Okay, that was weird… And it looks like 2021 is going to be more of the same, for a while anyway. As to getting back to normal; what’s ‘normal’ going forward?
About this time of year, every year, I try to step back and review what I’m doing, where I’m going, that sort of thing. Obviously, the exercise last year did not factor in COVID. But then neither did most governments either and they actually knew what was coming (or would have if they had been paying attention); I’ll leave it for historians to decide how many of our ‘dear leaders’ have got blood on their hands. This isn’t a discussion for these pages. If I wanted to waste my life blogging about politics – which I don’t – I’d never get any books written or stories told.
Read ‘The Honourable Member’ if you’d like to know my thoughts on the British political scene. We elected a muppet and a bunch of glove puppets in 2019 and they’ve performed exactly as one would have expected the cast of a puppet show to perform when suddenly confronted by a world crisis. Enough said.
Anyway, I’d much rather talk about ME.
In 2020, locked down most of the time because COVID would have, and still might, kill me given my age, existing health conditions, et al, I produced about 800,000 publishable words (5 full-length novels, 2 novellas and worked on three other projects, as well as making a big effort to get as many of my books into audio format as possible and discovered several brilliant new audio partners for the future).
So, this means I’m sorted for 2021 up to the release of HALLS OF MONTEZUMA in July 2021. Also, I have projects lined up or ‘in the can’. That said, real life has asserted itself in the last couple of months (no, I won’t bore you with my troubles, suffice to say they have and will impact my work for a while most likely) so some of my plans for this year are looking a bit threadbare at the moment, especially beyond the summer.
Specifically, looking at the Timeline 10/27/62 books I had hoped to release this coming autumn (October) they will almost certainly be delayed, probably until 2022.
I had planned to put SMOKE ON THE WATER (Book 17) and CASSANDRA’S SONG (Book 18) out together; again, this may not be feasible. So, I may have to settle for putting them out as close together as is manageable. But as I say, it is looking like this will be in 2022, not later this year.
Apologies, but s**t happens and there is not much I can do about it so, the thing is to make the best of it and hope not to upset too many people!
Because there is unlikely to be a Timeline 10/27/62 release this autumn and I’m an indie writer who does this to make my living (as well as for fun), I’ll – most likely, I’m still thinking about it – fill the gap between HALLS OF MONTEZUMA which publishes on 20 July 2021, and the next New England Series Book scheduled for January 2021, with a project I’ve had in the can for a while.
More about that soon, hopefully.
Then, in 2022, I plan to pick up the Timeline 10/27/62 Main Series (SMOKE ON THE WATER and CASSANDRA’S SONG ought to be ready by then), and carry on developing this series as planned.
When STUMBLING TOWARDS THE EDGE (un-numbered but really Book 15.5) and ARMADAS (Book 16) come out in April 2021, I’ll be two thirds of the way through the narrative arc which commenced in Book 10 (CROW ON THE CRADLE).
Don’t worry about me giving up on Timeline – no chance! Book 17, 18, 19 and 20 are scoped out – I already have the artwork – and I have a concept for a ‘this is the story so far’ standalone book, more ‘shorts’, novellas, etcetera and ideas as to how to carry forward the narrative with the existing dramatis personae thereafter.
A PROMISE: THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY WHATSOEVER OF ME LEAVING THE TIMELINE STORY HANGING, OR WALKING AWAY FROM IT!
Apart from anything else, I’m having too much fun and as I always say – tongue-in-cheek – I want to know what happens next!
January 2021