Readers! Guess what? I'm writing full-time now!

It's been a few months since I updated my blog. I've been extremely busy but this is actually really good news for you! 

I am finally writing full-time! I sent out an email about it to my subscribers a bit ago but I'll copy some of the info here:

As of August 12th, 2018 I finally became a full-time author. In the sincerest thanks I can offer you, I thank you for supporting me in this endeavor!
Every book you've bought, reviewed, and/or told a friend about, the posts on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram that you've liked or commented on, ALL of the little things have added up to me finally being able to quit my full-time job as a Paramedic and do exactly what I feel I was meant to do while still supporting my family. 
Did I love being a paramedic, yes! But it isn't an easy job and there is far less "sleeping" than some people assume when you talk about our long shifts. I had nearly ten years on "The Box" as we in EMS call it. There were countless nights of no sleep on a 24-48 shift, my wife worrying if on one of these sleepless nights we ran off the road on the way to a call, if the next drug addict I ran to the hospital decided to act out and attempt to stab me with a needle (this happened so many times...) or we were struck by a drunk driver. (that actually happened, too. In 2011, just past midnight and thankfully, I escaped with only bruises and a broken nose from being thrown across the back of the truck)
I've delivered babies and managed to pull people from the brink of death all between lunch and my next cup of coffee. That was the job I signed up for and have been blessed to learn and perform at for so long. But there's the other stuff... I've delivered the news way too many times that a loved one had died in every situation from passing peacefully in their sleep to being ejected from their vehicle and thrown into the windshield of another one. It's not just the visuals that are traumatic, and in particular, that doesn't bother me as much as the story of what happened before. The amount of "first anniversary" walks tragically ending, "Just retired" and "He is normally healthy and he was just coughing a day ago" stories that turn tragic, that stick with me even now as I write this. Above all, life is precious, my friends. No one guarantees your next day. This is something I had nearly constant reminders of for years. 
Some readers question why some of my writing, particularly Half-Elf Chronicles, is so dark. I've seen a lot and I'd wager more than the vast majority of authors out there. When I describe arterial blood "squirting" or the bubbles coming from someone gasping for air after their throat was slashed -it's because I've actually seen it. But the dark side of EMS is that all of this has an effect on us as providers and my writing has always served as an outlet in some form. In Half-Elf Chronicles, Kealin is on a journey where he is fighting against death itself, at least in his mind. Yet, through all his endeavors, he struggles to ever stop it. He eventually breaks free from those thoughts and realizes the truth. Looking back, I see the resonance between his struggles and my own. A strange way to look at it but from my point-of-view, his story and mine are similar.
But so much has changed now. I am actually home with my wife and kids more than I'm at work where I was averaging 60-84 hours a week. I am extremely fortunate that you, as my reader, have stuck with me and supported my work.
Yes, I know that aspects of this email were a bit dark and potentially shocking, but this is a true look at behind the scenes of my writing and my work life for most of my 20s. If I can stress anything outside this email it for you to thank ALL of our public servants, but make a point to especially thank your local Paramedics and EMTs. It's amazing what it feels like when someone covers the costs of our coffee in between calls. The small things make a huge difference and could shift our entire view of the day.



The text above says it best but THANK YOU to those that have supported me, even back before Winemaker of the North (my first novel) when I had a small collection of short stories and that was it. 

I've got more announcements coming but I'll share those on another post.

Thank you for helping me reach my goal of becoming a full-time author and I cannot wait to see the adventures to come!

​-Jeremy (J.T. Williams)