This has been a challenging first five months of the year from the standpoint of being a writer. Much of that has to do with the lack of time for anything substantive as I rebuild the freshmen curriculum, constantly lesson planning new units for both the college prep and honors students.
Some of my free time has gone to being president of my HOA, where something new crops up demanding time and attention.
And frankly, more time than anticipated went into dual editing Turning the Tied for the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers and my own Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2021 for Crazy 8 Press.
But, I have not exactly been idle either. I seem to be incapable of being idle no matter how comfortable the upstairs library appears or the whispering of the books on the growing To Be Read Pile.
I have written several pieces for DC Comics, all but one of which will be seeing print. And I continue to do editorial consulting for their international department.
My longtime collaborator and friend, Mike Friedman, has something new cooking for Crazy 8. You should be hearing about it in the next few weeks but I have already written my contribution for it.
There’s also a short story I wrote last August for a project that was to be announced in the fall but kept getting delayed. Rumor has it, there should be an announcement in the coming weeks.
Last fall, I was asked to contribute to eSpec Books’ series of novels feature cryptids. The novels are part of Box Mountain’s cryptid crates but also sold separately under the NeoParadoxa imprint. This speaks to the former Managing Editor of Weekly World News and I couldn’t say no. I just had to find the time to do the research and come up with a story. Last weekend it was approved so it’s now on the summer writing schedule. I will be joining a fine collection of authors including John L. French, David Lee Summers, Patrick Thomas, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Ken Schrader, Carol Gyzander, and my fellow C8 pals Hildy Silverman and Aaron Rosenberg.
I have also been asked to pen a science fiction western for a forthcoming anthology, and I just need to find the inspiration for a rootin’ tootin’ star-spanning story.
The big writing project, which has been simmering on the back burner is a new SF novel, I was asked to collaborate on. I’ll talk more about this later, but it’s an ambitious high concept that I was handed for shaping and I hope I can bring some humanity to ground the big ideas. The outline is approved and the first chapter is done so this should pick up speed as school winds down.
Where’s the sixth and final 100 Greatest Moments book you wonder? The pandemic has had interesting ripple effects including this one being bumped a full year into 2022. I await a schedule so I can spruce up the 100 moments already selected and then get to work.
While there’s hasn’t been much to promote of late, I’ve been far from still. I am eagerly awaiting spending more quality time at the keyboard.
#Tags: 100 Greatest Moments: DC Comics Super-Heroines, Aaron Rosenberg, Carol Gyzander, David Lee Summers, DC Comics, eSpec Books, Hildy Silverman, International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, John L. French, Keith DeCandido, Ken Schrader, Mike Friedman, Patrick Thomas, Thrilling Adventure Yarns, Turning the Tied