The Jaime David Podcast – Episode 33: Wonderment Within Weirdness

The Jaime David Podcast – Episode 33: Wonderment Within Weirdness is out now!

Well, folks, we’ve officially made it!

On November 13, 2026, Episode 33 of the Jaime David Podcast was released, marking the conclusion of Season 2!

And what a way to end the season!

This wasn’t just another episode. It was a milestone for the podcast, and I wanted to make sure we ended the season with something special. In fact, this is officially the longest episode of the Jaime David Podcast to date!

So, what did we talk about this time?

Well, we turned our attention to something that has been a huge part of my creative journey: my debut novel, Wonderment Within Weirdness!

That’s right! We dedicated this season finale to my first published novel, the book that took years of work, imagination, writing, worldbuilding, and dedication to finally bring into existence.

And honestly, I think it’s fitting that we ended Season 2 this way.

After all, becoming a published author was a pretty significant milestone in my life. It’s one thing to have an idea for a story, to spend years developing it, and to imagine what it might eventually become. It’s another thing entirely to take that project, finish it, publish it, and put it out into the world.

Wonderment Within Weirdness represents years of that journey. It’s a project that started back in my college days and eventually became my debut novel. And while there’s always more work to do, more stories to tell, and more things to create, I’m proud of having taken that step.

But that’s not the only milestone worth celebrating!

Just a few days before the Season 2 finale, the Jaime David Podcast officially reached 500 listens on Spotify!

That’s right, 500 listens!

Now, I know that might not sound like an enormous number compared to some of the bigger podcasts out there, but you know what? I’m celebrating it anyway! Every listen represents someone taking the time to check out something I’ve created, and I don’t think that’s something to dismiss.

When you’re building something from the ground up, every milestone matters. Whether it’s 100 listens, 500 listens, 1,000 listens, or beyond, it’s another reminder that people are discovering the work you’re putting out there.

And hopefully, that’s just the beginning!

So, between reaching 500 Spotify listens and releasing Episode 33, I’d say we’ve had a pretty exciting week for the podcast!

But let’s also take a moment to appreciate what we’ve accomplished overall.

33 episodes. Two seasons. More than a year of podcasting. 500 Spotify listens.

That’s no small feat!

When I first started the Jaime David Podcast, I wanted another way to share my thoughts, experiences, creative projects, and general musings with the world. And now, after two seasons, I can look back and see just how much we’ve accomplished.

We’ve explored different topics, shared reflections, discussed creativity, and had plenty of opportunities to put some of my writing into a different format.

And we closed out Season 2 with our biggest episode yet!

But here’s something else worth celebrating: 2027 will bring another major milestone. I’ll be approaching TWO YEARS as a published author!

Two years! It’s honestly hard to believe sometimes.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the creative journey is slowing down. Quite the opposite. I have plenty of ideas, projects, and ambitions that I want to pursue. Between my books, blogs, music, podcast, and everything else I’m working on, there’s certainly no shortage of things to keep me busy.

And speaking of the podcast, Season 3 is coming in 2027!

That’s right, we’re not done yet. This is simply the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. I already have plenty of things I’d like to explore in the next season, and I’m looking forward to seeing where we take things.

I also want to thank everyone who has listened to the podcast, whether you’ve been here since the beginning or only recently discovered it. Every listen, every bit of support, and every person who takes the time to check out my work is appreciated.

Creating things and putting them out into the world can be a strange, unpredictable journey. You never quite know where things will go, who you’ll reach, or what opportunities might come along. But that’s part of the fun!

And if there’s one thing I hope to keep doing, it’s experimenting, creating, sharing, and trying new things.

So, here’s to Episode 33. Here’s to Season 2. Here’s to 500 Spotify listens. Here’s to Wonderment Within Weirdness. And here’s to everything still waiting around the corner!

Season 2 has officially come to a close, folks. Let’s make it count!

And remember: this might be the end of Season 2, but it’s certainly not the end of the story.

Stay weird, stay wonderful, and keep embracing the wonderment within weirdness!

