Tuesday 11 December 2018

2018: The Year of Distractions

Hello all and welcome to what was supposed to be an annual blog post, rounding up the year but, as it turns out, I've not posted anything since this time last year.
Oops, I've been distracted. So, what have I been doing?
First and foremost, I've had the joy of two stories being published.
Just out today on their website is Cleaning Up, from Fireside. It is a tale of those who protect our world and get no thanks for it.
Back in the summer I also had The Advantages of Unofficial Consultation published in the Magical CSI anthology by Otter Libris. This features, oddly enough, a couple of characters from Cleaning Up and their further adventures in getting ignored for the important job they do.
I'm deeply happy to see both of these stories out in the wild. It's a coincidence they feature some common characters, although it does tickle me.
I hope you like them too.
Other writing news has been less good. I've had many distractions this year that have stopped me getting stuck into a job lot of novel edits I have and the short stories I have written have not quite soared yet and I've struggled to get some consistent time on them.
My resolution, as much as you can make one, for next year is to mandate writing time and stop making excuses.
Of course, some of this year's excuses were brilliant. I got married in the summer, for instance, so I'm not going to lament that lost writing time too much.
Actually, getting married nearly derailed the publication of Cleaning Up. The lovely people at Fireside sent me edits on my wedding day and I had to do them while jetlagged in a Toronto hotel at three in the morning. Hopefully not so as you'd notice.
All in, a bit of quiet year, writing wise, coasting on the work I put in last year. Hopefully I'll put more effort in during the upcoming solar rotation.