Looking back, 2024 may have been the most eventful year of my career thus far.
First and foremost, I released my second novel, Rising Shadows, book two of the Sam Adams series. I’d never written a sequel before, and it was an often-difficult learning curve, but ultimately, the book dropped in April, and in some ways, writing my second book almost feels like more an achievement than writing my first. I guess you could say that it’s proof my first book wasn’t a fluke, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
I also did the first book signing of my career. I was pretty nervous, as can be imagined, but it was a success; going in with my expectations in the gutter, I ended up selling five books, and I really enjoyed interacting with my potential readers.
After hitting some serious doldrums last year, I saw a boost in sales, thanks to participation in three different sales of indie books: the Narratess Indie Sale, the Epic Sale of Beloved SFF Books, and the Indie Black Friday Sale. Also, I did a couple of guest posts for JamReads, as well as the first book review of my life, for Before We Go Blog. I never saw myself writing a book review, but I was glad I gave it a shot, and I think I’ll do it again sometime.
Recently, I was thrilled to get signed editions of Credible Threats onto the shelves of The Broken Binding. The Broken Binding features a ton of great books and authors, and I couldn’t be prouder that Credible Threats is joining their ranks. I’m hoping to get Rising Shadows available from them as well.
So, the question is, what happens in 2025?
First of all, I should back up a bit. After finishing Rising Shadows, I devoted all my energy to Sam Adams book three, Mysterious Ways. After several months of slow but steady progress, I completely cratered in the summer, and hit the worst stretch of burnout and writer’s block of my life. These long stretches of inactivity and frustration cast a pall on what was, on paper, a rather successful year. I wish I could say that I rallied and roared back to life; unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet, but the good news is, I’ve started making progress again, and the majority of the book is written. Despite the delay, it’s still on track to release next year.
I should also mention my next project: once Mysterious Ways is finished, it’ll be time to leave Williamsport behind for a bit, (and boy could I use the break) and dive into the first book of a brand-new series. It’s called The Shattered Crown, book one of The Voice in the Mist trilogy, and it’ll be my first foray into epic fantasy. I’ve teased this series several times in the past, but what’s previously been a dream is now taking its first steps toward becoming a reality, and I can’t wait for my readers to finally get to read a new story from me. You’ll get more details as the year goes on, and, at the risk of jinxing myself, I’m aiming for a release date of 2026. After that, it’ll be time to cue up Sam Adams book four, entitled… on second thought, you’ll have to wait and see.
A big, big thank you to everyone who’s supported me this past year. Onwards to 2025!