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Check out my book here!

Amazon.com: Wonderment Within Weirdness eBook : David, Jaime: Kindle Store

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Listen to the episode here!

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Read the episode transcript here!

And now, welcome back to the greatest podcast of all time. This is the Jamie David Podcast. Do not forget to like and follow and subscribe to this podcast. Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Jamie David Podcast.

I’m Jamie David, and today I wanted to do something a little different. Today, I wanted to dedicate an entire episode to my debut novel, Wonderment Within Weirdness, and the journey that this book has taken since I first published it in 2025. But before I talk about the book itself, I want to talk about where this story really began, not just the story inside the pages. the story behind the pages, because Wonderment Within Weirdness is not just a novel I wrote, it is a piece of my own journey, a piece of my life, a reflection of where I was, what I was experiencing, and everything that happened along the way.

And I want to start with a quote, a simple sentence that has stayed with me for years. Don’t be a quitter. Those were words my late uncle used to say. My uncle passed away in 2019, but those words have continued to stay with me.

When he said, don’t be a quitter, he was not just talking about completing a task. He was talking about perseverance. He was talking about continuing to pursue your goals, your dreams, and your aspirations even when life becomes difficult. Because anyone who tries to create something meaningful will eventually face moments of doubt.

Moments where things do not go according to plan. Moments where giving up feels easier than continuing. And those words became especially meaningful because of when this journey began. I started writing Wonderment Within Weirdness in 2017, during my final year of college.

At the time, I had no idea what the future was going to look like. I was entering one of the biggest transitions of my life. I was a STEM major, specifically studying forensics and biology. I loved science.

I loved learning. I loved the fields I was studying. But the reality was that starting a career in science was not always simple. Entry-level positions could be difficult to find.

Internships could be difficult to find. During the previous academic year, I spent months searching for the internship I needed in order to graduate. As a double science major, finding that opportunity was incredibly important. Eventually, I was fortunate enough to find one, and everything worked out.

But that process showed me how uncertain the beginning of a career could be. Then I entered the fall of 2017, my final academic year. And naturally, I started wondering, if finding an internship was this difficult, what would finding a job be like? Would I be successful? Would I find work in my field? Would I be able to build the future I imagined? Those questions were always in the back of my mind. And honestly, during that time, I.

Was struggling, not just with career uncertainty, but with a lot of different things happening in my life. There were friendship struggles, There was one friend I was having conflict with. There was another person I really wanted to reconnect with, but they were always busy, and that made me feel disappointed. I was trying to meet new people.

I tried dating apps while I was in college. I tried making new connections, but nothing really came from those experiences. Looking back, one of the biggest feelings I had during that time was uncertainty. I felt lonely.

I felt isolated. I felt like I was standing at the edge of adulthood without knowing exactly where I would end up. And during that time, I started writing, finding the story that became Wonderment Within Weirdness. Before I talk about Wonderment Within Weirdness itself, there is something important I want to mention.

This was not the first novel idea I ever had. It was the first one I actually finished. Throughout my college years, from 2014 to 2018, I had different ideas for novels. Every once in a while, an idea would come to me.

I would write down a few sentences. Maybe create a basic concept. Maybe imagine where the story could go. But eventually, those ideas would get abandoned.

And honestly, looking back, I understand why. Those ideas just were not strong enough. They felt too bland. Too generic.

Too familiar. Too much like stories that already existed. They were not stories I felt passionate enough about to spend years developing. I am not going to sugarcoat it.

Those ideas did not work. They were practice. They were experiments. They were part of learning what kind of writer I wanted to become.

I do not even have those drafts anymore. But then, in the fall of 2017, something different happened. The idea for Wonderment Within Weirdness came to me. And when I started writing it, something felt different.

I wrote a page, then a few pages. And I remember thinking, wait, this might actually be something. This was not just another random idea. This was a story I genuinely wanted to explore.

A story that had possibilities. A story I could see myself continuing. And that was the beginning. Not knowing exactly where it would lead.

