Now that I think I’m finally in the habit of writing ’19 instead of ’18 (oh, who am I kidding, that’ll happen in April, at best) and all grandiose New Year resolutions have been discarded (I’m never going to learn the bagpipes…), it’s time to look ahead at what’s in the pipeline for this year:

Godlight Quakes the Electric Sky: This post-apocalyptic adventure novel is still in limbo, but rest assured that it’ll see the light of day eventually. When, however, I cannot answer. As any writer worth a spit can tell you, there’s no such thing as a final draft, just the latest draft. It’s at the “late” stage where it could be released right away or I may do another round of fine-tuning. I’m just not sure. I’ll update with anything further, but for now, it’s sitting nice and pretty and (im)patient.

Hopeless Harry: Anyone who read the latest Hopeless Harry novella is probably wondering what the heck happened there. Without spoiling too much, it all ends rather abruptly; right when the story finally seems to be kicking into gear, in fact. No, it wasn’t all the bastardization of a shaggy dog joke; it’s a pause, not a conclusion. The fifth and final chapter in the shambolic saga will be coming later this year. I plan to package all five into a full anthology of sorts and release that as a paperback prior to rolling out the final story individually as an e-book. Stay tuned for all that later in the year.

The Kingmaker from Badrin Falls: This is a fantasy story I wrote many years ago and had shelved before I ever started publishing. I’m currently in the process of reviewing the material and deciding what can be salvaged, scrapped and improved. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll go all the way with it; I may choose to toss it back in the bin rather than pursue it any further at this point. Or I may go all the way and have it ready by the end of the year. Again, I will update when updates are available.

Untitled Outer Space Epic: I’ll go into more detail about this one at a later date (I know, I keep promising rather than delivering in this post), but this one is still in the very early stages. Not counting Hopeless Harry above (which is too liberally connected and egregiously silly to be considered a “full story”), this will be the first multi-volume project I’ve worked on since my first published novels, the Blood-Dimmed Tide trilogy. No matter what happens with the other projects, nothing in this topic will see the light of day this year, but it’s in the proverbial workpile.

Additional Short Stories: Most likely, the first new release from yours truly coming in 2019 is a short story/novella called Remnant (about 9000 words). I have two other short stories in late-stage development, as well. One or both will also come out the same year. All three qualify as science fiction, though they’re each of different breeds. Remnant is set in a near-future world and deals with technology, dreams and melancholy. As for the other two, one is set in an alt-world and the other takes place in a less-recognizable future; they loosely explore memory and identity respectively, packaged as drama/thriller narratives.

Lastly, lest I be condemned as unaccommodating (perish the thought!), I feel that this is a good year to start imparting my literary arts wisdom upon my audience. Why not start right now? You’re welcome.

2019 Indisputable Writing Tip #1: When one feels the need to break the narrative fourth wall, an air chisel or reciprocating saw does the job better than sledgehammer alone. Always wear goggles and gloves while doing so.