You, brave readers, are bearing witness to the Alpha Post.  It is the first, the beginning, the primary, the leader, the unchallenged—well, you get the idea.  The question is, do I?

Every author—new, seasoned, or somewhere in between—is warned of the necessity of "social networking."  It's like a mantra—you must use Facebook, you must set up a MySpace, you must learn how to Twitter, you must set up a Website—and so on.  Honesty, I've heard it so often for so long, I'd become numb to it, like a teenager hearing for the tenth time, "take out the trash," who responds with a shrug and a "yeah, yeah—I'll take care of it later."  With the publication of my new novel imminent, "later" is NOW, and the need for social networking has taken on a new sense of urgency.  Like a good little soldier, I set up my Facebook, my Twitter, my Website, my MySpace, and so on.  But for me, the most intimidating aspect of the whole social networking scene was the idea of the ominous BLOG.  I kept it until last, approaching it with about as much gusto as I approach my next dental appointment.  I mean, I've seen blogs, read blogs, even commented on blogs, but to actually host one?  How could I?  What would I say?  How would I get people to actually read it?  Where would I find time to update it?  All good questions and truthfully, I haven't really answered any of them yet.  But Blog I must. 

In considering what to do about this thing called Blog, I researched others and quickly realized that most blogs have a theme of some sort.  Some are designed to teach their readers about something, pass along useful information, or challenge their minds in some way.  Others are designed to spark debate about relevant (or sometimes not so relevant) issues.  Still others take on a sort of a "day in the life" format which, for me, would result in a very short, boring blog indeed (woke up, got the kids to school. Ate breakfast.  Checked my e-mail. Typed.  Ate lunch. Typed some more...*yawn*).  So I was faced with a decision.  Did I want to go the practical route and join the ranks of other writing professionals who try to educate and inspire?  After all, I've been a writer for many years—I could tell my readers about the process of writing, how the ideas gradually make their way onto paper, and what to do about it once they finally get there.  I've also served my time as a literary agent—I could tell my readers what it's like to see the writing world from both sides of the fence, explain what many agents look for in a query letter, and tell them what really happens to a manuscript once an agent gets it in hand.  I've also been a ghostwriter for some time—I could tell readers what it's like to write stuff and get no credit for it outside of a paycheck, or how one goes about finding clients to ghostwrite for to begin with.  I'd also earned my keep as a lawyer for 17 years before leaving it behind to pursue my dream of being a writer—I can tell readers what it was like to make the transition, how my legal background has helped along the way, and how it felt to go from princess to pauper, all for the sake of happiness.

On the other hand, my non-practical side might have something to say as well. After all, I spend most of my days in a fabricated world, locked up in my office, bouncing against the walls of my imagination.  I have thoughts and theories about life, death, and the worlds unseen by the human eye.  I have ideas and speculations that just beg for revelation.  I have a background in philosophy, and thrive on debate.  There are so many aspects to existence that need to be explored, examined, and discovered—maybe my blog should serve as the  vehicle through which such exploration and discovery could take place. 

Which avenue to take.  Quite a conundrum. 

Then, somewhere around my fifteenth gummy bear, it hit me: why not do it all?  A new idea was born:  a blog with no boundaries.  No labels, no preconceived notions, no hard and fast structure.  After all, it is MY blog, so why should I spend my time sitting in a prefabricated pigeonhole waiting for the day when the Omega blog is finally written? There really is no need to, and I've never been one to conform to expectations. So, as you may have noticed, I have included a header at the top of my page to read "No Pigeonholes Allowed" (in fact, I had  toyed with the idea of inserting an image of a pigeon, but it just didn't fly—okay, bad pun).   What that header means is simply this:  I will not limit myself to a set category of topics to cover on my blog.  One day, I may feel like explaining how an agent does what an agent does, and what really goes on behind the mysterious curtain; the next day I may feel like expounding upon the theory of a toroidal universe.  One day, I may want to review ways to ensnare your readers within the first five pages of your novel, but the next day, I may want to discuss the nature of evil and how it came to exist in our world to begin with.  Who knows?  I may even throw in a political tirade or two, just to shake it up a bit.  

Either way, my goal is to host a blog that will always keep you guessing, and will hopefully keep you coming back.  I have a thick skin and an open mind, so I encourage all readers to exercise their free will and right of free speech without reservation.  Questions, comments and suggestions are always encouraged and welcome.

And so it begins.  The rest, as they say, is history.

A.M. Boyle

p.s. I learned my first real lesson of blogging about an hour ago, when I accidentally deleted this message and had to re-write if from scratch.  Always save the Blog before clicking on anything!