2023 Writing Goals

Well, things were going well, writing-wise, through most of 2022. Hoping to get some more momentum going on these, so here are my goals for 2023:

1. Complete the first draft of my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. I am currently at about 30K words. I have a good idea of the path I want the story to take, so now it's just a matter of getting the writing done.

2. Complete the first draft of Tempted, the second title in my new Demonkiller series. I am only at 20K words on this one, but have a rough plot outlined for this one. Hoping to be able to sit down and get the writing done on this one as well.

3. Re-publish and re-brand my two short story collections, Dead or Alive and Dirty Dozen. Not sure what my convention schedule for this year is going to look like, but hoping to have them available in the near future.

Here's hoping that I can get some time to complete these goals this year.

2022 Writing Goals Review

Well, 2022 was a fairly productive year, although with two novels in work, not a lot was completely finished. Combine that with work stresses and several items around the house that needed to be addressed, it was good that I could get some work accomplished on the goals that I did. Here's the recap for how things went against my 2022 goals.

1. Complete the first draft of my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. 

Didn't finish the first draft of this novel, but I have been working on it throughout the year. Now up to around 30K words and have a good handle on the direction I want to take it, including the ending! 

2. Complete the first draft of my second title (Tempted) in my new Demonkiller series.

Didn't finish the first draft of this novel, but like Before the Dawn, I have been working on it throughout the year. Will be interesting to see which of these novels ends up finished first. Now up to around 20K words.

3. As the rights from Dead or Alive have been returned to me, it's time to re-publish and re-brand my two short story collections. 

Didn't get this finished this year. No excuse, just didn't.

A follow-up post for my new goals will be coming soon. Hoping to gain a little momentum and have 2023 be an even better year.

"Turnabout" is Fair Play

 It has been a great long while since I've posted, and even then, most of those had been my regular writing goals posts (end of the year posts are coming soon). But I'm happy to announce that my latest Aston short story "Turnabout" will be published soon in a magazine. It has been over a decade (11-12 years?) since my last official magazine publication, so pretty excited about that. Will let everyone know when it comes out (e-published and print both).

Readers of my very first short story "Little White Truths" (in the now-defunct Ray Gun Revival, issue #33 - also re-printed in the Aston short story collection Dead or Alive) will be in for a special treat with this one. It's been over 15 years since that one came out for the first time, so if you've forgotten the story, go back and re-read it in preparation for the new story arriving.

2022 Writing Goals

Well, I neglected to put out a set of goals in 2021, and almost did the same here in 2022. I guess it's only a month late (not making excuses, but the past month or so has been a train wreck, health-wise). Here they are:

1. Complete the first draft of my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. I have several chapters written on this one, so I am expecting to finish this goal. That said, I have been "pantsing" this story, which has not turned out that well for me so far (Some good material, but it seems to be wandering a lot with no real direction).

2. Complete the first draft of my second title (Tempted) in my new Demonkiller series. I do have a rough plot outlined for this one, so planning to flesh that out a bit more, and then start in on the draft. Stretch goal will be to get it published this year, but we shall see how things go the next few months.

3. As the rights from Dead or Alive have been returned to me, it's time to re-publish and re-brand my two short story collections. Planning to get that done this year as well. Perhaps in time for Air Cap in November.

Completely doable, so now it's just a matter of bearing down and getting on these goals.

2021 Writing Goals Review

As I came back to my blog, I realized that I never did set up goals for 2021, but since I didn't do much in 2020 anyway, I'll just base my review on my 2020 goals. Hopefully I will come back and set up a new post for my 2022 goals before long.

1. Publish my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn.

Still didn't do much on this novel, but I have started to work on getting some momentum the past month, so hopefully I can get that rolling this next year.

2. Publish my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP (which still needs a title).

I did actually complete this one, publishing my new novel Chosen around Halloween this past year. I have started on a general plot for book two, tentatively entitled Tempted.

 
 

 
3. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. .

Didn't write a single word on this novel this year, and likely will drop it from next year's goals, since I'll be focused on the other two novels mentioned above.

4. Write two more Aston West short stories and publish another triple-shot.

Didn't get anything more written on any Aston short stories. I may want to think about working some of these, to get back into Aston's world while trying to gain momentum on the next novel.

Here's to 2022 being a good year.

Shell Games Excerpt

With recent national events, it seemed as good a time as any to dust off an old excerpt from my short story "Shell Games" for your perusal. Want to check out the full story? Catch it as part of the Dead or Alive collection from ResAliens Press!

