Welcome to 2013, dear readers.
I've been really enjoying everyone's resolutions posts this year, but don't have much more to say here than what I did already. I really only have one overall resolution* this year: to play more. Which isn't to say I intend to do less work–I enjoy working (plus, I can't afford not to)–but that I want to have more time for play. This is harder than you think for someone who likes work and perhaps, at times, is guilty of saying yes too often. I suspect that won't change, but my plan is to say yes to Actual Fun Things Too. So there.
I sent off the secret book to mine agent on New Year's Eve, just barely making my own personal deadline. So now I'm trying to catch up on everything else–email, manuscript reading, etc. etc.–before I travel back to revisionland. If I owe you something, it'll be coming in the next week or two.
A few other things:
- I also have a literary resolution in terms of reading this year, which you can find over at the LA Times' Jacket Copy, along with 14 other people's. And, hey, it fits in with the other one too; approaching book selection as play now and again sounds like fun to me.
- Colleen Mondor's year-end reading round up is as wonderfully eclectic as always. I'd point to it anyway, as I always find new reads from Colleen's recs, but she also had some very kind words for Blackwood (made my day when I read it). And SFF reviewer Rob Bedford also kindly includes Blackwood in his year's favorites (day made again).
- And I'm particularly excited to be starting off this new year as an official guest author at the Bluegrass Writers Studio winter MFA residency this coming weekend in Lexington. Aforementioned lovely agent Jennifer Laughran will be there as well, so we can do a panel for students on Saturday. BUT there is also a free and open to the public reading event featuring yours truly that evening at 7:30 at the Hilton downtown. I'll be reading some combination of things–while I may read a snippet of Blackwood, I'll read from either The Woken Gods or the secret book too. And I'll be around after to chat and sign any copies of Blackwood people want (I believe there will be some for sale). All the details here. If you are local, there's lots of other great evening events happening too. So, check out that schedule.
And now I must crawl back into the catch-up cave.
*Other mini-resolution: Hopefully, at some point this year, I'll get my act together and find someone to help me give ye olde website/blog a makeover (problem is, I just want a design spruce and face lift, but I like typepad's back end and hosting *clings to what I know*). If you know someone or are someone willing to work within those parameters, lemme know. Though I probably won't be ready to tackle it for a couple of months yet.