Sunday, December 13, 2009

The Year is Coming to a Close...

... and 2009 has been wonderful, for the most part. The third of the Legends of the Mountain State series has been well-received, and the first one is about to go into an unprecedented fifth printing. The success of the series has brought it back from the dead, so to speak, and there will be a fourth volume next year; I am currently working on a story for it now.

Appalachian Holiday Hauntings has also done quite well. I was honored when the organizers of the "One Night Without a Home" sleep out asked me to read "A Soul's Wage" during their program on Magic Island.

Leonard Cohen, You're Our Man has received great reviews and debuted on the Calgary Fiction bestsellers list at #5. It is an honor to be in that collection.

2009 brought rejections to submissions as well. My personal best was two rejections in one day. It's part of the job. There is nothing to do but send the work elsewhere and keep writing.

The lowest point of this year was of course the death of my grandmother. She was the only one of my grandparents to live long enough to see my writing take off, and she encouraged me and my work. I miss here.

2010, what a year it's going to be. I'm excited about the projects I am already involved in, and the opportunities that will present themselves over the coming year. One of them, which I can't talk about just yet, will be a milestone for my career. For this project, I will wearing the editor's hat for the first time. All I can say for now is that it will involve one of my passions:



Yeah, 2010 is gonna be amazing. I can't wait to see what happens next.