2024 was a year without a major project on my To Do list. Part of that was because no one was asking for a major project and also, I had mentally reserved the summer to write something for myself.
But, I think I put too much pressure on myself to do something grand this past summer, waiting for inspiration to strike. I said I would revisit a handful of half-finished outlines to see if any of the sparked the imagination, but I never even opened them. Instead, I spent the summer on school stuff, launching the Kickstarter campaign for Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025 (on schedule for release in March), and writing short stories.
Maybe I just needed the break.
I managed three introductions for Urban Books’ Superman and Batman Chronicles series over the last 12 months. I also wrote a lengthy article about Crisis on Infinite Earths for Back Issue and a piece on the TV sleuth Banacek for RetroFan. Earlier pieces I wrote for both titles saw print this year, so I haven’t been totally absent.
I also wrote one short story, as usual, co-plotting it with Deb (our dog walks together are very useful). Hearts of the Abyss: Tales of Monster Love, edited by Evelyn Kriete, will be fully illustrated and will arrive in July. I am in some outstanding company: Christian Curry Akuna, Kevin J. Anderson, Kyle Arem, Satyros John Gregory Betancourt, Phil Brucato, Tatiana Carey, G.D. Falksen, David Gerrold, W.W. Jacobs, Matt Yang King, Ross E. Lockhart, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Steven Peros, Christina Rossetti, Mary Shelley, John Shirley, Bram Stoker, Emily S. Whitten, and Oscar Wilde. They are Kickstarting the project, which runs through January 20, 12:18 am EST.
Speaking of July, Cases by Candlelight Vol. 4 will also be coming that month, the latest in Christopher D. Abbott’s series of shorter Sherlock Holmes works. I wrote my contribution, my first Holmes work since the acclaimed Murder at Sorrow’s Crown, last summer and await my edits. I’ll be joined in this volume by Christopher, Aaron Rosenberg, and Hildy Silverman, all colleagues in Crazy 8 Press.
So, whatever happened to the Above the Ground trilogy? Well, my coauthor, Matthew Medney, left Heavy Metal and formed his own outfit, Gungnir Books. This all happened when the second volume was due out so it was placed on hold and the series got folded into Gungnir. Matthew has listed a new edition of book one for release on March 25. Last I heard, books two and three would follow either six months or a year apart. Either way, they’re written and paid for, and I hope they find an audience.
My one editorial project has stalled, as the author is running months behind the schedule he established with the publisher before I was hired on. I am hopeful that gets resurrected in the coming months.
It can’t entirely be a bad year when it ended with the release of the mammoth and gorgeous Superman: The Definitive History from Insight Editions. Coauthor Ed Gross and I did numerous podcasts and interviews, including a major online event hosted by my old friend Mark Waid. The reviews are trickling in, and they are everything an author could hope for.
I have reached out to a few people about possible projects, but the silence suggests there isn’t much movement in one way or the other. Instead, though, I finally have the beginnings of a new idea for an original novel (oddly, my first after all these years). Current events have inspired it, and slowly but surely, pieces are falling into place in my mind. I haven’t committed a word to paper yet, but it has…potential.
Will 2025 be a more productive, fruitful, or satisfying writing year than 2024? That’s hard to say at this point, but I am feeling optimistic.
#Tags: Aaron Rosenberg, Above the Ground, Back Issue!, Banacek, Cases by Candlelight, Christopher D. Abbott, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Ed Gross, Evelyn Kreie, Gungnir Books, Hearts of the Abyss, Hildy Silverman, Insight Editions, John Betancourt, Kickstarter, Mark Waid, Matthew Medney, Murder at Sorrow's Crown, RetroFan, Sherlock Holmes, Superman: The Definitive Historey, Thrilling Adventure Yarns