happy hour sessions (sometimes followed-up by the ravenous consumption of Pizza Dan’s house pie at Peel and Press) really helped keep me motivated last year.

The cadence of posts here at One Face in the Crowd will be dropping now that the letter-posting portion of Project Gratitude 2018 is completed, but I’m sure there will be a number of short stories and essays popping up over the course of 2019. Much of my focus will be shifting back to digital art this year, as I’ve revived Artiquitous.com, and poetry on Eclectic Scribe.  I would be honored if you consider subscribing to my work in those arenas.

As always, thank you for reading!

-Daniel