Accountability has always been key for me. I feel obligated to finish projects when other people know that I’m working on them. 2022 will be the fourth year that I have posted in January about my writing goals for the year. Many of them may appear similar to the ones in 2021, but that’s just part of long-term planning and short-term setbacks.
Buried Colony
Yes, I realize this is the third year in a row I’ve had this book on my “to complete” list. I have planned out solutions to fix these issues with the critical beta-reader and advanced reader feedback I received last year. Fortunately, I can still keep what I want to accomplish with this book intact. After I fix it up, I’ll be sending the manuscript to a sensitivity reader for a final run-through to ensure I’m not unintentionally offending anyone with my character depictions. Buried Colony will be my primary project for this year, so—if all goes as planned—it should be available in September (finally).
Second to None: 10th Anniversary Edition
Last year’s release of the 10th Anniversary Edition of First Name Basis taught me a lot about re-releasing my first novel. I will be applying these lessons to this year’s 10th Anniversary Edition: Second to None. I’m still grateful for the awesome artwork (seen here) that I commissioned from artist Robin Childs. This 10th Anniversary Edition includes character sketches and the portion of the Fluxion Trilogy appendix that applies to this book. Additionally, having successfully released my first audiobook, I will also be converting this book into an audiobook. Look for the Second to None: 10th Anniversary Edition to drop at the end of June (hopefully, in all formats)!
Stop Screaming!
This cookbook teaches you how to become proficient in the art of homemade ice cream by using the tools you likely already have in your kitchen. The first draft has been written, tested, and sent off to beta-testers. With over two-dozen recipes for my beta-testers to make, I’m expecting this project to lay mostly dormant for this year. When I get their feedback, I’ll polish up the manuscript and get it ready to self-publish in 2023.
NaNoWriMo Unknown?
I know it’s weird that I’m not sure which project I’ll be pursuing for National Novel Writing Month this year, but I honestly need to sit down and plan out the plots for a handful of different stories, so I know which one is best suited for this year’s challenge. Right now, it’s likely a toss-up between the tentatively-titled, COVID Cannonball Run—a cross-country adventure about a son and his last chance to connect with his estranged father—and One Year to Live—a drama that deals with the serious implications of planned suicide for a non-suicidal individual. Then again, I might start up a fantasy series titled, The Exiles, which subverts many fantasy character tropes. As I said, I’ll know better once I sit down and plan some of these stories out on paper.
Potential Serial?
I had a lot of fun writing short stories for last NaNoWriMo’s Autocomplete project. One of these stories explored the question, “Are Nazis anime?” of which I created the story, “Magical Prince Adolf.” The story had a bit of a serial format, with three “episodes” included in its original draft. I already have a few ideas for other episodes that I might write up this year and publish on Amazon’s Vella platform.
Blogs, et cetera…
I’ll still try and maintain a monthly blog post about my writing and self-publishing experiences, but it’s proving to be more difficult to find topics I haven’t covered already. If I happen to miss a month or two, know that it’s likely because I’m busy putting out the best books I possibly can.