(I posted this to my Facebook page this evening. I wanted to share here, cause it’s so much easier to read here, and also I don’t want to spend more time on Facebook than I really need to)
HI!
The short version:
1) No I did not block you.
2) Yes, I left Facebook.
3) Yes, I’m back, but only for this one post, to let you know everything that’s happened, is happening, and is going to happen.
4) I’ve been very, very busy.
5) This profile will be converting to an Author Page on May 1.
6) My new novel launches May 1 (and you can read the first 2 chapters now, more in “The Long Version — http://marlowekana.com)
7) A documentary series I wrote and produced airs April 24 (more on that also below)
8) You can always email me anytime, day or night, joe@joepeacock.com
9) I’m going to be asking you to sign up for things. This is where you will find my new writing and be able to keep up with me daily. You don’t have to. I’d like you to, tho.
10) I missed you, too.
The Long Version (cross-posted to my blog, http://joepeacock.wpengine.com for much easier reading):
In December, I left Facebook. I didn’t post any warnings (because let’s face it, everyone who posts “I’m gonna leave Facebook!!!!” Is doing it for attention, and I didn’t want attention — I just wanted to leave) and I didn’t really bother with heads-up or anything like that. I just left.
I wrote a very long writeup about it: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/leaving-the-misery-machine-…
And a followup about 30 days later, about what life is like without Facebook: http://joepeacock.wpengine.com/…/so-you-are-leaving-social-media-or…/
You don’t have to read those links, because the bottom line is that my relationship with Social Media became really unhealthy. I realized that literally 95% of my writing energy every single day was consumed by posting on Social Media whenever something outraged me — and as we ALL know, there’s TONS to be outraged over these days. That left me with no energy at all to do the things I really wanted to do.
So, I took off, and I began putting 100% of my writing effort into writing the things I’ve been wanting to write for years and years. To that end, some very, very exciting stuff has come about:
1) There’s a documentary series I helped write and produce that I will be able to announce officially on April 10. It’s airing on a major network and is something I’m VERY proud of. If you choose to stick around this page after tonight, you’ll know about it then 
🙂
2) I’ve made massive progress on a novel series I’ve been working on since I was literally 15 years old. It’s called Marlowe Kana, named after the main character. You can check it out at http://marlowekana.com — There are 2 chapters up right now, with another 3 going live on the website on May 1. Every monday after that, I’ll be posting a chapter a week, every week, for a long long time.
3) But more, Volumes 1 and 2 of my novel have been written and edited (WHAT! I worked ahead on something? INSANE!) and they will both be published in every major ebook store on May 1 as well, for those who don’t want to wait around for the free stuff.
4) There’s an animation series in the works that I wrote with Casey Edwards that we will be posting more about as things develop.
5) I’ve relaunched my blog, http://joepeacock.wpengine.com — this is where I’m writing every day now. If you miss the stuff I used to write… Well, a lot of that is probably going to stay gone, cause I’m just not into reaction pieces and hot takes anymore. Too many people have them for me to feel like my voice contributes in any way to the daily goings-on of the media, politics, entertainment or the world in general. So I’m focused mainly on me, my writing, the things I want to make, and my health. That’s the stuff you can expect to read about.
Now, with all of that said, the past few months, I’ve had a few folks email, call, text or IM to ask me why I blocked them, or where I have been, or am I okay. The answers: No, writing my ass off, and yes.
But this week, there’s been a massive influx, both in my inbox and with some of my friends, with people realizing I’m not here anymore. I was going to wait until May 1 to create my book’s Facebook page, but I figured screw it, might as well hop on now and set a deadline for myself. That way I’ll keep it.
So, at the end of this month, I will be converting this page to an Author Page. From my understanding, this won’t affect you in any way in terms of how you read and see the things posted here. It is, however, not what you signed up for when you friended me, and as you likely know from reading my stuff the past 15+ years, I don’t like arrangements that change without fair warning.
So, if you don’t want to follow the page, no problem. Unfriending (and, if you discover it after the change, unfollowing) is 100% the right thing to do. I don’t like bait-and-switch, and I won’t be even remotely upset if you decide to go ahead and leave this page (in fact, I’d rather you do, cause I don’t wanna annoy you!).
But I’d love it if you stayed, and if you also liked my novel’s page: http://facebook.com/marlowekana — it’s where I am putting my heart, mind and soul these days, and It means a lot to me that you read and follow it. I’d also like to keep you in the know when things like this documentary series and the animation series and other projects go live.
To that end, I need you to know that I won’t be on Facebook every day. I probably won’t even be on every week. My attention is now on my blog and this novel, and I don’t think the best use of my time and energy is here. I want you — the people I’ve built a relationship with the past 11 years — to know what’s going on with me, and I don’t want to make it a totally one-sided broadcast-only relationship. So there are forums, comment sections, and email links on my blog and on the book site. I will be posting updates here, but I’ll be following the conversations over where the writing is.
I hope you are all well. I do miss you guys and our conversations, our discussions, our arguments, and our kindred.
I definitely don’t miss reacting daily to news, politics, and dumb shit. It ate me alive and tore me apart, and if you read the pieces I linked above, you can find out more about all that.
