Happy New Year Everyone!

There is something about the new year that makes us hopeful for the future. Like many, I pen lists of resolutions and plans for the year, hoping that at least some of them will come to pass. This year is no different. I have new plans for my writing in general and for No Wasted Ink.

2017

2017 was an interesting year for me as a writer. My main event of the year was to attend the Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop in Lawrence, Kansas during the month of June. It was an intensive process. I spent six weeks preparing three short stories for the workshop and then traveled to Kansas to stay for two weeks in a dorm room while the workshop was conducted. For the most part, there was little new information about the craft of writing for me. However, I enjoyed the insights provided by the guest instructor, Pat Cadigan. A cyberpunk author and cancer survivor, she was a laugh-a-minute force of nature and a “bad influence” on budding writers. James Gunn, the scholarly founder of the school, gave one of the more inspired lectures on creativity that I’ve heard in a long time. Being an intuitive writer myself, his words hit close to the mark with me. I’m not sure if I would do another of these sort of workshops again, but I’m glad that I went at least once to see what all the fuss is about.

I haven’t been completely away from writing during the second half of the year. After the positive comments I received from Pat Cadigan and others about my original YA science fiction short story,  I decided to expand the story to novel length and use it as my Nanowrimo project for 2017. It is still in the draft stage and retitled  “Martian Dancer”.    Another of my stories from the workshop won an Honorable Mention at the Writers of the Future Contest for the 3rd Quarter of 2017. I plan on submitting the story to pro-market magazines this year and hope to find it a good home.

I made one personal appearance in December. I was one of three panelists at the Pipe and Thimble Bookstore. The author panel was about “Simple Futures: Writing Low Tech Set in the Future”. The panel was recorded and is available via the bookstore’s Facebook page. Many thanks to S.A. Gibson for setting up the event.

As you may have noticed, the second half of 2017 saw a decrease in posts here at No Wasted Ink. Between Nanowrimo and my duties as ML for my local region, intensive revising of “Christmas in Kellynch” (the sequel to “The Curate’s Brother”), and a few health issues, I’ve had to step back from my usual posting schedule along with personal appearances at conventions, book fairs, and readings. Thankfully, my strength is returning and I hope to get back to a more normal schedule this coming year.

2018

One of my main goals for the New Year is to return to regular postings here at No Wasted Ink. I have a few changes in the posting line up, but the main change will be a return to the old frequency of three posts per week. (Fingers crossed)

There will still be Writer’s Links on Mondays. This series has been one of the most popular on my blog and I intend to keep it intact. You will see a new Link posting next Monday right on schedule.

Wednesdays used to be Book Reviews of classic science fiction novels, author interviews, and writer infographics. Unfortunately, while I enjoy writing the book reviews, they take a great deal of energy and research time. I am taking them out of the rotation. Instead, I am replacing them with flash fiction stories. These stories will be reprinted originals or based on the characters from my published and upcoming novels. Think of them as little previews of what is coming down the pipeline. The infographics will remain on the same schedule as last year. The author interviews that appear twice a month on Wednesday will remain the same.

Fridays are going to be unchanged on the schedule, but the change is more that posts will return! A mix of my illustrated scifaiku poetry, essays by me, and guest posts from authors about science fiction/fantasy related topics or the craft of writing. I have several awesome guest authors lined up. I hope you will love them.

One of my stories, “We Can Rebuild Him” published in the Sikk Publishing Horror Anthology “Murder They Wrote” in December of 2017. I will be doing a live reading of the story at Lit Up OC either in January. Details will be on my appearances page and announcements will be made on Facebook and Twitter as we get closer to the event.

No Wasted Ink’s Quarterly Newsletter

While I have not been a frequent newsletter writer, I am hoping to get this project more up to steam. If you are on the mailing list, you should be getting a newsletter this month and then once a quarter as planned. Details about my upcoming book launch and more about the direction of the blog will be included.

Book Launch

Finally, I have plans to launch “Christmas in Kellynch”, the long-awaited sequel to “The Curate’s Brother”, on February 16th. I have a table in the dealer room at Gallifrey One (Feb 16-18), the Dr. Who Convention in Los Angeles, CA and I’ll bring plenty of fresh paperback copies of my new regency novel, which I autograph with a smile. I should have a few copies of “Murder They Wrote” the horror anthology and “Quantum Visions 6” the science fiction anthology also available. Look for the table with the Celtic tablecloth and fire-breathing dragon.  I hope you will consider stopping by my table if you are attending the convention.

UPDATE: I’m afraid the new regency is taking a little longer to finish than I suspected.  I will not have paperbacks available at Gallifrey One this year.  I apologize to anyone that was looking forward to an autographed copy this year.  I should have the book ready by the end of February and available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.  I’d rather release a few weeks later and have a good book for you to read, than rush it and come up short.  So I thank everyone for your continued patience with me.