2021
Hi everyone, long time no post. I stepped back from social media for a while to concentrate on other stuff. Some of my time went into work — new role with new demands —, some time went into the final touches of my latest novel.
On the last day of 2021, let’s take a small review of my year in writing. Here are my personal creative highlights during a strange year 2021 (another one!).
THE TRANSPORT PUBLISHED
2020 was the year when I wrote my sci-fi military action thriller The Transport, but 2021 was the year when I published it. Usually I get by with two new books on the market each year, but in 2021 it was a little different.
THE TRANSPORT — THE AUDIOBOOK PODCAST
It started as an experiment. And as a nod to one of my writer role models Scott Sigler and his audiobook podcast from 2006(?) Earthcore, which sort of started the sci-fi journey for me. During the recording an publishing of the audiobook I learned a lot about recording, audio processing, and reading aloud. And I managed to get through all the hundred-plus chapters, staying at it, releasing episode after episode. In that respect, the audio book was like a small writing project from beginning to end. Will I repeat it? Probably not, as it takes too much time off writing.
THE FEBRUARY SONGS PROJECT
Another completely different creative project. Writing songs, recording them, and publish them. One song a day throughout the month of February. I had not written a single songer for almost over thirty years and it was a huge learning and endurance process during the COVID-pandemic-dominated month. I had to learn Logic Pro almost from scratch, juggle the various equipment, fight with skill limitations on almost every instrument (including my voice). But somehow, it all worked out. Almost a year after, I can listen to the songs again without constantly thinking “Jeez, you shoulda… Oh, no, that was soooo sloppy…”. This experiment, I probably will repeat in February 2022, need to put some mental and conceptual planning into it, though.
THE OLD MAN BOOK PROJECT
As I write this, in the middle of my Christmas vacations break, I reached one of my edting milestones. One more pass and the manuscript will be ready for the editor. Similar as THE TRANSPORT, this book is not part of a series but a stand alone thriller with a different kind of hero. If things go well, I’ll manage to publish it in February / March timeframe.
Well, and that’s a wrap to another year. Was it a good year? Creativity-wise definitely, with a lot learned and tried out. Commercially? Well… working on that! Thanks for everyone buying, reading, listening to my books. Keep it on!