Not knowing how long it would take. But knowing that this was a story worth pursuing. From the fall of 2017 all the way until 2025, I continued working on this book. Years.

Not weeks. Not months. Years. There were periods where I wrote more.

There were periods where life became busy. There were periods where other responsibilities took priority. But the story stayed with me. And eventually, shortly before publication in 2025, I completed the manuscript.

The idea became a finished novel. Something real. Something physical. Something other people could experience.

the journey was not easy. And that is where the next part of this story begins. Losing my uncle and the hardest part of the journey. But before I talk about publishing the book, I think it is important to talk about something that happened between starting the book and finishing it.

Because the journey from 2017 to 2025 was not a straight line. There were moments where I struggled. There were moments where I stepped away from writing. There were moments where I wondered if I would ever actually finish this book.

In 2019, my uncle passed away, and his loss hit me incredibly hard. Even though he was not my biological father, he was like a dad to me. He was one of those people who felt like they would always be there. Someone you could talk to.

Someone you could turn to. Someone whose presence you almost took for granted because you assumed there would always be more time. And when he was gone, it was a huge wake-up call. It reminded me that we cannot take people for granted.

We cannot assume that tomorrow is guaranteed. Because sometimes, life changes in ways we never expect. And for me, losing my uncle was one of those moments. For months afterward, I was depressed.

I did not really want to do much. I did not want to write. I did not want to work on my book. The project that had once been something exciting and creative became something I struggled to even look at.

And I think that is an important part of the story to acknowledge. Because when people hear about someone writing a book, they sometimes imagine a very simple process. They imagine… I had an idea.

I wrote it. I published it. But real life does not always work like that. Sometimes life interrupts creativity.

Sometimes personal struggles make it difficult to focus on the things you love. Sometimes the things that once brought you joy become difficult during periods of grief. That was my reality. I had started this book during one uncertain period of my life.

Then, while I was still working on it, I experienced one of the hardest losses of my life. And my uncle’s death was not the only difficult thing that happened afterward. The years that followed brought other challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world.

There were personal struggles. There were moments where I felt discouraged. There were periods between 2019 and 2025 where I felt depressed and where writing was not my focus. There were times where I questioned things.

Times where I felt stuck. Times where wonderment within weirdness sat waiting. But even during those moments, the story never completely disappeared. It was always there.

And eventually, I found my way back to it. Slowly. One page at a time. One revision at a time.

One step at a time. And looking back, I think that is another reason why my book means so much to me. Because finishing it was not just about completing a manuscript. It was about returning to something that mattered after experiencing difficult moments.

It was about proving to myself that even if you step away from a dream for a while, that does not mean the dream is gone. Sometimes you need time. Sometimes you need to heal. Sometimes you need to find your way back.

And eventually, I did. Starting my blog and sharing my voice. Another important part of this journey happened in 2019. A few months after my uncle passed away, I started my blog.

At the time, I did not know exactly what it would become. I did not start it with one single purpose. It was not only about promoting future books. The blog became something much bigger than that.

It became a place where I could share my thoughts. a place where I could share my writing, a place where I could talk about things I cared about, a place where I could develop. My voice and connect with other people. Looking back, starting the blog was another major step in my creative journey.

Before that, I had mostly been writing for myself. The blog became a way to start sharing my work publicly. It became a place where I could experiment, a place where I could improve, a place where I could slowly build an audience. And yes, part of that was eventually sharing my books.

When I dreamed about publishing, I knew that having a place where people could discover my work would be important. But the blog was never only about that. It became its own creative project. It became a home for my writing.

It became another part of becoming the person I am today. In many ways, the blog helped bridge the gap between being someone who wrote privately and becoming someone who considered himself an author. Because writing a book is one thing. Sharing your writing with the world is another.

And the blog helped me take that step, continuing the journey. The years between 2019 and 2025 were not always easy. There were times where I was focused on the book. There were times where I was focused on work.

