Archive for December, 2020

from 2020 to 2021

Monday, December 28th, 2020

It feels funny to be talking about plans for 2021 after the chaos that was 2020, but to be honest things are looking great.

The 2020 retrospective

1. Well, the obvious big news of 2020 was undoubtedly the release of “The Dragon Run”! I’m very happy that I was finally able to finish, edit and deliver this on time for the release date that I had set, and I’m looking forward to the next one! Speaking of which…

2. The first draft of “The Kerguelen Cat” is DONE.

3. The pandemic lockdown caused a certain number of things to be delayed, chief among them the boat project, of course. However, I have good hopes of putting it back on track soon, because..

4. I got a new job! The offer came just before the Christmas break and I will be starting in January. I won’t go into specifics here, but the details will be in my LinkedIn bio when that happens if anyone’s interested in checking it out.

And coming in 2021…

1. Well, the new job is an awesome opportunity so I’ll definitely be looking forward to that.

2. “The Kerguelen Cat” is scheduled to come out on May 1st. I will be starting the editing process when I’m back from the holiday break, and it will then go to my editor in February. While it’s there, I’ll finalize the design of the cover, before putting the final touches.

3. The next WIP will not be an Ascalon Circle book! I will be working on the rewrites, edits and completion of my science fiction epic “The Uncertain War”, a work that’s been in progress since 1994 in various forms. It started off as a time travel thing inspired by Jurassic Park, and evolved into something completely different. If anything I’ve done so far can be called a magnum opus, it’s this bad boy. I don’t have a release date yet, but I’m aiming roughly at a rolling 2022 release schedule for the three volumes. Yeah, it’s a big one!

4. I will also order and supervise the translation of TDR to French for a release in Q4 2021.

5. Lastly, conditional on favorable post-covid conditions… I will finally get my hands on my dream boat, if it’s still waiting for me where I left it last March.

I might have other news, but these are things I’m not ready to share on this platform quite yet.

I feel fortunate and grateful that 2020 was not a bad for me as it was for others, and I realize how privileged I am to be able to say this, and that 2021 is looking brighter as the last days of the year pass by us. I am also grateful to everyone who bought my book or downloaded some of my free material, your support means a lot. A heartfelt thank you to all of you! I wish everyone a happy new year celebration, and a magnificent 2021!

The future is ours to take!

At the Bay

Tuesday, December 15th, 2020

Such a wonderful short-story… 💜

Mansfield’s style is so powerful it just makes me want to put away my keyboard and forget I even tried… It’s lyrical but direct, not a word is wasted, and images flow into your head as you read, building up this fantastic panorama of perspectives… And how it’s built, how it comes full-circle at the end, nailing a perfect landing… This is a creator in perfect control of their craft. Reading her is like listening to Haendel.
I’m rambling, but it’s because I’m speechless.