2012 proved to be a busy one, and considering the way things have been for the past 24 months, I don't expect them to slow down. The bulk of what I've written this year has been for others, and it has delayed my two-year plan, somewhat.
This year saw my work once again appear in the newest MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR volume, as well as in Stephen Jones's ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE sequel. Also, in Joe Pulver's A SEASON IN CARCOSA, and the recent FUNGI anthology. I was also rather pleased to have one of my stories added to the souvenir book for this year's World Fantasy Convention, held just outside Toronto, Canada.
It was also the first year all three of my collections were available for sale at the same time. Previously, thanks to publishers folding and limited editions selling out, the ability to buy all the books at once was out of the question. Finally, after a few bumps, that was put into the past, and for that I owe a debt of thanks to Dark Regions Press. I must say, I'm pretty pleased with the way these new editions have turned out.
And, speaking of collections, the electronic book age finally caught up with me, making both BENEATH THE SURFACE and NIGHTINGALE SONGS available for electronic reading. Along with the collections, the folks behind Mammoth Books also made two of my contributions to the BNH series available electronically as well as singles, and as part of mini anthologies.
I also began work on two major projects. The first being my future collection, which is coming along slower than I'd like, but it is coming (though, I'm afraid, I have no date to announce); and the second being the anthology, SHADOWS EDGE, I'm editing for Gray Friar Press. That one is thankfully a bit further along, and will hopefully be in readers' hands near the beginning of the year.
I managed to attend two major conventions this year — ReaderCon and World Fantasy — both of which were fantastic, and allowed me to meet writers like Steve Rasnic Tem, Jeffrey Thomas, Tim Waggoner, Jeff VanderMeer, Barbara and Christopher Roden, and Lisa L Hannett for the first time, as well as reacquaint myself with many old friends. A special shout out to Nathan Ballingrud, Dale Bailey, and Nick Kaufmann, the gentlemen with whom I stayed, or who stayed with me, during these events.
As always, I read far fewer books than I'd hoped to, but this year read quite a few I thoroughly enjoyed. In no particular order, in 2012 I managed to read (in part, or in whole):
Knock Knock - SP Miskowski
The Croning - Laird Barron
28 Teeth of Rage - Ennis Drake
In the Mean Time - Paul Tremblay
Mrs Midnight - Reggie Oliver
Let's Play White - Chesya Burke
Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson
At Fear's Altar - Richard Gavin
Never Bet the Devil - Orrin Grey
Portraits of Ruin - Joseph S Pulver
The Emperor of Automata - DP Watt
Fugue State - Brian Evenson
Bluegrass Symphony - Lisa L Hannett
Every House is Haunted - Ian Rogers
Unutterable Horror, Vol 2 - S. T. Joshi
Some books bought this year that I hope to read in the upcoming year include (but aren't limited to):
SuperNOIRtural Tales - Ian Rogers
Midnight & Moonshine - Angela Slatter & Lisa L Hannett
Hair Side Flesh Side - Helen Marshall
Peel Back the Sky - Stephen Bacon
From Hell to Eternity - Thana Niveau
The Ones that Got Away - Stephen Graham Jones
And a slew of others I've likely forgotten.
So, 2012. A decade of writing from my pen. At this point ten years ago I'd just sold my first story (without knowing it) and was working on my second. There have been a few hurdles along the way, but I must admit that if someone had told me on that blustery December day in 2002 where I'd be in ten years, whom I would have met, who would have read my work and enjoyed it, where that work would have been published, I don't think I would have believed it. It's been a wild and interesting ride, and I'm excited to see just where the next ten years will take me.
Here's to an even better 2013 for all of us!
