So long, 2023. Hello, 2024. Out with the old, in with the new. Rinse, recycle, repeat.
In the time-honored spirit of new years, here's a look back--and forward--at what I've got going in speculative fiction.
In terms of publication, 2023 was good, though not great. 2021 and 2022 each had a novel. 2023 was a year of shorter works getting published. In something of a first, my weird Florida novella, Look With Your Eyes, was released by Ellysian Press. I also had two short stories come out in two anthologies from Raconteur Press: a historical fantasy, The Ass of Stratford (in I Can Explain Your Honor ...) and a Cormac-McCarthy-inspired humorous action piece, No Country for Dumbasses (in He Was Dead When I Got There ...).
I turned in a pair of novels, though, so 2024 should see some new books coming out. The second installment of Yonder & Far, tentatively entitled "The Tarot Tale," picks up where our favorite fae odd couple, John Yonder and Captain Far, left off on the cusp of the 19th century. More wild adventures, more fortune-telling, more general strangeness in post-colonial Boston. If you liked The Lost Lock, you'll love Tarot Tale. I've also got a stand-alone, low fantasy one-shot tentatively called "God of the Godless" on deck that will be coming out from Montag Press. That one came from a novelette I wrote a while back (Don't Call Me Godless) and I'm very much looking forward to its release.
I also climbed a Mt. Everest of sorts. I had poked and piddled with a weird Florida legal thriller off and one for nearly eight years. Well. This past October, I finally typed "The End" on McJustice. It's the story of a Miami street lawyer on the run from a debt collector who finds himself trapped in a north Florida town where life revolves around a century-long lawsuit, dark secrets, and occasionally murderous alligators. I'm hopeful it'll find a good home because there's a lot packed into it. I've also decided to switch gears back to my first love, epic fantasy. So I've nearly finished an extensive outline (and an opening prologue) for my newest work-in-progress, which, for now, I'm calling The Grenadier. If all goes well, this time next year, I'll have it finished.
I hope your past year was filled with successes and that the one to come brings you all the prosperity and joy you hope for. Thanks for stopping by the blog, and thanks for reading my work.
Cheers,
Matt