There were times where I was focused on simply moving forward through life. But through all of it, the book remained. The story that began in 2017 was still waiting. And eventually, I reached a point where I knew I needed to finish it.

Because that was always the goal. Not just to start a book. Not just to have an idea. But to actually complete it.

To hold the finished product in my hands. To be able to say, I did it. And that moment finally came in 2025. The unexpected inspirations behind the book.

When people think about writing a novel, they sometimes imagine inspiration coming from one single place, maybe a movie, maybe another book, maybe one big idea. But the reality is that inspiration can come from anywhere. Sometimes it comes from serious moments in life, sometimes it comes from painful experiences, and sometimes it comes from something completely ridiculous that someone said years ago. And that is exactly what happened with one of my friends, Connor.

Connor and I met back in middle school. I was relatively new at the school. I started there in sixth grade, and Connor had already been there for much of that time, although he was not there during my sixth grade year. He came back in seventh grade, and then left again after eighth grade.

Later, when we were in high school, even though we went to different schools, we reconnected. Like many friendships, ours was complicated. We had good times. We had disagreements.

We had periods where we were close. We had periods where we were not. In 2016, during a difficult period of my life where I also had another friendship fall apart, Connor and I had a falling out as well. Eventually, we reconnected.

But then, in 2020, we had another falling out. Then, in 2022, Connor passed away. I did not actually find out until 2024. And when I learned what happened, I had a lot of mixed emotions.

Because grief is complicated. Especially when someone was an important person in your life. But the relationship was no longer what it once was. There was sadness.

There was remembering the good times. There was thinking about the person I knew. Because regardless of where our friendship was at the end, I still considered him a friend. I still wanted the best for him.

And one thing I will always remember about Connor was his imagination. When we were younger, he used to tell these completely wild stories. One of the funniest examples was his stories about the school bus driver being evil. They were ridiculous.

They were over the top. They were the kind of stories that made you laugh because of how absurd they were. But they stuck with me. And years later, when I was writing Wonderment Within Weirdness, that imagination came back.

A concept inspired by those childhood stories eventually helped inspire a school bus fight scene in the novel. And that is one of the fascinating things about creativity. You never know what is going to stay with you. A random conversation.

A joke. A funny story someone told you when you were younger. Something that seems insignificant at the time can eventually become part of something much bigger. Connor probably never imagined that those silly school bus stories would influence a published novel years later.

But they did. And that is part of the story behind Wonderment Within Weirdness. Because this book was not created from one single moment. It was created from years of experiences.

From serious moments. From difficult moments. From meaningful moments. And even from the weird, funny, imaginative moments that stayed with me.

Becoming an independent author. Publishing a book is a journey by itself. And one thing I learned throughout this process is that writing the manuscript is only one part of becoming an author. When you self-publish, you are responsible for so much more than just writing.

You become the writer. You become the editor. You become the person making decisions about formatting, publishing, marketing, and distribution. You become the person learning every part of the process.

And that process can be overwhelming at times. There are questions you have to answer. How should the book look? How should it be formatted? What platform should you use? How do you make the book available to readers? How do you get people to discover it? There are so many different parts of publishing that readers do not always see. They see the finished book.

They see the cover. They see the pages. But behind that finished product is a long process. For wonderment within weirdness, I chose to self-publish through Lulu.

Lulu uses print-on-demand publishing which means books are printed when someone orders them rather than requiring an author to print thousands of copies ahead of time and store them somewhere. For independent authors, print-on-demand is an incredible opportunity. It allows writers to make their work available without meeting a traditional publishing company. It gives creators more control over their work.

But it also means the author takes on more responsibility. You are not just the person writing the story. You are the person making sure the story actually becomes a book. And when I finally held that physical copy of Wonderment within weirdness in my hands in 2025, it was surreal.

Because I knew how much went into that moment. That book represented. Years of work. Years of writing.

Years of revisions. Years of doubts. Years of continuing forward. It represented the person I was in 2017 and the person I had become by 2025.

