Okay, that might be a little overdramatic. 2021 definitely existed, and I actually accomplished a lot. 2021 was not, however, a year for creative writing. Or keeping my website up to date … oops. I have a really good excuse though!

For those who aren’t aware, I recently embarked on a quest to finally get my college degree! Barring no unfortunate setbacks, I’m tentatively set to graduate with my major in Asian Cultures and Languages: Japanese degree, with an English minor in 2023. So yeah … the reason why there wasn’t much author work going on in 2020 or 2021 wasn’t entirely due to the pandemic. School takes a pretty big chunk of my time, and a lot of headspace. This means that any loyal fans who are hoping for new content will have to wait just a little bit longer – but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise!

I still have a brainstorm/outline for the next big project I want to undertake. It’s going to be a fairytale retelling, featuring my favorite Disney princess: Sleeping Beauty. I won’t go into too much detail (mainly because I don’t have it yet) but I’m excited to eventually sink my teeth into this story. 😀

Additionally, to help keep momentum going (and help stretch some fairly rusty writing muscles) I *hope* to start posting little updates throughout the school year. It might be a review of something I’ve read or learned in class (Ya’ll, I’m taking Viking literature and the Age of the Samurai this semester – I’m bound to learn something fascinating to share) or just a random observation on life in general. BUT! Next summer, I hopefully will be interning in Tokyo – which means there will be at least a weekly recap of my experiences. And I don’t mean about work (though there might be a little bragging at first – it’s supposed to be in the publishing industry. ふじたさん, if you can read this: I would love to work for you and your publisher). Food, sights, sounds, history: I’m gonna share everything. And pictures! So many pictures.

Finally, because my entire goal with my degree is to become a translator, I may start posting short little pieces in Japanese. I definitely need the practice, but don’t worry! The English translation will be included. Who knows? Some of my fans may also want to learn Japanese, and I could be practice 😀

So I’ll end by saying:

はじめまして。私の名前はマクダニル・クリステンです。どうぞよろしく。

Nice to meet you. My name is Crystin McDaniel.