Alex G. Zarate's Blog

For 2020 I was going to take a break from Blogging, until the world became a parody of the zombie apocalypse. You know, with all the mayhem and fear of the outdoors but without the cool swords and last minute rescues.

As I took a break in my Raccoon City underground fortress, I realized my podcast has been calling. I tried to ignore it but…

I started my podcast doing my best to overcome my introverted nature. With the whole world now invading my realm of solitude, I had to branch out.

Soon enough, I started posting and now have a few podcasts in play complete with a standard introduction: Hi. I’m Alex G Zarate. Author, Artist and Photographer. Each post I share will cover various topics including: My likes, hopes, setbacks and personal reflections. Welcome to my creative journey.

Once I had a couple dozen under my belt, I decided to turn them into blog posts. After all, why not?

Unfortunately, when I returned to my wonderful web site, there were password issues, formatting issues and updates that kept causing me to bang my head against the wall in frustration. (Ouch!)

So, I finally opted to do the unthinkable. I started another web site. This one is mine and I will someday revamp it to the hilt, but until that day, my blogs are being populated on Wix.

The templates there are fun and I have done my best to customize it to my preferences. I hope you like what I’ve done and rest assured, blogs will return here once the zombies are gone and I can stop risking my life for a roll of toilet paper. (Charmin double rolls)

My blog site is linked below:

alexgzarate

Of course, my Zarate Creations site is still up and running. Anything I couldn’t put here while the site was acting up I put there. Yowza! There’s a lot. I hope you like it there too.

zaratecreations

Merry Christmas to one and all!

I’ve wrapped up 2019 with renewed focus and intend to produce much more of my works in the coming year. My AlexGZarate site has not been updated as I continued to populate the new Google site with my content. You know, when I am able to log in and change my password again, and again… Ah, web gremlins, you rascals…

I’ll post a final recap of the year soon and will entail the various adventures that I embarked upon for 2019. Oh, boy! What a year…

The grueling learning curve of creating ads and promotions has been a challenge and although I still have much to learn, I will be releasing several promotions as the new year kicks off.

I am releasing the edits to Connections in Crimson by New Years and am pushing forward on The Orb revision. It has become more of a challenge than I originally expected but intend to have it out before Reflections in Darkness is published in May. This is a must, as I also intend to release the sequel to The Orb by November, entitled Sphere of Darkness.

The adventure continues!

Although I have been fighting the process as much as possible, I will be posting regular vlogs this year. I expect to make a few mistakes along the way but intend to keep them short with a digital mask so the errors will be small and the look of shock on my face will be covered by my avatar. (Thanks Apple!)

My daily Instagram posts are still on target and although I have not been able to post a weekly IGTV short now that they require 60 seconds minimum, I’ll still produce at least two per month. That will be accompanied by the vlogs, trailers and video blogs as time permits. (Gotta love the life of a creative!)

I hope to find a few more reviews and/or sales as the year progresses. Feel free to read my books via Kindle and leave a review. I understand purchase is not required. I’d be thankful.

Until next time, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The creative life is one of seclusion, privacy and someday…(gulp!) socializing!

Greetings friends, family and followers!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  I am celebrating in the typical fashion of
someone who just moved.  That is to say,
I continue to unpack at a maddening snail’s pace.  (snails go mad, don’t they?)  and manage to discover new things I forgot I had
as each new box reveals its secrets.  It has
been rainy down here in crazy Cali and with the holiday weekend, traffic has
been akin to a demolition derby conducted on a giant slip-n-slide.  (Whee!)

My video blog has been slow going, although I finally found the last of my desktop gadgets that I rely on to work like a cray-snail. (yay!)

I am starting to post reviews for the movies I watch, the
books I read and the shows I watch.  It’s
just a little something I decided to do because sleeping is for other people.
(yay?)

I am still posting my daily Instagrams, weekly IGTV shorts and adding to my new site every chance I get.  I’ve also gotten a couple more trailers and teasers ready to go for Linked and Ripples of Mind.  I want to get more done but my time travel machine is still in the shop.  I’ll keep you posted as I go.

Hello all,

Alrighty!  I’m in my
new zen. (Yay!)  Now I have a mountain of
boxes, furniture, food, toiletries and clothes to sort through.  (Yay?) 
Oh, well.  At least I managed to
get online and posted my IGTV Short Vid, post the Ripples of Mind trailer and
complete/upload the latest comic vlog. 
Am I avoiding unpacking by working hard on my creative works?  Yes. 
Yes, I am.

Okay, that’s the recap. 
For the updates this week, I am now in the final stages of unpacking and
becoming obsessively productive. 
Connections in Crimson is slowly coming along and I’ll wrap that little
gem up soon.  I’ve got several ideas for
The Orb and I hope to begin work on the second book as soon as the latest is
completed in the Linked Series. 
(Reflections in Darkness)

On my new site, I’ve also been updating my progress in
trailers, vlogs and personal info.  Yup,
if you want to know about more things me, just stop by.  (I’ll make cookies!)

My Insta-fave this week was made with the realization of how
I’ve been working on my projects for the last month.  I close every night wrapping up my work and
sleeping less and less.  I realized that
no one at work knows how little sleep I’ve had or how hard I work after leaving
work.  Ah, such is the life of a
creative.  Onwards!

As April comes to a close I continue working hard at figuring out the process of owning a home in California.  I have been working for most of my life and have seen many people attain home ownership, ending up with a house, condo, manufactured home or townhouse. 

I finally decided to see what I can get for my income and have found the process harrowing at best.  It seems at every turn, additional costs are popping up, more debt is being taken on and no matter what I do, every step of the way is lined with additional fees and documentation requirements.  I continue to fight the good fight and hope someday to be at a new place I can call my own.  Preferably one I am able to afford without accruing more debt on a monthly basis that sends me deeper into a money pit resembling a Star Wars monster snagging my legs with a tentacle covered in spikes.  (Is this how all Californians live?) 

Not long ago, I thought I was close to the middle of the income bracket but since delving into the world of home ownership, I feel as if I must be in the bottom bracket everyone on top steps on.  Egads!  Where do people with minimum wage fall?  No wonder the young folks are now living with their parents.  Financial sand monsters are everywhere!  Oh, well.  Into the breech we go…  Onwards!

Hello all.  My upcoming blogs will now be divided between the ones on this site and the ones on my Zarate Creations site.  The ones on my creations site will be on topics ranging from writing and the creative life to the processes involved in my works.  The blogs on my personal site will be more of a weekly update on the goings on of my day to day life.  This will include the job I work at plus the daily grind of life.  (Hopefully it will be less boring than it sounds.) 

Regardless, I am glad you stopped by and hope you enjoy what I
have to share.  As always, be well and keep creating.