The college student who had an idea. The writer who kept returning to it. the person who eventually became a published author. Literary Titan Recognition One of the biggest milestones in the journey of wonderment within weirdness came when Literary Titan reviewed my novel.

And for any author, especially an independent author, that kind of recognition means a lot. When you spend years working on something, you naturally wonder how other people will receive it. Will readers connect with it? Will they understand what you were trying to accomplish? Will the ideas that existed in your head for years translate to other people? Those are questions every creator has. And when Literary Titan reviewed the book, it was an incredible feeling to see someone else engage with the world I created.

Their review recognized the ambitious nature of the story. They highlighted the combination of science fiction, fantasy, satire, and speculative storytelling. They discussed the unusual world building and the way the book explores larger questions about existence, authority, morality. And society.

They recognized that the book was not trying to be a simple or conventional story. It was something different. Something weird. Something imaginative.

Something that embraced the idea behind the title itself. The wonderment within the weirdness. Then came another major milestone. Wonderment within weirdness received the Literary Titan Silver Book Award.

And that moment meant so much to me. Because an award is not just about the physical recognition. It represents all the work behind it. The years spent writing.

The moments where I questioned myself. The times where I stepped away and eventually came back. The perseverance it took to finish the project. When I received that recognition, I thought about the journey that started back in 2017.

A college student writing a story without knowing where it would lead. A person who would later experience loss, uncertainty, and difficult moments. A person who would eventually hold a published book. And now that book was receiving recognition.

That was a powerful moment. Literary Titan podcast feature. But the Literary Titan journey did not stop there. Literary Titan also featured Wonderment Within Weirdness on their podcast.

And recently, that podcast episode was uploaded to YouTube. Being able to hear other people discuss your work is a unique experience. As an author, you spend years inside your own creation. You know every decision, every idea, every reason behind certain choices.

You know the story from the inside. But when someone else reads your work, They experience it from the outside. They bring their own perspective. Their own interpretation.

Their own reaction. And that is one of the most rewarding parts of creating something. Because once a story leaves the author’s hands, it becomes something that other people can experience. It becomes something bigger than just the person who created it.

And that is one of the reasons. Sharing this book has meant so much. Because the journey of wonderment within weirdness did not end when I finished writing it. That was actually when the next chapter began.

The chapter where the book could reach other people. The chapter where readers, reviewers, and creators could experience it. And one of those creators who eventually experienced it was someone I never expected would become part of this journey. Dusty Smith.

Sending my books to Dusty Smith. Another unforgettable moment in the journey of my books happened recently. And honestly, it is still a little surreal to think about. For years, I have watched YouTuber Dusty Smith.

He is someone whose content I have followed for a long time. and he is one of the creators who has influenced me and entertained me throughout the years. And because of that, I wanted to do something special. I wanted to send him my books.

Now, I want to emphasize something. I did not just want to send my books to anyone. Yes, technically, there are many creators who have PO boxes where fans can send things. But for me, I wanted it to actually mean something.

I wanted it to be someone whose work I genuinely can with. Someone who’s content I had watched enough over time that sending my books would feel meaningful. Dusty was one of those people. There was also another important connection.

In Wonderment Within Weirdness, I included Dusty in the acknowledgement section of my book. I thanked creators who had influenced me, entertained me, or played some kind of role in my creative journey. And because Dusty was someone who had been part of that journey, I wanted him to have the opportunity to see that. I wanted to give him the chance to check out the books himself.

Not because I expected anything. Not because I assumed he would open them on stream. simply because I wanted to say, hey, your work has meant something to me, and I wanted to share something I created. And there was another connection that made this even more special.

Dusty himself has experience as an author. Years ago, he wrote and published a book under the pen name Michael Bishop. The book was called Seven Deadly Sins. Now, Dusty himself has talked about that book before and has been critical of it.

He has openly admitted that he does not necessarily consider it his best work. Regardless of how he feels about the book today, the fact remains. He was an author. He wrote a book.

