The Year in Review and a Look Ahead

I began 2012 knowing that I had interested a publisher -- Aziza Publishing -- but without having an actual contract to publish my novel, Aure the Topaz. But we began negotiating a deal which I signed in April. Since then I've been through two rounds of edits and have reviewed a book design brief. I'm expecting book cover designs by the end of this week, after which we will discuss promotions, book tours, and hopefully a book trailer. My novel is due out within the next three months.

I also began 2012 with a nearly completed draft of Book 2, Vorn, the Onyx. I completed that book in September and put it away. I expect to submit the book to Aziza in 2013. The exact timing is unclear but I expect it will be in the second half of the year so we can all focus on selling my first novel.

A draft of Book 3 was in progress when 2012 began and I completed that draft in March. I've gone back since to revise the novel and to clean up parts that were vague or didn't seem to ring true. I expect that process will continue through 2013 and I don't expect to put this book away until Vorn is in Aziza's hands.

Book 4 was started this year and I continue to work on it. I expect to complete a draft of the novel in 2013.

2012 was also a busy time on the short story front. I completed six or seven short pieces over the summer and submitted the best ones into competition in September (four stories in all). I will hear back on these in 2013 and will release them to the public thereafter.

I released three new stories to Smashwords and Amazon and came to realize that I really need to give these stories away for now so that I can get people to read my work and recognize my name. This is all part of an overall plan to sell my novels. Later I will collect my short stories into a volume and sell them through a publisher of my choosing.

And I continue to write poetry. I've got about 25 poems now in my collection and I'm working toward a goal of 50 or 100 pieces so that I can release the work to the public. No date is set for this.

Happy New Year, everyone!

And keep writing.