Not to give out too many of my secrets here, but I usually try to write for my website fairly early in the week on what I like to call “Marketing Monday.” As a (very) small independent author, I wear many hats when it comes to getting the word out about my novels; from crafting eye-catching covers to compelling internet content, I pretty much have my hand in just about every aspect of the business. The downside is that I struggle mightily with the fear that taking time to do the public facing content impacts my ability to produce the very thing I’m marketing; nearly six years in, I’m feeling a bit like I’ve kind of found the equilibrium, but also know there’s still room for improvement.
I’ve certainly made some changes since I started. This blog has been around since the beginning, of course, though those early days also saw me augmenting that effort with carefully curated social media posts in channels I thought my audience might be more likely to follow me on. Not only did that take an amazing amount of time, the social media landscape shifted seismically and then fragmented into more platforms — so many more that it was simply impossible for me to keep up. My compromise was to figure out a way to have this blog syndicate across as many of those platforms as I could get onto; while that means more people will see me, it does prevent me from making the content platform-appropriate. One of my goals for this year is to expand that further, and lean into some of the tools now available to me through the newsletter software I have (and the recent upgrades WordPress implemented). Stay tuned on that front (wherever you get my content :-)).
The start of a new year is also when I traditionally take a look at what I’ve got planned for books, both to be published and to be written. 2026 looks like it will be a triple-release year:
- Silenced, the next Vasily Korsokovach novel, is up first and due out in April. Taking place just a few days after Vasily’s surprise appearance at the end of Belie, our intrepid detective starts poking around the suspicious death of the same reporter who’d written an exposé of his assault a few years earlier. It’s a case that will tie up some interesting loose ends — but not without a few surprises.
- Midnight at Dawn is due out in July — assuming I can get my act together and complete the manuscript in time. For whatever reason, this unexpected sequel to Reflection in the Shadows is taking the same path as its predecessor, which does not bode well for my timeline. That being said, I’m pretty excited to spend more time with Kate Oliver and Tenoch Vasquez, even if it means the stakes are a bit higher (along with the personal tension between the two). The central plot here revolves around a missing artifact Ocelot has been tasked with retrieving; naturally, there is more to this thing that meets the eye — or that the gods have clued him in on — which may or may not lead to very bad, world-ending things taking place. And did I mention Kate seems to be acting strangely? Hmm.
- Aftermath rounds out the year when it appears in November. Picking up just after Christmas, we find Sean Colbeth pondering his life choices, including his decision to pay his father an unexpected visit. Rescued by an unexpected case that pulls Vasily in from California, Sean wrestles with his lingering personal demons while trying to resurrect the noted investigator buried under regret and recriminations. I’m nearly done writing this and love how the story has turned out, especially the way it will serve as a bridge into the next Vasily novel (which will finally have the wedding.)
Sprinkled in there somewhere is the possibility of getting out the short story I’ve been teasing about Rosie; that’s going to be a Christmas story, so if we are all very lucky, look for it to appear closer to the holidays. Subscribers will get early access to the novella, so if you haven’t already signed up, this would be a good time to officially join my mailing list. In any event, keep a watchful eye on my Publication Order page, for that’s where I’ll make any adjustments if the schedule changes.
And, of course, I’m exceptionally excited to be appearing at the Tucson Festival of Books again this year. Dates and times are still being set, but hopefully you can swing by and say hello if you happen to be in town.