Short Stories
I wrote/published several shorts as ebooks in the early months of this year. As has been my habit, these are mostly works of fantasy. I had a lot of fun stepping into the realm of the short story late the previous year. It was a move I was spurred to take when I discovered the writings of Dean Wesley Smith and his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Both were long-term writers who had a very no-nonsense take on writing and the publishing industry. They were also among those pros who had started exploring the new world of publishing that was developing due to the introduction of the Kindle and the explosion of the ebook industry as a whole. I owe them both a continuing debt of gratitude.
Here are the short stories I published (All are available on Kindle, Nook, and via Smashwords for most e-reader file types):
January 9: The Swordsmen Of Calabray; January13: Land of Broken Dreams, Fall Of the Witch-King, A Previous Engagement, Agent Of Change; January 14: Ghosts Of America; January 16: Five Stories: Volume One; February 4: Five Stories: Volume Two; February 10: Whispers In The Dark; February 24: The Oracle Of Sadeer; March 2: Chasing Demons; March 3: The Shaldar's Pride; March 17: Five Stories: Volume Three; March 23: A Perilous Fight
Nonfiction Books
I also published three nonfiction books this year. Two of them (Remember The Ride on January 16 and Kicking The Odds on April 11) were contracts I had to get other people's stories into book form. They were great experiences. The other, On The Path on February 16, was a collection of posts from this website that collected some of my insights as a freelance writer. It was released as an ebook only.
I learned a great deal from transforming the notes and ideas of real stories or helping my clients shape their ideas or experiences in ways that would work best within the book form. I know that I would like to do other books like this. I also know that I will write nonfiction books of my own again. There are so many ideas worth exploring that my biggest problem will probably be choosing between them and spending the requisite amount of time to organize such thoughts and ideas into a cohesive structure so that I can write a book that makes sense.
Fiction: Novels and Novellas
This year marked the debut of my solo long fiction works. While last year's co-authored venture, Autumn Sky, was a nice entrance, I think the release of my first completed novel, my oldest work, Cries Of The Faithless on June 16, was a very big milestone. It was the realization of a dream for me. It allowed me to move on to other novels and other works of fiction. I do hope to return to the world that story takes place in, I also hope to share some of the other stories that have been stewing inside.
I followed up the release of Cries of the Faithless with the novella, Helioclypse on June 26.
During the rest of the summer I completed and published the novella, The Cursed King, on August 4, and my second full-length novel, A Kingdom Of Shadows, was released on September 11.
I've started some novels and novellas but none of them have taken hold so that I can write them to completion. There was been plenty of internal distraction in this writer's life but with any luck, I can get on a new track to adding to my portfolio of finished books and stories. My hope is that fiction will be one of the largest factors in my future output. I would be tempted to call 2013 the year of the novel, a productive year wherein I will produce nothing but new novel-length manuscripts and keep myself busy with publishing them. I won't make any firm pronouncements.
My readers can be assured that I will keep you updated on the various happenings. I have a good feeling about the new year.
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