He went through the process of creating something and putting it into the world. And years later, I found myself doing the same thing. Someone who had once talked about his own experience as an author was now receiving my book. That connection made the whole thing feel even more meaningful.

The waiting process. After deciding to send the books, I ordered copies through Lulu. Because the books are self-published through a print-on-demand service, The process takes some time. The books have to be printed.

They have to go through production. Then they have to be shipped. So it was not an immediate process. It took a few weeks for the order to be printed and prepared.

Then it took additional time for the books to be delivered. And during that waiting period, I honestly had no idea what would happen. Would Dusty open them? Would he ever see them? Would they just sit there? I had no idea. But that was not really the point.

The point was simply that I sent them. I shared my work. I took that chance. And then, after waiting, the books finally arrived.

The live stream unboxing. The books were delivered. And then the following week, during the week of July 6th, 2026, Dusty picked them up. Then came the moment I never expected.

On July 8th, 2026, during his live stream, Dusty opened the package. And watching that happen was surreal. Because this was not just someone opening a random package. This was someone whose work I had followed.

Someone I had thanked in my book. Someone who had inspired me in different ways. And now he was holding my creation. He opened the package and found the books.

He looked through them. He commented on the quality of the printing. He reacted to seeing the physical copies. Then he got to wonderment within weirdness.

And he started reading the acknowledgement section. That moment was incredibly meaningful. Because the acknowledgement section was not just a list of names. It represented my journey.

It represented the people who influenced me. It represented my gratitude. And before anything else, he reached the dedication to my uncle. The same uncle whose words inspired me.

The same uncle whose message of, don’t be a quitter, became part of the foundation of this story. Watching Dusty read that was emotional because he was not just reading words. He was reading a piece of my personal story. Then he reached the part where I thanked creators who influenced me, including Dusty himself, and seeing him recognize that was such a unique moment.

Because years earlier, I was someone watching his content. Years later, he was reading my book. That is what made the moment feel like a true full circle experience. Why this moment mattered.

The reason this meant so much was not simply because a YouTuber opened my book. It was because of everything behind it. The college student in 2017 who was unsure about the future. The person who lost his uncle in 2019.

The person who struggled with motivation. The person who started a blog and slowly began sharing his voice. The person who spent years working on a story. The person who eventually became a published author.

All of those versions of myself led to that moment. A live stream. A book. An acknowledgement.

A creator reading words that came from years of work. And that is something I will always remember. Because creative journeys are full of unexpected moments. You never know where something you create will end up.

You never know who might see it. You never know what connections might come from simply putting your work out into the world. And this was one of those moments where everything connected. A book that started as an idea in 2017.

A book that survived years of challenges. A book that was finally published in 2025. A book that received recognition. A book that eventually ended up in the hands of someone who had been part of my own creative inspiration.

That is a moment I will always appreciate. Closing thoughts. When I look back at the entire journey of wonderment within weirdness, I realize that this book represents so much more than just a novel. It represents a period of my life.

It represents growth. It represents uncertainty. It represents loss. It represents friendship.

It represents creativity. It represents perseverance. It represents all the moments and all the people who shaped me between 2017 and 2025. Because when I started writing this book, I had no idea what was ahead.

I was a college student in my final year. I was someone who had an idea. Someone who loved writing. Someone who wanted to create something meaningful.

But I was also someone who was uncertain about the future. I did not know where life would take me. I did not know if I would find success. I did not know if I would be able to turn my ideas into something real.

I did not know that the story I started writing in college would eventually become my debut novel. I did not know that it would receive recognition. I did not know that years later, a YouTuber I followed would open my books on a livestream and read the acknowledgements where I thanked him. Life has a strange way of connecting things.

And when I think about this journey, I think about the people who became part of it. First, I think about my uncle. When I started writing Wonderment Within Weirdness in 2017, I did not know that those years would eventually become some of my last years with him. At the time, I thought.

There would always be more time, more conversations, more opportunities to visit, more opportunities to tell someone how much they mean to you. But life does not always work that way. My uncle passed away in 2019, and his loss changed me. Even though he was not my biological father, he was like a dad to me.

