If I was in a tizzy in 2020—as most humans were—I was in perhaps half a tizzy in 2021. That is, the general craziness that started up in the winter of 2020 had moderated its behavior and the clamps on my brain had loosened a bit. But the irony is that in ’20, I at least managed to finish and publish one novel; Johnny Graphic and the Ghost of Doom, the third and final book in the trilogy. Not so this year.

In 2021 I more or less finished a novel that I started many years ago—the first book in a fantasy adventure trilogy. But I didn’t get it published for a very simple reason: I won’t release the book (untitled as of yet) until the other two books are done. I plan on doing what the marketing experts advise—release each book with a month or so interval between them. Give the readers the total story in a nice, compact time frame. Epic magical adventure, no waiting.

The second book is under way and hopefully I will get it done by summer. If 2022’s tizziness remains low-pressure—particularly that little guy covered with spike proteins—I’ll finish the third by the end of the year and release the three books starting in early 2023. That, fingers crossed, is what I’ll be doing a year from now. (But without the suit and tie and brooding expression.)

Additionally, I hope to revive my photographic efforts—scan more negatives, post more old images, shoot more new images, and get out in nature far more than in the past two years. And I desperately want to take a few short road trips with my better half.

At any rate, I hope that if you have undertaken creative efforts this year, they have gone well. And if you love books and music and whatnot, that you have found refuge and joy in them during these crazy times.

From me, D. R. Martin, and my alter ego Richard Audry, please accept our warmest wishes for a wonderful 2022.