As 2014 winds to a close, I must send out a heartfelt “Thank you!” to all the readers who have supported me this year, as well as the friends and family who supported (and massively contributed to) the work required behind the scenes.
I completed one novel and one set of short stories this year, and I am very close to completing my second novel. I never thought I would write a work of fiction that people would actually read, much less praise. This year, I’ve seen a massive increase in sales and downloads, and a large number of positive reviews. THE OASIS OF FILTH not only hit #1 on the bestseller list for its category, but also became a Top 100 book overall. And it won the Red City Reviews award for best sci-fi of 2014. Wow. Again, thanks.
So, while I don’t make usually New Years Resolutions, I do have a number of things I want to accomplish in 2015.
First, I want to complete my second novel and get it released. I’m very pleased with the book and very excited to see what reaction it gets from readers. And, more importantly, it’s close. I can practically smell the end of it, a dry smell of wind whipping over sand dunes and walls of orange rock. Something’s going to happen very, very soon. The wind’s picking up.
Second, I have not one, not two, but three other novels firmly in mind that I desperately want to complete (not even including ideas for another John Black book). They are:
- ANGEL OF THE BORDERLANDS – Based on a true story, this is the tale of mysterious happenings along the Texas-Mexico border in the mid-1970s. Locals talk of a beast that has beset the area, taking livestock and causing havoc, but police officer Danny Mendoza has too many personal issues on his mind to care. After a face-to-face encounter with something he can’t explain, Danny visits his pastor, a man he rarely sees, who tells him an angel has come to fix the world and its sins. An angel of death.
- WHITE FIRE – In my short story collection, THE FINGERS OF THE COLOSSUS, the tale of Huldrych the mage was begun, starting with his expulsion from Atys and his eventual saving of that same city. WHITE FIRE continues Huldrych’s tale, as he faces off with the Ku Suru once again, though now they have changed. After all, now they know his secret power.
- CORD WOOD – The story of THE OASIS OF FILTH is over. And for most people, the threat of the disease is gone, too. But the balance is fragile when trying to rebuild. Celia discovers all too clearly how difficult and deadly the world still can be, finding herself back on the road and back in a familiar disguise. Salvation no longer seems to be an option. All that we can do is just survive. All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive.
And yes, that last one is my major announcement — a new OASIS book, fully independent from the first (meaning you can read this one even if you never read the first, but of course the richness of the story will be enhanced significantly by knowing both). Celia is her own person and has her own story. I don’t think it’s what you expect. And it doesn’t end in Maryland.
So… finish and release one novel: okay, that’s doable. But complete (and polish and release?!) three more? That’s likely to be on the order of 240,000 words (minimum, I’d guess).
365 days in the year 2015.
240,000 words.
That’s only 658 words a day. Every day. I can do that. (I actually have a standing goal of 1,000 words per day, but you can imagine my current success rate.)
Still, I can do it. If I really, really try. And I really, really want to.
So here’s my New Years Resolution: four new novels released in 2015. FOR I COULD LIFT MY FINGER AND BLACK OUT THE SUN, ANGEL OF THE BORDERLANDS, WHITE FIRE, and CORD WOOD.
…Dear God, what have I done?