Writing, Rambling, and Plans for 2015

You know, after writing since forever—I blame it on the fact we didn’t have a TV when I was a kid living in New Guinea—and being published for a few years now, I still haven’t figured out where the ideas come from. And it’s something that people sometimes ask.

“Where do you get your ideas?”

I seriously don’t know. I suspect that the part of my brain that other people use to tell them to put petrol in the car or pay the phone bill or wear matching socks to work today has, in my case, been seconded to urgent daydreaming duties. I mean, I went to a staff meeting the other day and while I don’t actually remember anything that was discussed, I did kind of plan a fantasy story with magic and the ocean and princes and burning people at the stake. So there’s that.

The other day at work, someone said to me, “I wish I’d never stopped writing. I wrote lots when I was in high school, and I really loved it.”

You know the thing about writing? It is like the cheapest hobby on the planet. All you need is a pencil and a piece of paper. And, like any hobby, the more you do it, the better you get. If you enjoy writing, don’t stop doing it. Storytelling is one of the most fun things you can do, and the best way to learn is to just pick up a pencil and give it a go.

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2014 was a great year for me. Wrote some books, went to GRL—the highlight of the year. And not just because I saw squirrels—and realised that yes, this writing thing is what I want to do. I mean, I can’t quit the day job quite yet, but it’s less of a pipe dream and more of a long term plan now. I mean, it would be, if I could plan anything in the long term. Or at all.

2015 will hopefully be the year I go to two conventions—Euro Pride in Munich in July, and GRL in San Diego in October (if I can get a spot). It’s also the year I want to branch out in YA, probably not under this name, and have a go at a few other writing projects as well.

Coming up soon, of course, is THE MERCHANT OF DEATH, Book 2 in J.A. Rock’s and my Playing the Fool trilogy. It’s out on February 2 from Riptide.

Heidi Belleau and I are also working on a story set in the same universe as BLISS, so that’s shaping up nicely!

And guess which lucky person got to write a novel with the awesome M. Caspian? It’s called FALLOUT, and it’s dark, dark, dark!

And J.A. and I have about a gazillion things to work on: the third Boy book, the third Prescott book, this entirely weird project we may have pitched to our publisher at GRL, and about a gazillion other ideas.

2015 is going to be a busy one!