Happy Different Year!
Well, who’d have thought it? Here we are, a week or so into 2012 and as good a time as any to list my hopes and dreams for the forthcoming twelve months, as well as an opportunity to look back over the previous year.
2011 was a good year for me. I wrote a couple of dozen new stories, many of which have found homes in various anthologies, magazines and websites. I’ve had some very promising feedback on those stories that have seen the light of day, but I am also keeping some of them back for one of the projects I have lined up for 2012.
Last year saw the publication of no fewer than four anthologies and two magazines containing my stories and, indeed, the shelf in my house containing my own material is getting more and more full by the months. I’ve also been editing an anthology entitled 100 Horrors, being the first release from Cruentus Libri Press based here in my home town of Birkenhead, which adds another string to my literary bow and could well be the first release that bears my name on its cover, albeit in my role as editor.
100 Horrors is my first big project for 2012. It’s a chance to make a bit of cash and to see my name in lights – what writer could hope for more? The second is Dark Lightning, my first solo anthology, compiling all of my completed pieces of flash fiction, published and unpublished, into one easy to manage collection. 100 Horrors is slated for an early-February release, whilst Dark Lightning is pencilled in for May 2012, which leaves me with a good seven months to rest on my laurels…
Yeah, right.
I’m not one for making resolutions but I feel impelled to make one this year. 2012 is the year I complete (and hopefully publish) my debut novel. 2011 has been spent cranking out flash fiction like it’s going out of fashion and, as much fun as that is, it’s never going to pay the bills. If I’m going to live the dream and become a full-time, professional, published author, then full-length novels are where it’s at, baby.
So, when my first anthology as an editor and my first solo anthology as a writer have hit shelves and online stores across the globe, it’s going to be time to roll up my sleeves, crack my writing knuckles (that image sounded so much better in my head) and get stuck into my first novel.
In five or ten years (or however long it takes) I want to be able to point to 2012 and say “Yeah, man – that’s where it really started!”
I hope you’ll join me for the journey.