The hatch slammed shut before I’d even finished, leaving me no choice besides pushing my way through the thickening crowd. Sadly, they had no manners and my legs ended up getting hit so many times I lost count.

Along the edge of the corridor, near the outer hull, a middle-aged man jumped atop a platform. “Ladies and gentlemen, I ask for but a few moments of your time.”

Many had come specifically for this show, or whatever it was. At least they seemed to, since everyone stopped right in place, making it tough for me to keep moving.

“Are you tired of scrounging for meals to eat, a bed to sleep in, a job to find and keep?” Heads in the crowd nodded, while some in the audience verbalized their agreement. It only bolstered the speaker’s rhetoric. “Well, I have a proposal which will give you all three in one!”

His comments stank as if they’d come from a used starship salesman and made me scramble for the exit. “Sign up now, and you’ll never have to worry about any of that ever again.”

The crowd erupted. I turned and watched him yank an electronic pad from his belt as several drew closer to the elevated stage. They lined up to stamp their thumbprint on whatever he was offering. Then the deal-maker directed them toward a corridor where I presumed his ship was docked. Every single one of them sprinted off toward the paradise presented.

I shook my head and continued on my way. Some people were just naive. These types of offers weren’t made out of the goodness of one’s heart.

“You there!”

My eyes went wide, but I kept moving. I knew better, but wanted to assume the slimeball wasn’t addressing me.

“Grab him!”

Now past the outskirts of the main crowd, I picked up my pace. Before I made it through the emergency bulkhead hatch, a bald, muscle-clad enforcer blocked my escape.

“I’m leaving.” It wasn’t a request for permission, but a statement of fact. I only wished I’d broken the rules, both the station’s and my own, and had my Mark II blaster on me. From the look on this beast’s face, it didn’t look like this behemoth and I were going to be getting along all too well.

His bronzed face sneered as he grumbled. “You’re staying.”

“If you think so...” I continued forward, but he shoved me back. Anger boiled up through my body, tempered only slightly by the tinges of pain running through my leg.

“Local ordinance says you have to stand here and listen until he’s finished.”

I narrowed my eyes, but the confidence on his face told me it wasn’t deception. And it always amazed me how people wondered why I despised politicians.

“Bring him up!”

I turned and stared down the leader of this mess with a growl. “I suppose there’s a law that says I have to?”

“You catch on fast.” The enforcer put his meaty paw on my arm, and I jerked away. Hobbling up toward the leader of this sideshow didn’t stop the beast from following every step I took.

2020 Writing Goals Review

Well, as you can imagine, 2020 was pretty dismal all around, and writing goals were no exception. I did end up getting a lot of final edits finished on my Demonkiller novel just today, so here's hoping that I can keep the momentum going into the new year. Here's the recap for how things went against my 2020 goals. A follow-up post for my 2021 goals will be coming soon.

1. Publish my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn.

Didn't even finish a first draft of this novel, and unfortunately didn't touch this novel at all in 2020.

2. Publish my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP (which still needs a title).

Getting closer on this one, but about 2/3 of the way through the final edits. Will then send it out for beta feedback.

3. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. .

Didn't write a single word on this novel this year.

4. Write two more Aston West short stories and publish another triple-shot.

Didn't get anything more written on any Aston short stories. However, I did end up publishing a collection of Kasey Reynolds short stories, so it wasn't a completely blowout this year.

So, again, here's hoping for 2021 to be a better year.

Crossfire & Other Stories

Sorry for the long delay in posting...this year has been a bit of a mess.

Although most of you know me through my Aston West novels and novellas (through other threads around here), and the short stories I have in a couple of collections, I do write other material. Finished up another collection of stories recently, set in the same universe, but focused on a different character who made an appearance in "Entrapment" (one of my Aston stories).

So, head on by and check out my first Kasey Reynolds action pack. Blurb below:

Kasey Reynolds was one of the universe's premiere fugitive apprehension agents. After a particularly troubling failure on what should have been an easy job, Kasey's life and career begin spiraling out of control as she tries to find more work and discover more about what makes her who she is. Follow along on this series of five adventures featuring Kasey as she learns more about herself than she may be willing to admit.

 

2020 Writing Goals

Well, since 2019 was such a dismal outing on the writing front, this year's goals are going to look a lot like last year's. Here's hoping I'll be able to complete a few of these goals this time around.

