Oh, look–it’s the 5th already.
Winter here in NE Illinois took a while to make its presence known, but it’s here now by golly. We’re under Winter Weather Advisory thanks to the wind-driven snows–0°F wind chills and gusts of 25+mph. Gaby and I still took a walk, weather-shortened though it was. We had to stop every so often so I could pick ice balls from between her paw pads, and my face felt pretty stiff when we headed into the wind. But we got in almost 3 miles and that’s 3 miles I don’t need to bash out on the treadmill. Also, the sun is out. A hairy woodpecker and some sparrows are picking at the suet cakes, and a female cardinal is harbored in the bird feeder and picking at the seeds. Birds always cheer up a dead of winter scene.
In writing news, still working on Echoes, aka the book that is kicking Kris’ ass. Someday I will explain all the reasons why I believe this book fought me, but I will finish it and then move on from there. I have never taken a self-pub book all the way through from Idea to Published before. Everything I’ve released so far has been published before–I just needed to get new covers, format, and redo copy. The editing process is the kicker–I am hoping that any edits aren’t extensive as that will add some time to the process. At that point, probably nothing would stop me from getting a cover and doing other pre-pub set-up, but I won’t know until I know. Sorry I can’t be more precise wrt a release date, and I very much appreciate you folks who have stuck with me to this point.
One thing I did in 2021 that I had not done before was release two short works. Short isn’t my jam and I have been trying to get more comfortable with the form, and responses to the results have been gratifying. One short story, entitled “Symbiote,” appears in Derelict, an anthology released last year by Zombies Need Brains. The link will take you to Derelict page on the ZNB website, which contains multiple links to ebook and trade pb options. The second story, “Nest,” appears in the Fall 2021 Issue of Boundary Shock Quarterly (I’m not listed as a contributor b/c I was a guest author, but the story is there I promise). Again, linking to the publisher’s page because it contains multiple store links for ebook and paper formats. I would describe both stories as SF with some horror. I’ve always felt those two genres blended well.
Hope 2022 is starting out well for you. Until next time.