Tuesday, January 1, 2013

This Year - A Few Highlights


Here are some highlights of year 2012. (I'll keep it brief.)

I published my first story, “The Unicorn Hunt” and had a second (“Stonepit”) accepted into an anthology (I’ll keep you posted when it comes out).

I sent out about 10 stories, some more than once. That includes the two above (and two mentioned below).

I did a fair amount of writing. By my count, I wrote (at least in first-draft form) nine short stories. I rewrote (yet again) my first and still most maddening fantasy novel, Foldwin the Shepherd. I wrote and lightly revised a very short novella, with the working title A Dryad Dream. And I finished and edited (first round) a new novel, tentatively entitled Unfoldings. Whew. And I had thought it was an off year.

I went on at least three awesome hikes with my wife and boys here in North Carolina. I also took them fishing, and my youngest caught his first ever fish.

I broke down and bought an iPad. I also broke down and got a Twitter handle (@pylefantasy). Those things aren't related, I swear it.

I discovered a fascination with Middle Grade fiction. The Tale of Despereaux was an ally in this.

I took a sudden and powerful interest in my family tree. I’ve made astounding progress tracing it back, in some cases into the sixteenth century. All this from scratch as of April.

As an outworking of that, in October I made a meaningful trip to Tennessee, to the gravesite of my ancestor Conrad Pile. Saw the valley where he settled down, among the first to till the land there.

I don’t mean to make it sound like there weren’t any bumps along the way. But I like to lift out the good days, don’t you? What highlights, celebrations, joys, for you this year past?

2 comments:

  1. Hello John, I've just discovered your blog off a link from Spinning Straw into Gold and have subscribed for email updates. Because I'm a new writer (not new to writing but new to trying to get published) I found this post of yours encouraging. It's just good to hear about writers getting their first stories published, I guess. If you like, drop by my blog, The Black Dionysia, where I'm posting chapters from my imaginative novel.
    Regards,
    Edward

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping in, Edward, and for the kind words. Like you, I'm new to the publishing side, after writing for a long time (and stuffing drawers with manuscripts).
      Thanks too for the link. Your novel looks intriguing.

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