Brad R. Torgersen rightly points out that I've been getting positively ranty about politics lately. I've still got a lot to say, this healthcare reform debate has really touched some nerves for me — both personally as a cancer survivor who has to cope with pre-existing condition limitations and the likely financial ruin when I reach my lifetime maximum coverage limits; and as a liberal-progressive with strong convictions about the obligations of a wealthy society such as ours to its members regardless of their financial or social status. To say the least, I find currently articulated conservative viewpoints on these issues notably lacking in facts, common sense or compassion. But I think I'll lay off it for a while. At least a few days. I'm a writer who blogs about politics, not a political blogger. Thanks for the reminder, Brad.
On the writing front, I continue to bang out stories, but I'm about to shift gears to a book-length Sekrit Projekt in collaboration with a Sekrit Collaborator. It's cool, I don't know yet if it will pay off as this is a new direction for me, but we'll see. Thinking about that led me to think about my writing plans over the next few years. Spent some time last night discussing this with
garyomaha and elusivem, to the point where they were laughing at me about the degree to which I was looking into the future. For example, the Tor contract I just signed has deliverables due in the spring of 2011, and the final edition in the contract won't be out til the spring of 2013. That's a four year cycle.Roughly speaking, here's what I think is going to happen:
| August-October, 2009 | Sekrit Projekt |
| October-December, 2009 | Revise Our Lady of the Islands with calendula_witch |
| January-February, 2010 | Revise Endurance |
| March-April, 2010 | Draft Kalimpura (Green book 3) |
| May-June, 2010 | Do something else (possibly revive dormant YA novel project) |
| July-December, 2010 | Draft Sunspin (high concept space opera trilogy) |
| January-February, 2011 | Revise Kalimpura |
| March-May, 2011 | Revise Sunspin |
| June-December, 2011 | Draft Original Destiny, Manifest Sin |
All of that, of course, interspersed with copy edits, galleys, short fiction, commissioned work, possible novel projects that someone might throw money at me to do quickly, etc. In other words, very much subject to change without notice, most likely through date slippage. Of the above, only Endurance and Kalimpura are contracted, so everything else can flex as opportunity and inspiration permit.
Watch this space for more details.
| Originally published at jlake.com. |