It’s that time again, when I take a step back and look at what I’ve accomplished in the past twelve months, and think about what I want to get done in the brand new, sparkle-shiny upcoming year. Cliché as resolutions may be, I think having a certain time of year — be it the New Year, your birthday, or another personally significant date — where you force yourself to stop and take stock can be a good idea. Just as long as you focus on the positives: this isn’t about what you’ve failed to do and plan to do better, but about what you’ve succeeded at, and plan to add to.
I’ve invited a group of talented authors, who write a variety of speculative genres from science fiction to romantic SF/F, to share some of their Writer Resolutions for 2018. I hope you find your own inspiration for the upcoming months. Enjoy!
Nick Bailey has been making up stories since his school days, when he met lifelong friend and co-author of Liberator Darren Bullock. Besides series-opener Liberator, Nick’s science fiction work includes Primordial, a sci-fi-horror novelette set in the Liberator Universe and the short story The Last Command in the anthology Explorations – First Contact. He likes cats, dogs, long walks on the beach, and blowing up spaceships
Favorite 2017 Writer Moment: My favourite writer moment of the year was probably going on Keystroke Medium with Scott Moon, Josh Hayes and Ralph Kern. Those guys are a lot of fun to talk with and it was a real pleasure for Darren and I to be guests on the show.
Top 2018 Writer Resolution: To write more. A lot more. I’m planning on building a dedicated writing space in my attic so that I can shut myself away properly, I’ve also been able to re-arrange my day job working schedule which will (should!) give me a lot more time to write in the daytime, freeing up some time in the evenings for me to pretend I have an actual life.
We are also starting up a small press publishing business – Dust Publishing, so I really do need a more organised way of fitting it all in, as well as a decent space to work.
One book from your 2018 to-read list: Night School by Lee Child, I’m a big fan of the Jack Reacher series, but haven’t managed to read that one yet (I think there is now another after Night School too, so have some catching up to do.
You can find Nick online at www.nickbailey.space and on Twitter @nickbailey317. Buy Nick’s work here.
Books have always been a large part of Suzanne Jackson’s life. One of her fondest childhood memories is sitting on a wicker stool, reading aloud from the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, whilst her Grandmother sat beside her on a black rocking chair. Suzanne is the author of The Beguiler, a dark fantasy romance tale of love and forbidden magic.
Favorite 2017 Writer Moment: I was sure my answer to this question would have been the launch of my book The Beguiler and seeing it going out into the big wide world, but I think reading to an audience was also a very special moment. It felt like a dream come true.
Top 2018 Writer Resolution: I enjoy writing, so my resolution is to write and get my next book finished. It sounds a simple resolution, but 2017 has been a difficult year, and a lot of self-doubt has crept in. I have been asked about the next book from readers who have enjoyed the first, which is wonderful.
One book from your 2018 to-read list: If I must choose one, then it has to be Bryan Wigmore’s next book. I really enjoyed The Goddess Project and cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
Find Suzanne online at suzannejackson.co.uk and buy her book here.
For as long as Ralph Kern can remember, he’s always enjoyed science fiction, especially the grand masters of the genre, Arthur C Clarke, Stephen Baxter, Alistair Reynolds and many more. After studying for a degree in Aerospace Technology and obtaining his pilot’s license, Ralph turned to a career in law enforcement. Eventually his love of science fiction and the desire to think about what he considers ‘the big issues’ led him to try his hand at writing. Ralph is the author of the Sleeping Gods duology, and the Locus series, which includes Unfathomed and Expedition.
Favorite 2017 Writer Moment: It’s been a busy year for me on the writing front. Gaining a three-book on-spec publishing contract from the biggest audiobook publisher on the scene was a wonderful feeling of validation. The release of Expedition to excellent reviews was another moment.
