2021 is upon us. I’ve never written a year-end wrap-up before, but all the cool kids are doing it, so I thought I’d give it a try.
The college where I teach
closed down and shifted to remote learning in March. I’ve taught from home ever
since (which means I’ve gotten very familiar with Zoom!). My wife and I MAY
have had COVID in March. We weren’t officially tested, but our family doctor
thinks it’s likely that we had it. I’m almost never sick, and when I am, it’s
for a very brief time, but I was pretty damn sick for two weeks, as was my
wife. All the conferences and appearances I had lined up were canceled or
shifted to remote delivery. My five-year-old dachshund Bentley needed two back
surgeries. He’s fine now and getting into all sorts of mischief, as usual. My fifteen-year-old
dachshund Lucy has various health problems, and her vet said she had only a few
weeks to live. That was back in Spring, and Lucy is still running around the
house like a puppy (when she’s not taking old lady dog naps). My wife and I intend
to enjoy however much time we have left with her. My older daughter finished
graduate school with a degree in music performance (oboe) and now she’s working
on a certificate in arts management. My younger daughter is taking art classes,
working at a local library, and trying to figure out what to do with her life.
My wife is a falconer and raptor rehabber, so we’ve had two red-tailed hawks
and a horned owl living with us at different times during the year – sometimes
inside the house, which is weird but cool. My short story “A Touch of Madness”
was a Bram Stoker Award finalist, but it didn’t win. My agent continued
circulating various novel proposals, and while some came close, no editors bit
in the end. I wrote a number of novel pitches for a new media-tie publisher,
but for one reason or another, they all fell through. I’ve put together a new
pitch for them, and hopefully this one will work out.
COVID caused the publishing
industry to slow way down this year. Books were postponed and editors slowed
down (or stopped entirely) acquiring new books. Hopefully, things will start
getting back to normal – or at least a new normal – sooner rather than later.
My how-to-write-horror book Writing
in the Dark came out in September, and it’s been well received. It’s more
than a little nerve-racking to write a how-to book since it leaves you open to
judgment. Why does this guy think he knows so damn much about writing
horror? But I’m so glad people have found the book useful.
People continue to write me
asking when there will be a fourth Nekropolis book. The original publisher
of the series, Angry Robot, long ago chose not to continue it, and it’s
difficult to get a new publisher interested in bringing out books that have
already been published. I keep thinking that maybe someday I’ll write and
self-publish more Nekropolis books, but I’ve so busy with other projects
that I haven’t gotten around to it. Maybe some day.
Psychologically, the year
was tough for me writing-wise, despite how much I produced. COVID and America’s
political situation wore on me, of course, which didn’t help, especially since
I’m prone to depression. I turned 56 this year, and I watched as a number of
writers in horror – some my age, some younger – broke through to a new level in
their careers, and I started to feel like I’ve already peaked and the only place
to go from here is down. I know I have a good career and should have nothing to
complain about. I’m hoping my outlook improves next year.
Here’s what I wrote and published in 2020:
Books Written in 2020
·
A Hunter
Called Night for Flame Tree Press.
Horror.
·
We Rise Again for Flame Tree Press. Horror.
·
Film Novelization
for Titan Books. Under NDA. Movie got delayed due to COVID, so the book did
too. Horror.
Books
Released in 2020
·
Writing in the
Dark, my how-to-write-horror book
from Guide Dog Books.
·
Some Kind of
Monster, novella from Apex
Publishing. Horror.
·
The Forever
House from Flame Tree Press. Horror.
Proposal
I wrote a hundred pages of a novel called The Atrocity Machine, the first in a potential series based on some concepts in my dark fantasy/horror novels, along with a synopsis. My agent will start submitting in in January.
Stories Written/Sold in 2020
·
“Feeding Time.” 99
Tiny Terrors. Horror.
·
Unannounced
novella for Dark Regions Press. Dark fantasy.
·
“Children of the
Wild.” Turning the Tide. Dark fantasy.
·
Unannounced dark
fantasy story.
·
“The Girl Who
Bled in the Tree.” Tales of the Lost 3. Plaid Dragon Publishing. Horror.
·
“The Sharp Edge
of Midnight.” Campfire Macabre. Cemetery Gates Media. Horror.
·
“Negative Space.”
Nightmare Magazine. Horror.
·
“Slashback.” It
Crept From the 80’s. 2020. Horror.
·
“Feathers.” Weird
Tales 2, 2020. Horror/Dark Fantasy.
· “Blood and Desire” as by Brianna London. My first foray into self-publishing. Horror/Erotica.
Stories Released in 2020
·
“Raiders of the
Poisoned Plains” for Wendigo Tales anthology. Pinnacle.
·
“The Crying Man.”
Tales from Arkham Asylum.
·
“In the End.” One
of Us: A Tribute to Frank Michaels Errington. Bloodshot Books, 2020.
·
“Forever.” Tales
of the Lost 2. 2020.
·
“Ashes of Our
Fathers.” Borderlands 7. BP Press, 2020.
·
“The White Road.”
The Horror Zine’s Book of Ghost Stories. 2020.
·
“A Touch of
Madness.” Reprinted in Year’s Best Hardcore Horror 5, Red Room Press,
2020.
· “Skin Man.” Anathemas, Black Library, 2020.
Nonfiction Written in 2020 (also released in 2020)
·
“Don’t Forget the
H.” SFWA Blog.
·
“The H Word: The
Rational vs the Irrational.” Nightmare Magazine.
·
“Paul Kane:
Horror Master.” Introduction to Tempting Fate by Paul Kane
·
“Speaking of
Horror.” The Writer.
Short
Articles Written to Promote Writing in the Dark
·
“Five Ways to
Build a Better Monster” at Horror DNA.”
·
“Five Horror
Clichés to Avoid in Your Fiction” at This is Horror
·
“Hurts So Good”
at Gingernuts of Horror
·
“Weird Ideas” at
The Horror Tree
·
“Voices of Horror”
at Ink Heist
Short
Story Collection
·
I’ve out together
a collection of my fantasy stories titled The September People, which I
plan to self-publish in 2021.
Other/Promotional
I
wrote 12 blog entries (13 if you count this one) and put out 15 newsletters. I
started a YouTube Channel and made 8 videos.
Editing
I
took on my first freelance editing gig to help pay for Bentley’s surgeries. I
edited a suspense novel for a client. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would,
but I’m in no hurry to take on any more editing projects.
Teaching
I
taught composition and creative writing classes at my college Spring, Summer,
and Fall semesters. I presented several online workshops, and I mentored a
couple writers via the Horror Writers Association’s Mentor Program.
Interviews
and Podcasts
I
did a ton of these to promote Writing in the Dark, and I hope people
aren’t sick of listening to me talk about myself and my work!
On
that note, I guess I should wrap this up. Happy New Year, and let’s hope it’s a
better one for our weary world.
Links
·
Writing in the Dark
Newsletter sign-up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm
·
Twitter:
@timwaggoner
·
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/tim.waggoner.9
·
Instagram:
tim.waggoner.scribe
·
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZEz6_ALPrV3tdC0V3peKNw
No comments:
Post a Comment