The 2021 edition of Eclectic Stories for Humans comes to a satisfying close with this issue. The year’s high point was the May release of my novel, Do It for Daisy by Level Best Books (LBB.) Not only has it been an excellent and informative experience working with the LBB owners, but my fellow LBB authors have greatly expanded my network of contacts and resources.
In November, I gave a book talk to a small group of women in Northern Virginia. I spoke about writing and how my novels evolved. It was a fun evening, and hopefully, I’ll earn a few reviews from the copies I handed out.
The year also saw the completion of my commercial fiction novel, The Man Who Fixed Things. My efforts to secure an agent were looking to be fruitless, so this month, I queried eight reputable small publishers to see if I could score a contract. I’ll self-publish the novel in June if a good opportunity doesn’t arise from my queries.
Here’s a late-breaking development. I learned about a service called Kindle Vella. It allows an author to sell their books on a serialized basis. I’ve pulled my dystopian manuscript, Next Hundred Years, off my hard drive and will send it out to the world as a serialized novel. I’ll release a chapter a week starting in January. Keep an eye out for my announcement.
The first installation of my Nic Knuckles series continues to progress. I’m at about 55,000 words, and the plot and characters continue to reveal themselves as I write. The style is a parody of crime noir/true crime, and that’s both unusual and risky. My goal is to offer it by March 2022.
Thanks to everyone who’s taken the time to check in on me. I appreciate the support, and hopefully, I’ve given you some good stories to read.