The Year Ahead

I have been remiss of late with my blogging . . . but here at the cusp of a new year I should give an update on family, life, and my writing.  Many changes, but then that is the very essence of life.

Family
    On New Year's day Logan moved to Portland, Oregon.  New adventures in learning (fashion and design school), new friendships, new apartment . . . the works.  For me and Becky, back to the "empty nest" (again).  Already our nights are filled to overflowing--mostly with work. She: writing reports, emails, presentations, reviews.  He:  writing like a slave to many deadlines.

Toward that end I am working late nights and early mornings trying to crush out two new novels for the Mary Christmas mystery/romance series (published under my pseudonym R.L. Perry).  Next books in line will be entitled Bleak Midwinter and Cold Snap.

But I have not stopped there. Interspersed among the long pull of the novels I still manage to eek out and publish at least six or seven essays a month (of various lengths and subjects) and short stories in a variety of genres.

Some of my scheduled stories are entitled "The Last Man on Earth", "The Law of Zupiter", "The Arsonist", "The Superannuated Man", and "The Thin Man".  As you can see, I'm not very good at titles . . . I just grab a central character or theme and away I go.

I have been fortunate of late to see these science fiction stories into print (or scheduled for print) as well as some others that could be loosely categorized as horror, fantasy, mystery, or mainstream.  And poetry--I take spells, but have quite a few scheduled for publication in early 2016.  Actually, quite proud of many of the poems written in 2015.  Some of my best, I think, and I've received the thanks of some editors, which is a nice touch.  And I now have enough published poetry to make a second collection (my first, Where in the World We Meet).  Any editors looking for a poetry collection from a near-sighted white guy who writes about sex, Greek mythology,life and death?

As for my total count of upcoming books in 2016, so far it stands at five:

Praying Through Cancer (Upper Room books)
All About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  (Blue River books, children)
The Seven Deadly Virtues (InterVarsity Press)
Bleak Midwinter (as R.L. Perry)
Cold Snap (as R.L. Perry)

Earlier last year, during a trip to New York when I reunited for after-work drinks with a former literary agent, the question was asked at the bar, "Who the hell publishes eight books in two years?"

I guess I do.

I hope to continue & thanks for reading.
~Todd 
~R.L.