Hello fans, it's been a while since I updated this thing, so I thought I'd let everyone know what's going on with my upcoming works and appearances.
First of all, as many of you know, Covid hit my business pretty hard, as True Colors came out only a few months before the lockdowns, which effectively cancelled events for a couple years. I've been back out on the trail, appearing at young writers conferences, comic cons, fan conventions, and other fun events where you might catch a glimpse of me and pick up a long-awaited copy of my second book. I have a pretty full schedule of events coming up for the rest of 2023, so I'll update soon with that calendar. And International Talk Like A Pirate Day is coming up again in a couple weeks, so you'll be able to order a discounted, signed copy off this website during that whole week!
Secondly, life has thrown a couple other curveballs my way on the personal and family fronts, and owing to the costs associated with this perfect storm of trials, I've both moved and taken a day job once again. You need not worry that this will impact my appearance or release schedules too much--certainly not more than the last few years shortfalls have--but some of the long-weekend events might see me a little less often.
Thirdly, I've been working on some non-fiction concurrently with the final volume of Brethren of the Spanish Main. The Narcissism to English Dictionary is coming along, and I'm primarily working on seeking either a traditional publishing route for it or finding a successful strategy for high-visibility self-publishing for it, depending on what kinds of response I get from the industry professionals. Non-fiction represents a significant portion of the work I intend to do moving forward, and I've been itching to get moving in that direction. I hope all my pirate fans will follow some of my forays into that arena, and I have a sci-fi novel in mind to work on down the line as well.
All of this amounts to me taking some time to reboot nearly every area of my life, so while there has been less writing time than I'd like, be assured that the time is being applied towards my goals and my projects. I am also working my way through a course I purchased a few years ago to help generate visibility and perhaps relaunch both my current books as well as make more of a splash when my next work is released. I'm looking forward to interacting more with many of you online and via podcasts than I have in some time as well, and I've got a few projects in that direction on my to-do list for sure. Sometimes we have to build a little stability into our lives in order to keep forward momentum towards our goals, and other times those goals are best put on hold to build the right kinds of stability, or we fly apart at the seams recklessly meeting deadlines that our chaotic life spaces can't support. Quite a few artists have this notion that you have to keep up the pace no matter the cost. I like to think that the quality of art is a function of the life that cultivates it, and I'll pick that over quantity any day. But I still don't want to keep you all waiting, so onward I push with my whole self as you (and I) all deserve.
