For 9 of the last 11 years I've said: "It has been a very good 20** all told!".
2020 & 2021 ... hmmm ... Not so much. My books have done fine, but this year I've also spent 40 days and 40 nights in hospital with my youngest daughter during a pandemic that won't stop. And since on 4 of those visits she had septicemia and was close to dying, it wasn't much fun. She's been doing much better for the last three months though.
This post follows up from similar posts at the same time in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 I record a year of ups and less ups. I take a minute to do the sums and raid the scrapbook.
This year I joined Patreon - which has been great fun so far. It's a platform that allows readers to support authors directly and encourages more exchange. We have a Discord that gets a lot of chat, and each Patreon tier comes with perks, which can be anything from book plates, and free stories, to free signed books and writing consults. I currently have 86 patrons - many thanks!
Since Prince of Thorns turned 10 this year, I'll be doing a smidgen of looking in the rear view mirror.
The Girl And The Mountain came out in 2021 and has been well received.
Some non-terrible 2021 news is that there's interest in making a TV show out of One Word Kill - so watch this space!
10th anniversary editions of Prince of Thorns are available for pre-order!
They're signed & numbered.
In the US you can order a leather-bound deluxe copy with internal art from original cover artist Jason Chan. An object of beauty!
In the UK you can order a hardback edition with a short Jorg story, and an afterword from me. These editions are at very different price points and are very different beasts - but both are great ways to celebrate Jorg at 10 and have his story in a beautiful book.
Lies, damn lies, and statistics to follow:
I'm passed a million "books added" on Goodreads. Those are crazy numbers!
Prince of Thorns passed 100,000 ratings in 2021 and I gave away a copy of the (sold out) Broken Empire omnibus to celebrate!
I've decided to stop posting the Amazon ratings as they're getting a bit dull.
The blog is bumping along around 1,000 hits a day - which isn't terrible - should hit 4 million in total in 2022.
Join my Patreon.
I wanted to say I hope your daughter is doing better and I'm sorry to hear she got that sick. You must be as devoted a parent as you are as a writer since you stayed by her side for so long in the hospital. I wish you and your family good health and that you stay safe in these crazy times. I was tempted to say impossible times but that would be overkill. One of the things I took from that trilogy was a reminder that as bad as things are, they can always be much worse in terms of your health. I know I said this in another post before but I can't thank you enough for your writing and how much relief it brings me as we all try to ride out this storm.
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