So. Here we are again. Another year has begun.  I suppose it’s time to look back, and plan ahead.

What happened in 2007? Hmm. It started with a new job, as I got my first gig as a full-time teacher.  I’m still there, still enjoying what I do. The same job for a year; that’s something different for the past few years, since being canned from the United Methodist university where I worked for a couple of years.  Anyway, yeah,  a year as a regular teacher. It’s been fun, and quite a learning experience for me.

I was lucky enough to do several appearances, beginning with the Living Literature Forum at NEOSU in Tulsa. That was a lot of fun, and a different audience than I usually see. Then there was the second Oklahoma City (of the revived) SoonerCon in June, followed by Tulsa’s Conestoga in July. The big one, of course, was Horrorfind Weekend in Baltimore in August. In terms of sales and promotion, I have to say that was my best convention ever; the reading was a success and I sold more books than I’ve sold at any other convention. September was FenCon in Dallas, then TrickConTreat in OKC in early October. There was the Liar’s Panel at FenCon, and that was a blast. The final appearance for me was Halloween night at Galileo’s Bar and Grill in OKC’s Paseo Art District.

As far as publications, there wasn’t a lot. The big one, of course, was the release of Seven Days in Benevolence from Scrybe Press. I’m still disappointed that there hasn’t been much of a response to that one. In October, Werewolf Magazine published an excerpt of Ulrik. That was a very limited release, so not many people saw it, I’m sure. That was it for fiction. In non-fiction, I put in my third year with Horror World, interviewing authors and editors for a monthly column and putting together the electronic newsletter. Back at the start of the year I was still doing some freelance work for a couple of local magazines, but I quit that for various reasons.

I wrote two short books this year, Little Graveyard on the Prairie and Inheritance. That’s a pretty low output. The first one is just under 12,000 words and the second just under 30,000. I can’t remember now if it was this year that I did the revision of The Puppet King or if that was last year. Doesn’t matter, as it still needs lots of work.

I saw my first live Oklahoma Sooner football game, as they whipped the OK State Cowboys in the regular season finale. (And yes, I’m watching the Fiesta Bowl pre-game show right now.)

And I bought the new (to me) truck, something I’m still getting grief about from the two oldest females in my house.

So, what’s in store for 2008? Pfft. Who knows? There are several balls in the air. Maybe they’ll land somewhere good, maybe they’ll get blown away … or maybe I’ll end up with my balls in my hands.

I’m going to assume that Ulrik will get released by Scrybe Press this year. Same for the new edition of Murdered by Human Wolves. Both were due “late fall” of last year. I haven’t seen galleys for either. I did see a stunning front cover for MbHW, but apparently it isn’t finished, and there’s no cover for Ulrik yet. I hope these books will be out soon, but it’s something I don’t have any control over.

Those are the only almost sure publications for this year. I have manuscripts with various other publishers and am hoping daily to hear something, but so far there’s nothing to report. It’s highly unlikely any of those, if accepted, would see print in ’08.

As far as appearances, I’m slated for the Texas Frightmare Weekend in Dallas in February. This is more of a media con, like Horrorfind. It’s the first time they’ve included authors in the programming, so I’m not sure what to expect. I’ll be back at SoonerCon in June and Conestoga in July, where I’ll be part of the Fangs, Fur & Fey con-within-a-con. Those are the only confirmed dates so far. Horrorfind … I don’t know that I’ll be back this year. With the new truck payment, there isn’t a lot of extra money for air travel and, as successful as last year’s con was, if I’m going to put out that kind of money this year I want to hit a con where I can make more literary contacts … agents and publishers.

Goals … getting those other manuscripts sold is at the top of the list. As far as what I’m going to work on, getting back to rewriting The Fetch is the first thing I’ll do. After that … I don’t know. I’ve been wanting to do a Bigfoot novel for a while, so maybe I’ll do that. I should finish off The Puppet King, too. There are still some elements of the Bigfoot book that I’m not sure about. It’s more about a love triangle than it is about Bigfoot (no, Bigfoot isn’t one of the lovers).

Otherwise, what to say? I plan to use my YMCA membership more than I did last year, trying to lose weight. Try not to get stressed and frustrated over things as much … which isn’t easy considering the sloppiness of my children. You know, take life a day at a time, be glad for what I have, keep working for more.

Best wishes to you for the New Year!