But when we boil it down, the single thing I was most proud of was the work I did with Keystroke Medium and Tom Edwards on our Covers for a Cure charity event where we raised $4200 for Parkinson’s Research UK. Not only was it for a great cause, but it was an event where we showed the world the sheer firepower the global Indie community can muster when working together.
I really do think that event will be remembered as one of the turning points in the Indie author Renaissance.
Top 2018 Writer Resolution: I have the next book in the Locus series out around March time. Already, the Beta readers are saying it is my best work yet and I can’t wait to release it into the wild.
Perhaps more excitingly is an extremely ambitious project I’m coordinating. I’m getting to work with the best authors in the SF genre and I’m a little star struck and humbled by the names who are moving to associate themselves with it. I can’t say too much about the project just yet, but if it goes even half right, it will be a seismic event in SF Indie publishing. More news soon!
One book from your 2018 to-read list: If I had to pick one? Tricky. Very Tricky. A good buddy of mine, Nathan Hystad, is finally releasing his books. I’ve had the honour of beta reading them and it makes me envious how damn good of an author he is. Robert M Campbell, another friend, is releasing the next part of his awesome Trajectory series. They are some of the best SF out there and on par with the greats of the genre. I am determined he should get the recognition he deserves. Scott Moon has a really exciting serial he has worked on with the legendary Craig Martelle. He is both a great story teller and, just as important in the industry, it will be facinating to see how a serial performs in the current market. Again, that may be a game changer. Finally, Josh Hayes is working with Richard Fox on a series. The first one is out, and I’m loving it. He’s a great author, with fantastic technical skill and a hell of a lot of subject matter knowledge. Four more are going to follow over the next year.
So one? No, I couldn’t pick one just one.
Find Ralph on Facebook or visit the website he hosts in collaboration with a number of leading SF authors. www.scifiexplorations.com Buy Ralph’s books here.
Fantasy, horror, and sci fi author E.J. Tett also writes speculative romance under the name Emma Jane. She has been writing stories since primary school, some of which still survive in notebooks in her dad’s attic, and wanted to be an author as soon as she realised it was a possible career choice and ‘Pony’ or ‘Ninja’ weren’t viable options. Her latest novel is the brand new Space Mac, a sci fi space heist story with a strong side of romance.
Favorite 2017 Writer Moment: My favourite writer moment of 2017 was having not one, but two, novels accepted by NineStar Press for publication. Particularly my first sci-fi, Space Mac, which I actually wrote for the 2016 NaNoWriMo. NineStar are a brilliant LGBTQA+ publisher so I was ecstatic that they’d want to publish something I’d written.
Top 2018 Writer Resolution: I failed at the NaNo this year, only managing to hit 30k, so I’d really like to try to finish the novel I started for that. I also have a couple other things I’d like to write for NineStar as they have some pretty interesting submission calls going on at the moment. Also, I’d really love to be able to get my urban fantasy ‘Locke & Co’ polished enough that I can start sending it out to agents.
One book from your 2018 to-read list: Obviously Night Blade by Juliana Spink Mills. I finished the first novel in the series, Heart Blade, very recently so I need to get to Night Blade while the first is still fresh in my memory. I know you said one, but I’d also like to check out Haunted Hearts by Amelia Faulkner – ghosts and romance sound right up my street.
Find Em online at ejtett.weebly.com and on Twitter @emizzy. Buy her books here and as Emma Jane here.
Epic fantasy author Brian G. Turner spent over 20 years researching mediaeval living history before publishing Gathering, the first book in the Chronicles of Empire series. He also visited historic sites, re-enactments, and learned many of the skills his characters use — not least horse-riding, archery, and sword-fighting — to provide for a more realistic character experience. He currently lives in the Highlands of Scotland with his family.
Favorite 2017 Writer Moment: My favorite writing moment was finishing a first draft of 160k words in less than 8 weeks. Bragging rights = failed, because it has required another 10 months of rewriting and editing!
Top 2018 Writer Resolution: I have no resolution, though, other than to keep pushing to write. I have a lot of stories to tell, but writing always takes so much longer than expected.
