Happy New Year!

2013 is upon us. 2012 was a very busy year for me, writing-wise, and 2013 is already shaping up to be just as hectic. My New Year's Resolution for 2013 is to whittle down my projects so that, by 2014, I might just work on ONE novel at a time. ...Or maybe two. But hopefully no more of this seven novels at once nonsense. I need a break. I've got a certain story that I want to tell (no, I won't tell you what it is yet :p) and I want to be able to give it my full attention. Beyond that, I'd like to just rest and enjoy life for a little while.

Having said that, here's a quick rundown of what you can expect from me in 2013!

--Coming up in the next couple weeks will be the release of my e-novella, nestled in between Enemies of the Cross and the final book in the trilogy (see below). The e-novella is called Lengthening Shadows and introduces a new element to The Coming Evil mythology--that of the hardened monster hunter. The Arbigast Group--my gang of gunslinging monster killers from my short story "Flesh and Blood" in The Midnight Diner--will be moseying on in to Greensboro to see what they might do about this Strange Man spook. I've been dying to bring these guys into the story, proper, so it'll be fun to see what kind of trouble they might get themselves into. But more on them and that closer to the e-book's release.

--In late February/March, the trilogy will be complete as The Coming Evil, Book Three: Dark Hour will be released by Splashdown Darkwater. Everything has been building to the final moments in this book and I am on pins and needles to share it with you all. I shed many a tear writing this final story and count it as one of the most personal and heartfelt things I've ever written. It is going to be epic.

--In December of ye olde 2012, I turned in my first draft for my Unofficial Timeline to Back to the Future for Hasslein Books. In the months ahead, we'll be editing through that and hopefully have that released to you sometime this summer, depending on how fast we can put this thing together. If you've seen the Back to the Future Lexicon that's already available (and if you haven't, you need to buy it right now), you'll know that this is a massive endeavor, but, I think, worth every penny.

--I'm working on the sequel to last summer's release Rift Jump. The book is tentatively titled Sara's Song and wraps up the story begun in Rift Jump quite nicely, I think. It's going to be a very dramatic send-off of this story that's meant a lot to me growing up. The characters of Michael and Sara have been with me since I was a young teenager, and this is, in many ways, my good-bye to them. There could be more Rift Jump books in the future, but if not, Sara's Song will definitely bring about a tearjerking conclusion that will, hopefully, leave you as satisfied as I feel writing it. There are quite a few surprises in store for you in this book, so go buy Rift Jump now and get all caught up!

--In addition to that, I've finished a new occult/crime novel and am in the process of shopping that around to different publishers. If you've read my story "Metamorphosis" in Rookhaven's Cat of Nine Tales anthology last Halloween, then you've already met one of the main characters, Vinnie Caponi: Urban Mythologist. More on this project as it develops.

--I still have two short stories that will be released in the coming months. One about a bigfoot!

--Somewhere in all of that, I'm also slated to write the next installment in author Frank Creed's technothriller Underground series! It's a tremendous responsibility to write in another's universe and I take it very seriously. I can't say much about the book, at this point, except to say that it will feature Big Hoss Dupree, the character I created for Frank's Underground anthology released last year. I really have a soft spot for the grumpy Ex-Communicator and look forward to telling another tale. If you've yet to get started on Frank's series, you've got three books to catch up on! Start with Book One: Flashpoint and get to reading! It's a wild ride through a futuristic cyberpunk world, perfect for fans of The Matrix and the Shadowrun RPG.

So that's what I'm working on right now. Also, once Dark Hour is released, you can look forward to my usual coverage, including interviews, maybe a blog tour, as well as commentaries, and a soundtrack for your listening pleasure as you read the concluding chapter of The Coming Evil Trilogy. I hope to see you all every step of the way.

Happy New Year. May you make the most of it, tear down the walls, and seize your dreams--but also take time to enjoy the ones you keep close.

I'm exhausted just listing all these projects, so I'm giving myself the night off to order in a pizza and watch Quatermass and the Pit!