Three things to expect from me in 2026
Happy New Year!
If you’re reading this, I hope you’ve been able to see loved ones and stay fed and warm these past few weeks and have fun plans going into 2026.
At the start and end of the year I like to take account of what I’ve done in the bygone year and what I’m planning to do in the year ahead. At the end of 2024 I made a post pontificating on what comes next for me. At the time I said I wouldn’t be as full-steam-ahead with my writing as I wanted to focus on other facets of life. I also alluded to “another adult fantasy book” I’d like to write, but that—if I did—it would come much further down the line.
I think my goals and assessment for the year mostly bore out in 2025.
This past year, I released an audiobook edition of The Wilderlands, made an effort to make a little bit more of a foot print on social media, and took a crack at finishing Light Keeper Chronicle #2. A decision that was sort of implicit in my late-2024 post (and that I’ve been more explicate about since then) is a desire to make this whole self-publishing thing profitable enough to at least sustain itself—though that’s very much still in the works.
So here’s three things you can expect from me in the new year.
Expect to see me doing more events. One thing that was perhaps always obvious but became really apparent to me this year was that I meet more people and sell more books when I do events. Bookfairs, readings, pop ups, all that jazz. If I get in front of people I can generally sell a decent number of books over a couple of hours. I’ve registered to do at least a few more this year so hopefully that can get me in the habit of booking and attending these.
I will finish Light Keeper Chronicle #2. This one has been a goal the past couple of years—I’ve previously discussed how I’ve struggled to get things condensed to a reasonable length for book 2—but I genuinely feel good about having a finished draft this year. As of writing, I’m about 70% of the way through the story I want to tell and have about the same word count as the completed first book of the series. I’ve got about 20,000 more words to write and then I should be finished with this first draft and can start editing.
There will be no new novels published this year. Much as I’d like to make Light Keeper Chronicle #2 happen this year, time and money are positioned such that this simply won’t happen. That said, there is some stuff with short stories I’m looking at—both in that I’ve submitted a few to publications and I’m hoping to write some set in the world of The Wilderlands just to see if they feel substantive—so it’s possible there’s some new writing from me published this year. We’ll see.
Last couple of things I’ll say is that I’m considering going to just once per month with these posts soon. I’ll keep things biweekly for now, but I do want to find the balance for writing varied things but also keeping up with the novel writing I want to be doing.
Also, as I mentioned before, I’ve been making an effort to be at least marginally more active on social media, particularly Instagram. If you have any desire to follow me, my Instagram is here, my Bluesky is here, my Facebook is here, and my Twitter is here.
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Light Keeper Chronicle: The Unspoken Prophecy is available for physical purchase from Schuler Books, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon or wherever you read ebooks.
The Wilderlands is available for physical purchase now from Barnes & Noble and Amazon or wherever you read ebooks. The audiobook is also out now on most major platforms.