One book from your 2018 to-read list: Possibly the biggest book for 2018 will be a re-read of Lord of the Rings. I don’t really have any fond memories from the first time, not least because school friends told me everything about the story before I’d even picked up the book. However, I’m going to keep in mind everything I’ve learned so far about the technicalities of fiction writing, and see Tolkien can teach me something new.
You can find Brian online at the SFFChronicles.com, at his dedicated author forum, and on Twitter @Brian_G_Turner. Buy Gathering here.
Thaddeus White has always loved reading and writing. He’s an avid reader of fantasy and classical history, and also enjoys watching, betting and tipping on Formula 1 (with mixed results). Thaddeus writes epic fantasy and fantasy-comedy, as well as occasionally dabbling in other genres like horror or sci fi. His latest book is Sir Edric’s Kingdom, a comedy that is more fun than a ferret in custard.
Favorite 2017 Writer Moment: Probably the Wandering Phoenix and Roaming Tiger serial (start of it, just done the first three episodes which serve as an origin story of how the title characters get together, and will add more once I’ve finished my current WIP). It’s an entirely different style to what I’ve done before, high octane adventure inspired by Chinese classics like Outlaws of the Marsh.
Top 2018 Writer Resolution: To start (and hopefully finish) the first ‘chapter’ in a comedic webcomic I’ve begun to put together. Should be 40-50 episodes in total, so a combination of drawing and dialogue which is quite a challenge. Hoping to get the first episode out either this month or next (if so, the resolution will just be for the finishing bit).
One book from your 2018 to-read list: Oathbringer, the third entry in the Stormlight Archives. It came out last month and, although I’ve been waiting for it for a while, I’m currently reading something else so it’s probably next on the to-buy list.
Find Thaddeus online at thaddeuswhite.weebly.com, and blogging at thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk. He can also be found on Twitter @MorrisF1. Buy his books here.
Jo Zebedee writes science fiction and fantasy in a little corner of Northern Ireland. She has a healthy interest in lots of things like reading, and writing, and gardening. She has an unhealthy interest in sexy space pilots, aliens and all things Space Opera. She is the author of sci fi novels Inish Carraig and the Inheritance Trilogy, and the dark fantasy Waters and the Wild.
Favorite 2017 Writer Moment: Publication of a new book is always something a little special, and Waters and the Wild (July, Inspired Quill) was a very personal title, drawing on themes that meant a lot to me and written in a place I wanted to take care to capture well.
But I’ll also mention going down to Dublin with a group of women from Women Aloud NI – a group who focus on raising the women’s writing scene profile in NI. We went down on the translink train, reading all the way, and then joined women writers at the Irish Writers Centre for a day of reading and panels before heading back to Belfast. It was huge fun!
Top 2018 Writer Resolution: To finish Inish Carraig‘s sequel. Inish Carraig is my cult hit about an alien invasion of Belfast, written as only someone familiar with the NI voices could. I get asked a lot for a sequel but I’ve dragged my heels, perhaps fearful of not capturing the magic again.
But I’m now nearly 10,000 words in and the voices are coming back. I’m working in a different way – with a small team of beta readers looking at a chunk each month. That means I’m planning (a little) more and taking more care to hone things.
I’d hope to have it out in 2019.
One book from your 2018 to-read list: Just one! That’s not possible.
Let’s see…. The Invasion by Peadar Ó Guilín is high up there. The Empyreus Proof by Bryan Wigmore – I’m dying to see what happens next. Thaddeus White’s new Sir Edric book. I’ve beta read it and loved it, as always, and will enjoy seeing the finished article. And, finally, a debut – I’m looking forward to reading Dan Jones’ Man’O’War due from Snowbooks.
You can find Jo online at www.jozebedee.com and on Twitter @jozebwrites. Buy Jo’s books here.
Juliana Spink Mills 