So, here goes:

1. Publish my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn.

2. Publish my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP (which still needs a title).

3. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel.

4. Write two more Aston West short stories and publish another triple-shot (my most recent one featuring Sweet Embrace came out back in 2015).

2019 Writing Goals Review

Well, the year is coming to a close today, and sadly, this year has been pretty disastrous. Several factors contributed to that, I imagine, but those just happen to be excuses for not reaching my goals. So, for now, we'll recap how things went against my 2019 goals. A follow-up post for my 2020 goals will be coming soon.

1. Publish my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. I plan to complete a first draft by the end of May, so that I can work on edits and hopefully have it out to the public sometime by the end of the year. I have some momentum going on this one, so hopefully things will move according to plan.

Didn't finish my first draft by the end of May (or anytime this year), so didn't get the new novel published.

2. Publish my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP (which still needs a title). I would like to need to try and finish my edits by the end of March, so that I can get beta comments back in June, and then hopefully have this available by November in time for Air Cap Comic Con. This might be a bit sporty, considering how rough the first draft was.

Still only about halfway through my first round of edits on this one.

3. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. I anticipate this being finished before the end of December at the earliest.

Didn't write a single word on this novel this year.

4. Write three Aston West short stories. I would like to finish these by the end of the year, and hopefully I can get back on track with my triple-shots (my most recent one featuring Sweet Embrace came out back in 2015). I used to be able to write these fairly quickly, and have gotten out of practice. So, here's hoping that I can get back in the groove.

Did complete the first draft of one of these stories, and started on a second.

So, as I alluded to, it was a pretty dismal year. Here's hoping this next year works out better.

July 2019 Writing Goals

Well, six months in, and this past month was pretty much a waste, but hopefully things will improve soon.

So, here are the results for June:

1. Complete first round edits on 18 chapters of the first Demonkiller novel. - Only got through reviews of six chapters, but no true editing.

2. Complete work on getting my four Aston novels onto other platforms such as B&N, Smashwords, etc. - The series novels have been placed on B&N, but no other platforms.


So here are the goals for July:

1. Complete first round edits on 18 chapters of the first Demonkiller novel.

2. Complete work on getting my four Aston novels onto other platforms.

June 2019 Writing Goals

Well, five months in, and although some work was done, not a lot.

So, here are the results for May:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories). - Finished this goal with over 3,000 words written.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Did not work on this goal.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Changing things up this month. I've been neglecting one of my completed novel drafts for over five months, and I'm starting to "go wide" with distribution of my Aston novels and triple-shots. So, work on new material will take a back seat this month while I take care of these goals (technically, not writing...but writing-related). So here are the goals for June:

1. Complete first round edits on 18 chapters of the first Demonkiller novel.

2. Complete work on getting my four Aston novels onto other platforms such as B&N, Smashwords, etc.

May 2019 Writing Goals

Well, four months in, and unfortunately, there was next to nothing done this past month. Several factors weighed in on that, but hopefully May will be an improvement.

So, here are the results for April:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories). - Didn't finish this goal, with less than 300 words written.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Did not work on this goal.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of April:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories).

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

April 2019 Writing Goals

Well, three months in, and although I didn't put out a weekly update, there were some goals that were worked on. Results were mixed this month, and still didn't get everything done that I was wanting to.

So, here are the results for March:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories). - Didn't finish this goal, but did in fact get about 2,200 words written.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Didn't complete this goal, with only around 1,200 words completed.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of April:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories).

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

March 2019 Writing Goals

Well, two months in, and although I didn't put out a weekly update, there were some goals that were worked on. Results were better than I'd hoped, but still didn't get everything done that I was wanting to.

So, here are the results for February:

1. Complete the first draft on one of my three new Aston West stories. - Didn't get this one finished. Started one of the stories, "Dead Broke," but didn't get too far on it.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Completed this goal, with over 2,700 words.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of March:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories).

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

February 2019 Writing Goals

Well, one month in, and although I didn't put out a weekly update, there were some goals that were worked on. Results weren't as I'd hoped, but several outside factors were involved in that. I don't see that changing in February, but here's hoping.



So, here are the results for January:

1. Draft up three Aston West short stories. - Completed this goal. Three stories have been plotted.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Worked on this goal, but only got about 1,850 words done.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of February:

1. Complete the first draft on one of my three new Aston West short stories.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

2019 Writing Goals

Well, things went a little better in 2018 than in 2017. So, I'm hoping that I'll maintain some momentum, and get some additional goals accomplished this year.

