Back in September, I paused to look down the mountain and see how far I’ve come since I started writing professionally in 2014. Now I’m looking forward to 2022, and thought I would share with you some of my hopes and plans for next year. New peaks await!
First off, I’ll finally have some new novel-length work for y’all. After my 2019 releases of Ithani and The Shoreless Sea, 2020 was all about going indie, with rereleases of my Oberon and Ariadne Cycles, and about going wide – taking my work out to all vendors and to bookstores via Ingram Spark. 2021 saw the release of my novel, Dropnauts, book one of the Redemption Cycle.
In 2022, I anticipate releasing not one, not two, but three new novels – the Tharassan Cycle books. The Dragon Eater will be first in the early summer, followed by The Gauntlet Runner and The Hencha Queen. This trilogy is an outgrowth of the world first depicted in The Last Run and later expanded upon in The Emp Test, but it’s not necessary to read those first.
I also popped my audiobook cherry in 2021 (through technically I suppose that happened with MCB’s release of The Autumn Lands in audiobook format in 2016) with two new audio releases – Cailleadhama and The River City Chronicles.
2022 will see that trend continue, starting with Dropnauts and then working through the Ariadne Cycle books next.
I will also continue to try to break into more magazines on the SFF circuit next year, and will likely publish a third collection in December.
Speaking of shorts, we recently announced the 2022 QSF Flash Fiction theme: Clarity. And we’re gearing up to release our second “World” anthology Save the World, after 2021’s Fix the World. STW will have a new short from me too, called Shit City.
Now onto my hopes. 🙂
The most likely one? The release of Marionettes in the Mist, an urban fantasy trilogy I wrote as a blog serial along with Angel Martinez, Freddy McKay, and Toni Griffin. This one will happen one of these days, and my fingers are crossed for next year.
I also will try to snag an agent for a third time with my next book – Coredivers, the follow-up to Dropnauts. The story revolves around the attempt to stabilize the Moon and save the city of Redemption, and there might be something else buried deep in the moon’s crust.
On the SFWA front, I’m the Indie Published Authors committee chair. In 2022, we’re launching the HARP program to help older and disabled authors to get their books back into print, and also wrapping up the year-long effort to build a new wing of the SFWA site with tips and help for indie authors.
Finally the crazy-aspirational.
Fingers crossed that Netflix (or Hulu or Apple or Paramount or Disney Plus … I’m not picky) calls me out of the blue to make a streaming deal for one of my trilogies. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
I love this time of the year, when I can look ahead to the next year and just dream – like that last hour before you have to get up and face the day.
So here’s to 2022, and the slopes yet to be climbed.
To my writer friends, what mountains will you climb next year?