Plans for 2020

A new year, and a new decade is coming up right quick, and it would be a shame if I let the momentum I've built up this year die down. For my fans though, fear not, because I have plans to continue pumping out stuff in 2020. Now, of course, as much as I wish otherwise, my writing is on the back burner to the day job and life, so I'll add the caveat that everything here is subject to change. Stuff may get pushed back by months or years, or get canceled entirely. These are the things I'm currently working on though, with an eye to finishing sooner rather than later. 

Cryptids

Cenote was always meant to be the first of a series based around cryptids. Creatures like Bigfoot, the Kraken, and other monsters reported to be true but always just out of sight. I'm writing this blog while taking a break from a piece tentatively titled "Burrows", which will be my second Cryptid novelette/novella. I'm working towards getting the first draft done before the new year, with editing and cover art finished in the first couple months. If everything lines up, "Burrows" should be out by March.

Audiobooks

PATHS does alright, but Cenote continues to do well, with the audiobook version of my first Cryptid work now up to 22 ratings and holding an average of 4 out of 5 stars. What I'm working on next is turning my most popular novel, Class 5 into an audiobook. This is a much more daunting task, since it'll be a 4 - 5 hour piece, and covers multiple characters. Right now I'm trying to pull out adequate parts to make an audition that will give narrators an idea of what they're in for, while letting me hear how they approach different situations and characters. I'm also expecting this to be available by the end of the first quarter of the year, so hopefully by April.

Likewise, if "Burrows" lines up and gets release in the timeline I'm hoping, expect the audiobook version to be available a month or two after the ebook. 

Short Stories

Short story collections are generally not a big seller, especially shorter collections. PATHS was always meant to only be a sampler, to introduce people to my writing style and approaches. It's also always been the weakest of my published works. So, while I'm not expecting it to be a big seller, I'm working on compiling a lot of the short stories I've released over the years into another collection. Most of them you can find here on my blog, but there's just something nice about having all of them, and possibly new stories, in one place. This isn't a priority though, despite how little work it would actually take, so if it comes to fruition, expect it probably around the summer. 

Novels

This is the one that's the most unlikely for the year. I'm working on a couple different pieces, but with everything else going on, getting them finished, edited, cover art, beta'd, and re-edited will probably take more time than I'll be able to allocate this year. Still, things change, and for those who are interested, I want to give you a little idea of everything I'm working on. The first will be another story set in the Class 5 world, titled Class 5: Hybrid. Expect to see a few characters return, and a deeper look into what's going on in the background of this world.

The other work is another Cryptid-based piece titled "Shivers". As you can probably guess, expect something cold. This may work out to be another novella-sized piece eventually, but right now with its plot written out, I think it'll be a full-sized novel. We'll see as work continues on it though.

As you can see, I have more than a couple irons in the fire, and here's hoping 2020 turns out to be as great a year as 2019 turned out to be. That's the thing about being a writer, it's about the long-haul and constantly expanding the backlist. A $100,000 advance would certainly be nice, but the odds of that have more zero's than the check would have, so it's best to keep plugging away at it, which is exactly what I plan on doing.

With that, have a happy and safe holiday season, and we'll see you next decade!

~ Shaun