Happy New Year Readers.

Thank you for your interest and loyalty. I hope you benefit from my Leaving Cleveland blog, a.k .a. Adventures in Publishing, Writing, and Photography. As we enter into the ” election year,” as every year, there are possibilities, disappointments, and small victories. Did you create a list of New Year’s resolutions? I didn’t. I am at the golden age and have learned to see how my life unfolds before I commit to any goals. I suppose one may say I have become practical and pragmatic.

This year will mark some milestones. March will mark the first anniversary of publishing my novel Leaving Cleveland. I feel it has been a success just to publish a novel, which is a reward. I finally saw the movie Sideways with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, which came out in 2004. Paul’s character, Miles, is an English teacher waiting to hear from his agent about his novel being published. I understand the anxiousness and false hope he is experiencing. I spent a year looking for an agent, hoping my book would find a publisher, but I decided to self-publish. Back in 2004, self-publishing was considered a failure. Still, with the new media and publishing technology, self-publishing is very legit and sometimes even better than publishing your work by a publisher. I never regretted going this route; the experience and support from friends, family, and strangers was overwhelming. Based on the great reviews I have been getting on Amazon, I can pridefully say my novel is a success. I had three book signings, some press, and even some award considerations. As a gift to all of you, I have some paperback books left over from my signings that I am selling for $20, including shipping. If you are interested and while supplies last, send me a message or go to Paypal with your info, and I will send you a personally signed book.

You are probably wondering about the photo of the Egret.

If you have gotten this far in my blog, you might be wondering what is the photo of Egret doing on top? As some of you know, besides being a published author, I am also a photographer. If you have been following me, you know that I went to Costa Rica last year. I primarily went for fun and to celebrate my 30th. Anniversary with my wife, Kate. What I didn’t expect was I would create a body of photographic work of Herons and Egrets. I am excited about this work and have been creating a gallery for sale. You can look at that work at www.begleiter.com; let me know your thoughts. I will create affordable pricing and plan to create a calendar and post cards for sale by the end of 2024.

That is all for now, but please let me know what you think of my novel, review it on Amazon, let me know what you think of the photo, and please share.

Steven H. Begleiter