This was 2012!!

Last year around this time I did a little post to wrap up the year, one of those "looking back" sorta deals. It was a nice way to put it all in perspective for myself, and it was an amazing year for me.

While 2012 didn't quite rock my world in the same way, it at least continued with me moving forward as a writer, defining my own personal mission statement, honing my craft, getting closer and closer to the writer I want to be. It saw some work that I'm rather proud of, and made me realize that it's okay to feel good about the direction I'm going in, even if I still don't feel that I'm THERE, 100 percent. But I reckon feeling like you're THERE is the proverbial Kiss of Death, right?

2012 saw the release of my second full length novel, CITY OF HERETICS, a bit of a departure from the meandering, Southern Gothic vibe of my first novel. CoH was tighter, meaner, more hardboiled (which seems to be the way my work has been going, of late). Working with Brian Lindenmuth  at Snubnose Press was an absolute joy.

In the same week that CITY OF HERETICS was released, my FIGHT CARD novella, "Bluff City Brawler", came out under the pen name Jack Tunney. I'm grateful to Mel Odom and Paul Bishop for taking a chance on me, as it stretched my writing muscles and gave me the opportunity to try something different. I enjoyed it, and my only regret is that "Bluff City Brawler" fell by the wayside until recently while I was busy promoting the full-length novel. Since it's been on sale these last few days for .99 cents, that issue seems to be addressed.

David Cranmer of Beat to a Pulp Press picked up the publishing rights to my Hawthorne stories, after my relationship with the previous publisher came to an end. David re-issued "That Damned Coyote Hill", as well as "The Long Black Train" and "The Spider Tribe", and I'm pleased to tell you that we have a terrific working relationship based on respect and friendship. I just really like the guy, and there's more Hawthorne to come.

I'm wrapping up the year with a new story for an anthology from Andrew Nette and Crime Factory (that picture at the top is a major clue!), and a new Gideon Miles novella for Beat to a Pulp; both of those should be out early in 13, as well as a couple of short stories here and there.

I'm learning that this writing gig, especially when you're laboring away in the small presses, is a marathon, not a sprint. Way back in January of this year, I asked my friend Vincent Zandri how he manages to sell so many books, and what he told me struck home: "Keep writing them," he said. "Keep writing them and putting them out, and make sure they're ALL the best work you're capable of." Good advice, that.

So I'll keep writing them, and I'll keep putting them out, one way or another. And I promise you, they will ALWAYS be the best work I'm capable of.

Thanks for reading, friends. Have a great new year!