After last week’s announcement that Rosarium Publishing is going to be the publisher for my graphic novel, Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows (chadhiyana.com), it seems like anything I could possibly write about this week would be trivial in comparison. That is, anything except for a release date, but I don’t have one yet. So this week, I do not aim so lofty. It’s merely a week of updates, and some information on why I think 2015 is going to be “something of a transition year” [from last week’s post]. 

First, I call your attention to the modified design of this website. As I wrote three weeks ago, there are going to be continual changes made to both jmdesantis.com and chadhiyana.com. Part of the reason is mere ascetics. As I’ve said in the past, my website is a work-in-perpetual-progress. I honestly felt the layout could be cleaner and less complicated, so I needed to make a few alterations. The other reason for the changes, however, is a change in direction.

After all, last week’s announcement was big for me. As I wrote last week (and in the past, I believe), I’ve wanted to write and illustrate my own stories at a professional level for as long as I can remember. I’ve been doing it since I was around ten or eleven when I was writing scripts and drawing and colouring pages for my own comic character–finishing one issue per month, mind you, even at that age. The last ten years of my career have been a slight deviation from that, honestly.

True, I have written and illustrated (or sometimes just written) my own stories over the years, but that’s only been about half of the time. The other half of the time, I’ve been illustrating for others. It’s been fun, but not always fulfilling, and I have so many stories to tell. With Chadhiyana, I was beginning to (somewhat forcefully) make the transition into being a true Write-ist (writer and artist), rather than an artist who occasionally writes. Getting the publisher for Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows was another step forward on that path.

Of course, as I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m working on a small book as well as a children’s book, and if these see publication in the near future (while I continue working on Chadhiyana and other stories), I could be well on my way to doing what I’ve always wanted. What’s more, with my post as a full-time teacher, there really isn’t time to be spent on illustrating for others–indeed, I’ve already begun turning down that sort of work. It’s not to say I’ll never do illustration work again. Indeed, I can still see myself doing it occasionally; however, it’s not my concentration any longer, nor, really should it have ever been for so many years considering my goals.

As such, just like I’m making changes to chadhiyana.com to reflect the change in Chadhiyana’s status as a traditionally published comic series, there will be changes to jmdesantis.com which perhaps better reflect my own transition. Some changes have already been made (such as updates to certain pages and content here as well), but more may be coming. The trouble is, since I’m in the middle of this transition, I cannot say for certain what changes will be made, or how significant they may or may not be–perhaps not at all.

It’s very uncertain right now (in a good way, for sure), but I have a good feeling that more changes are coming. That said, if you happen upon this site over the next while, don’t be surprised if something has been altered. The same goes for chadhiyana.com. I hope it doesn’t confuse any of you, though if luck would have it, many will be seeing the site for the first time and not know the difference at all. One can only hope.

Cheers!