I took a brief break from doing the AI presidents because I almost missed a book deadline. Fortunately, my coauthor reminded me that we needed to have it done by Christmas and we got it. 111,000 words of mayhem and carnage, and the next Four Horsemen book coauthored with Kevin Ikenberry is finished. ON A CLOUDY DAY is Book 3 of the Phoenix Initiative and brings two of the most popular characters in the 4HU together at long last. But can Sunshine and Jessica Francis co-exist? Next up is Book 4 of the Phoenix Initiative, THE MISFITS, again coauthored with Kevin Ikenberry. ON A CLOUDY DAY is scheduled for a Jan 27, 2023 release date. Yeah, quick turnaround, but it was necessary because the book is like 5 months overdue.

Oops.

I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire right now. I’m more productive in the wintertime for some reason. I think it’s because I’m no longer pouring buckets of sweat when I walk around. I really despise the heat and humidity so naturally I move to where the heat and humidity is high. Makes perfect sense to me.

No cover reveal yet for either book. I’ve seen them, mind you, but I can’t show them off just yet. It’s a cool concept that will make the fans “Ooooh” and “Ahhh” when they see them and figure out the secret of the two.

In other news, three of the four Kin Wars novels are available in German now. Book 4, HOMEGUARD (aka HAUSWACHE) will be out January 13, 2023. That brings the number of languages my work has been translated to up to 3 — English, Japanese, and German. French and Spanish are both in the process of being worked up so that’ll be cool. You can find Die Kin Wars in German here.

You can still preorder CHICKS IN TANK TOPS and get it on release day. There are some fun stories in the anthology, some dark, and some pure adrenaline spikers so that one of the stories contained within will make the reader happy. I’m hoping everyone buys them in print format from wherever they’re being sold. I know right now many Barnes & Nobles are planning on carrying one or two copies in their stores, but if you want to ensure you can get yours on release day next month (January 3… holy crap, we’re 10 days away from release!!!) go ahead and tell them to reserve you a copy in the store.

I feel like there’s something else I’m forgetting… huh. Oh well.

Convention schedule for next year is looking a little thin — this is by design, though. FantaSci is easy because it’s local, I always go to Libertycon, and Dragoncon is a work thing. No other conventions planned for 2023 (unless you’re paying for my hotel and flight which, if that’s the case, let’s talk). Between a lightened con workload and a change in job functions at work, 2023 should be way more productive than 2022 was.

Speaking of…

2022 was wild. We moved to North Carolina in January so I could take a job with Baen Books. My job morphed midway through the year so I could handle more responsibilities. There really isn’t a job title for what I do there so I declared my title to be “Office War Monkey.” If I ever decide to get business cards, you know what’s going to happen. Sold the house literally 48 hours after listing (the housing market was nuts in Jan 2022, never forget) and now we’ve moved a 3 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom apartment. I still haven’t unpacked all my books, and I have no idea where some of my clothes went…

In publishing, 2022 was slow by my standards. I only had a single book come out (better than 2021, but still) which I’d coauthored with Matt Novotny (THE EXECUTIONERS, which is still one of my favorite novels I’ve ever written) and three short stories in anthologies (STANDING FAST ON FOREIGN SHORES, WE DARE 4, and LEGENDS). Not a bad bunch but really, when I look back at 2014 (an admittedly banner year) I can’t help but feel that four publications is not up to par. However, since most authors are lucky to have one thing a year come out, I can’t complain too much. 2023 is already looking bigger, with the aforementioned CHICKS IN TANK TOPS coming out Jan 3, ON A CLOUDY DAY out on January 27, and MONSTER HUNTER MEMOIRS: FEVER scheduled for October 3. THE MISFITS is still in progress by looking at late February or early March release (quick turnarounds, but Kevin and I know what we’re doing now). After that? WE DARE 5 should be out around Memorial Day (I’ll have another Quintus Fox story in it), and the next Last Brigade Universe anthology (the follow-up story to Los Banditos from STANDING FAST ON FOREIGN SHORES, tentatively titled Tears for Huracan’s Sons) will be around that time as well. Then on to super-secret project (no contract for that but everything has been agreed upon verbally by all parties involved) and then, hopefully, the last two Kin Wars novels (WINTERBORN and HAMMERFALL). Since both of those are mostly written (I need to cut stuff from WINTERBORN and put it in HAMMERFALL), those should have a Fall 2023 release.

The cats are still doing fine. Curly is turning into a huge snuggle bug and Casper is his usual ornery self. He’s been to the vet a few times this year because he’s getting old and has some stomach issues. He’s 14 so I’ll cut his grumpy old ass a little slack when he bites everyone else. He’s still my guy, though. Coincidentally, I have a friend who has puppies and I really want one, but small Great Danes tend to end up becoming BIG Great Danes in this tiny little apartment.

Still, it’s a thought…