So, here goes:

1. Publish my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. I plan to complete a first draft by the end of May, so that I can work on edits and hopefully have it out to the public sometime by the end of the year. I have some momentum going on this one, so hopefully things will move according to plan.

2. Publish my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP (which still needs a title). I would like to need to try and finish my edits by the end of March, so that I can get beta comments back in June, and then hopefully have this available by November in time for Air Cap Comic Con. This might be a bit sporty, considering how rough the first draft was.

3. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. I anticipate this being finished before the end of December at the earliest.

4. Write three Aston West short stories. I would like to finish these by the end of the year, and hopefully I can get back on track with my triple-shots (my most recent one featuring Sweet Embrace came out back in 2015). I used to be able to write these fairly quickly, and have gotten out of practice. So, here's hoping that I can get back in the groove.

All in all, it's going to be a busy year, but I have a bit more confidence that my re-focus on goal-setting will help. Thanks to everyone who's purchased copies of my books, and I'm looking forward to bringing you even more this year.

January 2019 Writing Goals

Well, the year is finally over. This month went quite well, even if I struggled in putting out a weekly update.

So, here are the results for December:

1. Complete 2,500 words on my "Demonkiller" WIP.- Completed this goal, with nearly 6,000 words written this month.

2. Write 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Completed this goal, with just over 3,100 words written this month.

Here are my goals for the month of January (even if I don't have my annual goals out):

1. Draft up three Aston West short stories.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

2018 Writing Goals Review

Well, the year is coming to a close in a few hours, and I've just spent the day finishing up the last touches on a first draft, so it's time to recap how things went against my 2018 goals. A follow-up post for my 2019 goals will be coming soon.

This year went well, or at least better than 2017 did.


1. Complete the first draft of my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. I plan to finish this by the end of September, so that I can work on edits and hopefully have it out to the public by the end of the year.


Well, didn't quite get there on this goal, but did get this novel moving, with just over 7K words written, and a full head of steam for getting things moving in 2019.


2. Complete a third Aston West novella. I would like to have this finished in March, so that I can hopefully get it out in June (maybe in time for Smallville) and tide folks over until the next series novel comes out.


Completed my Aston West novella Stormrunner. Missed it by a month, so didn't quite get it out for Smallville, but it will still be around next year for folks.


3. Complete the first draft of my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP. Hopefully I'll have an actual title for this soon, but I need to try and finish this by the end of March, so that I can work edits after finishing the MaxMcCannor novellas. My hope is to have this out to the public by the end of May, so that I can have copies available for Smallville in June.


Completed the first draft for this one this year, albeit behind schedule (and still don't have a final title). Edits will be a bit down the road, but I'm hopeful to have this one published in 2019.

4. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. I don't anticipate this being finished anytime before the end of December, and will likely be a 2019 release.

Didn't get this one completed, but got a few thousand words and five chapters completed. Probably going to be a stretch to try and get this one finished in 2019.


5. Finish the final two novellas in the Max McCannor series. Lyn and I have discussed this, and our plan is to plot out the last two novellas in January, then complete the second novella in February and the third in March. Sporty!

Didn't get anything more done on this series this year.

6. Write six Aston West short stories. I would like to finish one of these every two months, and hopefully I can get back on track with my triple-shots (my most recent one featuring Sweet Embrace actually came out in 2015, sadly).

With all of the work on the novels this year, I haven't had a chance to work on any short stories. Maybe next year.

So, sort of a mixed bag this year, but all in all, I felt good about what I accomplished (especially with about 60K words written altogether, and finishing the first draft of a novel). So, on to 2019, and I'm hoping to build on this year's successes.

December 2018 Writing Goals

One more month left in the year...it's now been eleven months since I first started working toward my writing goals. It was a bit rough this month when trying to put out a weekly update, but did get some writing done and accomplished some monthly goals.

So, here are the results for November:

1. Complete 1,500 words on my "Demonkiller" WIP.- Completed this goal, with over 2,500 words written this month.

2. Complete 1,500 words on my sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. - Didn't get anything written on this goal this month.

3. Write 1,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Completed this goal, with just over 1,500 words written this month.

Here are my goals for the month of December:

1. Complete 2,500 words on my "Demonkiller" WIP.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.