Plans for 2022

Plans for 2022

This is my annual post about futuristic thinking. That’s the fun way of saying “my plans for 2022.” 

Do I actually follow these plans? Yes… ish. They’re high-level enough to allow wiggle room. More importantly, they’re not etched on titanium. I can adjust them based on unexpected detours and opportunities. Not to mention black-swan events (pandemic, you say?).

New Year’s resolutions are too abstract for me, so I set goals, then make lists and schedules. Otherwise, poof! Right off my radar it zooms, just like a wily UFO taunting hapless military and scientific monitors the world over.

[Ed. Note: Oof. This is long. Seems like I have a lot to say. The TL;DR version: I'll write stories, go places, and entertain me and my cats.]

Plans for Writing Words

My fiction writing productivity took a succession of hits in the last few years. In the bad news column, I weathered the unexpected losses of close family members, plus the expected, but never easy, losses of elderly cats. I worried about my suddenly unemployed friends in lockdown, and about those who had work, but in unsafe environments. On the other hand, in the good news column, my basement got a desperately needed renovation, and I was recently able to quit my day job. Yay, me!

I’m cautiously optimistic that I will finish the long-overdue next space opera book, Spark Transform. I’ll also write another novella for the next Pets in Space charity anthology. And after that, I’ll write the next book in my Ice Age Shifters® series.

And speaking of Pets In Space®, I’ll again be the anthology editor. Pets in Space 6 was fun, and came with a learning curve. I think I can do better for Pets in Space 7.

Related Plans

I’ll be looking into releasing more of my stories in audiobook format. Four of my space opera novels are already out, courtesy Tantor Media. However, producing audiobooks is an investment, which is a euphemistic way of saying expensive. Meaning I can’t do them all at once, so I’ll have to see what my options and opportunities are.

For example, one of the options is to create a synthetic/AI version. This is the same technology that Amazon uses for Alexa and Google uses for, er, Google. It’s fast and cheap, but the quality isn’t there yet for narrating fiction stories. I’m pretty sure I’ll go with professional voiceover talent and producers.

Author in the Wild

I have a love-hate relationship with traveling these days. I adore meeting readers and making new friends. But the traveling part itself sucks: 

• Concerning things: Boarding my beloved kitties at the vet hospital; leaving my house unattended; bad weather.
• Things that raise my blood pressure: TSA, airline seating & luggage fees, traffic. 
• Things that make my brain explode: People who won’t wear a fucking mask, or wear it correctly. Don’t get me started.

Nonetheless, I’m committed to going back to Cape Canaveral, Florida for the Space Coast Book Lovers convention in June. I’ll get all the best parts about traveling—readers and friends—plus visit the Space Center. Yes, I went last year, and yes, I’m going again. If you're looking at vacation options, the convention is very reader-centric and the hotel is lovely.

Other events and plans are nebulous, so I’ll let you know when I know. Probably in my newsletter.

2022 Home-Front Plans

By the end of the year, I hope I’ll have done these things:

• In my basement, organize my office and find homes for all the stuff in boxes. (If you saw how many boxes this is, you’d see why I’m giving myself a year to do it.)
• On the main floor, paint and replace the carpet, and remodel the last remaining bathroom. (I ask you: Who in their right mind puts wallpaper in the shower stall?)
• In the garden, move a few plants, add a few, and remove a few. (Death to bindweed!)
• Continue studying and teaching Tai Chi. (I learn as much from students as I learn from teachers.)
• Entertain the cats. It’s the least I can do, since they do the same for me. 😸