Some weeks take us across a threshold of self and when we emerge we are subtly changed in ways that are invisible from the outside. So it has been this week. I feel a bit unsteady, as if I were taking over someone else’s blog, but here I am, ready to show up for whatever comes and whoever I am.
Today will be a quick catch-up. My Thule collection is almost finished. I am working on the Foreword, Afterword, and Acknowledgments. All interior graphics are finished. The cover graphic has been done for quite some time. I expect to place it on Amazon within a week and elsewhere soon after. As an appetizer to hold you until the book is out, here is one of the graphics from the interior.
This one is for my personal favorite story in the collection, “The Ginger Gambit,” which received an Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest and has been improved since then by Mia Kleve (my editor) and the Boy Band (my critique group).
Yesterday I watched Mark Leslie Lefebvre on The Indie Author Podcast discussing going wide, vs. exclusive to Amazon and he convinced me to take the Thule collection wide. I’m easy to convince since I am not hurting for money and always prefer to keep my options open. If my life circumstances were different, I might make a different choice. If you are thinking on these topics, I recommend a viewing of his passionate rant on the topic.
Argosy planning is running a bit behind my self-imposed deadline of February 1, but is still very close. I anticipate starting on that day or a few days after. I’ll also be returning to my historical research for this period. Since it is a fantasy, I have a bit more latitude, but anything I can do to lend the story historical gravitas is something I want to do.
On February 1 I will be starting a sort of NaNoWriMo with a group of friends. My mission: Create a novel in 60 days. That novel is Argosy. But through it all, I’m going to keep in mind that the map is not the territory and the metrics are not the novel. This blog piece by Linda Maye Adams on The Deceit of False Victories gave me quite a bit to think about in this regard. I recommend it to you.
The Kickstarter for Steve Jackson Games’ Pyramid magazines concluded successfully with all stretch goals reached. We have an article in each of two of the magazines and are very happy that the project saw this kind of support.
We are reaching the end of January and I feel it has been a very good start to my personal year. I hope it has been personally good for you as well and has made you excited and ready for February and the rest of the year.
Be well, friends!