man standing in front of the big golden clockwork,illustration painting
Reading: In 2022, I read a lot.
That’s not a surprise. I have been doing that year after year without prompting or goals. My kindle app says I have been reading on it for 165 weeks in a row, which is over 3 years. This year, it says I read 65 books. That number does not include the books I read in paper, and on my Apple Books.
Standout Reads for 2022:
These books didn’t necessarily come out in 2022, it’s just when I got around to them and in many cases I was late to the party. I read a LOT of excellent books in 2022. These stood out for me because I couldn’t put them down. I didn’t want to eat, do laundry, walk the dog, anything. I was OBSESSED when reading these, which also meant I binged the series if there was more than one. This list does not include the non-fiction I consumed.
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry
- This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- Murderbot by Martha Wells
- The Unbroken by C.L. Clark
- Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews
Sometimes the book was so sad I almost couldn’t say I liked it, but it MOVED me and haunted me.
- Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Writing: In 2022, I wrote a lot of short stories.
That was a surprise. My goal for 2022 was to write 6 short fiction pieces. Between shorts, novelettes, and flash, I ended up at 15 pieces.
Ken and I wrote a couple of novels too, so that won’t change as I love long form writing and all the worldbuilding I get to do in that format! We are really proud of launching the world of Seattle Slayers with its gritty post-apoc Seattle landscape dripping with vampires and fae. We kicked off the series with Stakes and Bones, where Roxy goes through the Trials to make the squad. Roxy’s adventures continue with some shifter drama in Bricks and Murder.
2022 Short Fiction
The Jade Elephant Thief
A Little More Aloha (SOLD)
Salt, Blood, and Dreams
Twilight Bargain – Dario the Direwolf (with Ken) (PUBLICATION PENDING)
Koji and the Drumstick Thief (flash) (PATREON)
The Setting Sun (PATREON)
Charged Up
Shredded
Neighbors (flash)
Seeds (flash)
The Bell Tower of Xian (flash)
The Lost Ones of Earth and Sea (SOLD)
Workplace Incident (flash)
Suke and the Poachers of Fushimi Forest (flash)
A Slayer’s Yule (with Ken) (PATREON)
To give you some idea of my short story completion rate in prior years, in 2021 I wrote 3 short stories, and in 2020, I wrote 1. Prior to 2020, I couldn’t finish any. They always ended up being sprawling sagas that needed three volumes. So I tried to stay in my lane and write novels and novellas, since I had trouble with the short form. Ken and I did write 3 novellas in 2021, which was pretty on brand for us trying to write “short stories”. I mean, they were shorter. Just not short.
But I found a couple of things that worked for me (namely 3rd party deadlines) and in 2021 I dipped my toe in the water of writing short fiction. I actually finished a few pieces. I decided to double my output for 2022, but in fact tripled it. Basically I looked for interesting publications and anthologies to submit to and started working towards those goals. I am grateful to teachers and role models like Kris Rusch and Kevin J. Anderson who encouraged me.
One of the short stories I sold in 2021 was Dongzhi and the Last Huli Jing for the Winter Anthology that Kris Rusch edits. It was due by 11:59pm and I think I got it in by 11:52pm. For the record, I do not recommend cutting it so close to wire. It’s just that I started writing it after dinner the same night it was due. i had no idea what I was going to write or if I was going to try to submit something when it finally gelled for me. It ended up being 2200 words and now I look back and realize that was the moment I realized that I could finish a short story.)
When Tim Ferris talks about looking back through your calendar and picking out what triggered negative and positive emotions, I had trouble remembering the negative, but easily recalled the positive. I had the most positive boosts mentally in 2022 after writing the short fiction pieces and in some cases, selling them.
It’s pretty clear what I need to focus on in 2023. Keep writing short stories. Keep trying to find a home for them. As always, production and output are not my goal–just reaching readers and hoping they enjoy the stories is my goal. The output is a byproduct.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Reindeer head symbol concept illustration, gold deer icon made of realistic golden glitter dust on black background. EPS10 vector.