His absence left a huge hole, but his words stayed. Don’t be a quitter. Those words became more meaningful over time, because finishing this book was not always easy. There were moments where I struggled.

There were moments where I stepped away. There were moments where grief, life, and everything happening around me made writing difficult. But eventually, I came back. And I finished what I started.

That is what perseverance really means. It does not mean you never struggle. It does not mean you never have moments where you doubt yourself. It means you find your way forward.

And my uncle’s words were part of that. But my uncle was not the only person who became part of this journey. I also think about my friend Connor. Connor and I had a complicated friendship.

We met when we were younger. We had great memories. We had disagreements. We had times where we were close.

We had times where we were not. Life took us in different directions. And when I eventually learned that he passed away in 2022, I had a lot of mixed emotions. Because relationships are not always simple.

Sometimes someone can still matter to you even if life became complicated. Sometimes someone can still leave an impact even if they are no longer part of your everyday life. And Connor left an impact through something unexpected. His imagination.

When we were younger, he would tell these completely wild stories. including stories about an evil school bus driver. At the time, it was just something funny. Just two kids laughing at ridiculous ideas.

But years later, those moments stayed with me. And those strange, creative ideas helped inspire part of wonderment within weirdness. That is one of the fascinating things about writing. You never know what will stay with you.

A conversation. A memory. A joke. A story someone tells you.

Something that seems small at the time can eventually become part of something much bigger. And that is what this book represents. It is a collection of experiences. It is a collection of memories.

It is a collection of the people and moments that shaped me. My uncle’s words. Connor’s imagination. The uncertainty I felt in college.

The struggles I experienced. The growth that came afterward. The years spent writing. The decision to share my work.

All of those things became part of the journey. Looking back at the entire journey. The journey of wonderment within weirdness started with an idea. But it became so much more than an idea.

It became years of work. It became a published book. It became a piece of my personal history. It became something that connected me with readers, reviewers, and creators.

The blog I started in 2019 became part of that journey. Literary Titan became part of that journey. The award became part of that journey. The Dusty Smith livestream became part of that journey.

the foundation was always the same. A person who had an idea. A person who kept going. A person who eventually turned that idea into reality.

Final message. If there is one thing I hope people take away from this story, it is this. Do not give up on the things that matter to you. Your journey may not look like someone else’s.

Your timeline may not be the same as someone else’s. You may experience setbacks. You may experience loss. You may experience moments where you wonder if continuing is worth it.

But those moments do not have to be the end of the story. Sometimes dreams take longer than expected. Sometimes the path is not straight. Sometimes you have to step away before you can return.

But that does not mean you’ve failed. It means you are human. When I wrote the first pages of Wonderment within Weirdness in 2017, I could not have imagined where it would lead. I could not have imagined publishing it.

I could not have imagined receiving recognition. I could not have imagined seeing other people discuss my work. I could not have imagined Dusty Smith opening my books and reading the acknowledgements. I could not have imagined all of the people and experiences that would become part of this story.

But looking back now, I realize they were all connected. Every struggle. Every memory. Every person.

Every moment. They all helped create the journey. And that is what Wonderment Within Weirdness represents. It is not just a book.

It is a reminder of where I started. It is a reminder of the people who shaped me. It is a reminder of the challenges I overcame. It is a reminder of the importance of creativity.

It is a reminder of my uncle’s words. Don’t be a quitter. And it is a reminder that even the smallest moments can become part of something bigger. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Jamie David Podcast.

Thank you to everyone who has supported my writing. you to everyone who has read my books. Thank you to everyone who has followed this journey. This book started as an idea.

It became a dream. Then it became reality. And I am excited to see where the next chapter goes. And that, folks, is the Jamie David Podcast.

Till next time, everyone. And if you want, follow me on my blog, jamiedavid.blog, and check out my books, Wonderment Within Weirdness, my powerful poems, and some small short stories. Till next time, everyone. Thank you.