It only seems like yesterday we were welcoming in 2023 and now here we are in 2024. Where did the year go? 2023 may have gone fast for me because it was jam-packed with all sorts of things, including good vacations, fun bike races, and, of course, multiple book releases.
I looked back at my previous posts and was surprised I didn't do a year-end wrap-up this time last year. Maybe I was too busy? Anyway, I wanted to reflect a bit on last year's accomplishments and look at what's in store for this year, so here we go.
2023 RECAP
First, a quick look at my 2023 goals/release schedule:
- The Inversion Solution (The Alchemancer Book Three) - Released on 4/18
- The Assassin's Cunning (Assassin Without a Name Book Two) - Released on 7/18
- The Assassin's Dilemma (Assassin Without a Name Prequel) - Released on 9/19
It was important to release each book in my two series because, prior to 2023, it had been a very long time since I'd released anything. In 2015, I decided to take a break from writing to focus 100% on my software engineering career, which was really taking off at that time. Fast forward to 2022, and the time was right for me to put my 30-year engineering career aside to see what I could accomplish with my writing. In all, I cranked out 300,000 words in 2023, released two full-length novels, one short story, grew my Reader's Group considerably, solidified my writing and editing process down to the point where I feel I'm creating much cleaner prose with fewer editing passes needed, soft-launched my Patreon, and took part in a lot of good author collaborations that attracted many new readers.
I also started writing the fourth book in The Alchemancer series, The Alchemist's Forge. That releases the first part of 2024 and is included in my goals below.
Speaking of, let's jump right into my goals for 2024.
2024 RELEASE SCHEDULE & GOALS
- The Alchemist's Forge (release early 2024) - I'm about 60,000 words complete on the first draft, and all is looking good. I am a little concerned about the fast-approaching release date of March 19, but there's no doubt this book will be released in the first part of 2024.
- The Assassin's Code (release late 2024) - Early days for this. I'm tossing around ideas but won't start outlining until The Alchemist's Forge is out the door.
- Character Profiles - Given the rise of AI-generated art making this financially feasible, this is something I've wanted to do forever. These are sort of like NPC character sheets but feature select characters from my books. More on this soon.
- A new short story featuring Elizabeth West - Elizabeth or Liz is a favorite character of mine from the Nameless Assassin books. She's someone who deserves her own story or maybe even a full-length book someday.
- Make signed print books available via my store - This is in process and hopefully checked off soon.
- Patreon - I (quietly) started a Patreon and want to expand this throughout 2024. More on this soon.
- Continue growing my Reader's Group - I reached over 1,000 members in 2023, so why not shoot for 2,000 this year?
That's what I have for now. I'll revisit as the year goes on and provide updates on where I'm at in terms of accomplishing each of these.
Join my reader's group and get The Hall of Riddles (An Alchemancer Prequel) and The Assassin's Dilemma (An Assassin Without a Name Prequel) as a welcome gift.