The Journey Begins...

I finally took the leap and decided to launch ericjude.com.

It was long overdue.

After plotting what I would do for my first blog post... I decided to create a little introduction of sorts...

Who am I?

Well as you can guess by the domain name... I am Eric Jude... Colonel Eric Jude.

"I was born in the Eastern region of Kentucky and it is here in the mountains of Breathitt County that I reside with my wife and my parents. With a deep and burning passion for the fields, hollows, and the mountains of my home, I strive to capture the beauty and the majesty of this great realm of Kentucky in my works of art.

I am member of the Honorable order of  Kentucky Colonels, and a member of the Kentucky Writers Guild. I am also a Musician, an Author, a Painter, a Naturalist, a Horticulturist, a Filmmaker and a Photographer."

That's a basic rundown of who I am and what makes me... me.

But that doesn't get down to the gnitty gritty of a person, does it? You cannot condense the journey of a person's life in two paragraphs totaling exactly 100 words. We all have a story to share. A story that would take an entire library's worth of words... While I am sure my posts will never equal to such a length... I want to do more than leave you with a mere 100 words. In time I will blog, log and share with you some of my life's journey's.

I was born one cold January night in 1985 to two hard working parents in Eastern Kentucky. My Father, a logger and a coal miner, and my Mother, a teacher to be. I spent my childhood in the forests and streams of the land they call "Frozen Creek". A place in the North of Breathitt County, Kentucky. A place that is simple, rural and wildly interesting in its own right. I have a few stories to share about the place I call home, ranging from historical to my own experiences... but we'll save those tales for another day.

In school I was a member of JROTC and the upward bound program, both which kept me fairly busy with extracurricular activities, and both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I developed a keen interest in music... not just listening to it, but also playing and making it. At age 15 my Father bought me a Telecaster Strat. My first guitar. A crème colored beauty that I dubbed "Angel". I was a very slow learner... took me ages to even play a chord. In time I got my hands on a Les Paul Black Beauty and it was with that guitar that I really learned my way around a fret board.

At the age of 19 I met up with some of the most talented individuals that I've encountered to date. With them I took the reigns of vocalist and we made music. Truly a life experience that I recall as one of my finer and most enjoyable times... But as with many things in life, it was not meant to last. Afterwards the urge to make music was even more pressing and demanding on my mind, and my soul... So I started dabbling in writing my own. A feat that would not have been possible without music software. While much of my earlier stuff is hardly listenable... I learned much from those first few songs.

Around the same time I reconnected with a long time friend who had recently took the plunge and threw his hat into the ring. He too was writing, composing and creating music. I will add, he was definitely more skilled than myself. He would later go on and take his music to places much higher than what I ever have.

Time went on and my interests in music dwindled. While I still enjoyed making music, and I definitely still listened to music, I decided to turn my hand and gear towards something else in the creative arts. I picked up digital art and photography. I found that my truest passion, the one thing that really gives the greatest a surge of creative power and inspiration for me,  is photography. Through the lens of my camera the world slows down, the chaos becomes calm and I can live in moments that would normally pass me by... or so it seems. No two moments in time are the same and the wonderful thing about photography... you can capture each of those moments into individual stories, preserved for all time, so that they may enjoyed and viewed by others.

In 2009 I met the prettiest girl I had ever seen. I married her in 2010. She's my partner in building what we call our 'Empire'. Being a musician herself as well as a skilled artist, video editor, word editor, and writer.... She has been a most valuable addition and supporter to my creative path. Without her the next journey that I decided to take would not be possible...

Writing... oh, writing... the art of the written word... the scribbling of lines to form prose. I discovered the love I have for writing, 2nd only to photography. While I have dabbled several times in writing throughout the last 15 years. It wasn't until May of 2014 that I decided to actually take a writing project from start to finish. Although it was a short story... I wrote a little tale about a couple in Louisiana and the unfortunate events that they succumbed to...

What set out to be 'one and done' turned into an entire universe of characters and events. I finished the 2nd short story of the series, not long after the first. Then I set out to write the 3rd... it took on a life of its own and went beyond the short story category, becoming a Novella. After much consideration and plotting, I decided not to release it... I decided to write the 4th installment and re-release the first two shorts along with the novella and the 4th as a full length novel.... which as of this post is still in the works... slightly delayed by the writing of four additional short stories for various submissions...

My "writing desk" currently has five projects resting on it. It's a bit of madness but I'm actively penning five different stories at the same time. Writing a little on each, here and there.

As more happens with them, I'm sure I will post more information. I use the pen name 'D. R. Acula'.

Now like I was saying earlier about music, and how my interest has dwindled in pursuing it... that is true... doesn't mean that I don't love creating music... In fact, due to the persistence of a good friend who is a titan in the literary world, I'm starting to get my feet wet once again... That should prove to be most interesting.... so hopefully before too many moons pass, I can share something new of that nature....

What else about myself should I divulge?

But of course... Gardening... I'm not talking planting flowers... which I have been known to do... nothing more beautiful in nature than the vivid smile of a flower. I am talking 'raising' your own food. Working the land, blood, sweat and tears to raise crops of corn, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, onions, beets, beans and much, much more. My father and I work every year to provide wholesome, honest to goodness, farm fresh food at our dinner table. Once we grow it, my Mother and I preserve it, can it and store it for consumption on a cold, snowy winters day. You ever have fresh home grown tomatoes plucked from the vine in September in the middle of January? It's a big job, its a tasking job to grow your own food. Yet a more rewarding way to spend ones time is hard to find.

In January 2015, the highest civilian honor given by the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, was bestowed upon me by Governor Steve Beshear. I became a part of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. A title that I am quite fond of and use regularly ;)

Living in Kentucky... especially the rural eastern half of Kentucky... one must learn to appreciate and respect nature. Much of my time is spent outdoors... out in God's country. Hiking, camping, sitting... doesn't matter... as long as there is a sky above me, a wind in my hair and the songs of birds to entertain me... I am happy.