So here’s the deal…

The internet has changed a lot since I last maintained a personal website. Social media eventually seemed to render personal sites relics of Web 1.0—maybe 2.0—and despite having my own, I let mine fall into the dusty, forgotten abyss of the internet. I was paying for a domain out of nostalgia and habit, but I hadn’t updated it in nearly seven years. Eventually, I stopped bothering with hosting, and after 23 years of owning at least one domain, I finally jumped through the hoops to close out my last one.

And here we are. A year and a half later—maybe less—and I bought a new one.

I thought about reclaiming my old domain. It is available. But I don’t really need a cosplay site anymore. I just turned 39 two days ago! I can try to keep up with social media for that. Or, once I fully figure this one out, I might reclaim it after all. I finally got around to buying cosplay business cards, considering I’ve been judging craftsmanship competitions for the past five years. Maybe a cosplay site would be worthwhile again, or maybe I’ll just hide it somewhere on this site.

Whatever the case, I’ve become disillusioned with social media. It’s all about video now, and I’m a writer at heart. I want to get published. And in my soul-crushing experience of submitting query after rejected query, they all ask for a website. Plus, I have things I want to share that no one cares about, so I figured—what the hell.

I’m a Millennial raised by the internet. My first website was on GeoCities in 1998. Canceling my last domain physically hurt, even though it felt like a waste of money (and GoDaddy got ridiculously expensive). So, I’m back.

Now as A.K. Stephens—the author, the dreamer of worlds, the creator of souls… but still the cosplaying geek girl extraordinaire! (Geek woman? Eh. Not as fun to say.)

So, welcome to my world. This is my space (not MySpace), and I’ll be sharing whatever whimsy I feel like. Since I’m embracing my pen name, I’ll also be chronicling my writing journey—including the never-ending cycle of agent rejections. I hate self-promotion, so self-publishing doesn’t appeal to me (yet), but here we are.

However you found this little corner of the internet, I hope you stick around and enjoy what I have to say now and then.

Hello, and welcome!