Friday, December 28, 2012

Talk about a Resolution (an extra set of fives)

By Russel D McLean


Yes, I managed to miss the big list of five of the year (which were awesome, by the by), so here is my self imposed penance: a little extra post in the midst of the holidays.

In a few days time, it will be Hogmanay. My plans are simple, and involved a goodly amount of wine (and perhaps some whisky). But its got me thinking about some things, notably where I’ve been and where I’m going.

So lets start by looking back at five highlights, or at least important events (for me) of 2012:

1) Back to the USA:

I wasn’t at Bouchercon this year, but I did go to NYC and Toronto to accompany The Literary Critic on the small tour for her US PB release of BETWEEN THE SHEETS. It was strange to see it all from the other side, both the highs and the lows, and I came back with a sense that as much as the author has to work for a tour, so too do the bookstores. You get out as much as you put in, and it was NYC’s Bluestockings Bookshop who really impressed me.

2) Book Number The Third: FATHER CONFESSOR was released in the UK by Five Leaves and took to the digital field as well. The book got a lot of nice notice and I’ve had a lot of support for it via email and social media. After three years in the wilderness, it felt good to be back.

3) The Good Son hits Italy: L’Impicatto hit the shores of Italy with thanks to Revolver. A great cover by a Vertigo Artist and some very nice reactions, at least through what Google Translate tells me.

4) World Tour of Scotland: I hit a lot of places to promote Father Confessor. Some were successful in terms of attendance, others less so. But it was all great fun. I think I did one event too many, of course (At least once, I was befuddled and shattered by my time on the road, and I was saved by the grace and smarts of a fellow author) but by God it was so much fun and I remembered that the fun of events is meeting and entertaining readers. This was one of the most fun tours I’ve done yet, and what I want to do next is get back to the US for another roadtrip tour there like I did in ‘10.

5) More Work: Yes, I still have the day job but ‘12 saw me stretch my repertoire with a few extra writing related jobs that bought in the money. All of these have been great fun and more importantly have helped me to better understand myself as a writer. With thanks to all those who helped me get these gigs; they’ve been great fun and I look forward to doing more!

Looking Forward

My new years resolutions, or at least those I can talk about here:

1) New book: It may have been three years between The Lost Sister and Father Confessor, but I have an early draft of MOTHERS OF THE DISAPPEARED on hand and a possible delivery date. I’ll keep you up to date as we go on but I hope 2013 sees this new novel find a home.

2) More reviews: I have abandoned Crime Scene Scotland for much of the past year, but I really want to start reviewing again. Its a tough gig to do when paying stuff keeps cropping up, but I love reviewing and there’s so many damn good books out there to talk about.

3) No BSP. Or at least very little. One of my pet peeves of 2012 as a reader are the author who spam other authors and twitter/facebook stream with BSP and utter bullshit. More often than not it puts me off, so why would I subject you to it? Of course I’ll let everyone know when things are happening, but I’m not ramming it down anyone’s throat. Ever.

4) New shorts. Its been so long since I’ve written any short stories, I need to get back on the horse. I love shorts. And I loved doing the e-special Death of Ronnie Sweets last year so I really want to get back on the horse.

5) Back to the USA. This may be hard to do (unless someone wants to pay me a buttload of money) but I really want to do Bouchercon this year. I miss my US friends and readers (sometimes and often the same thing).  So somehow, I’m gonna get there. By hook or by crook.

Anyway, those are my public resolutions for this year. I have a few more private ones. But they’ve all been influenced by my experience this last year. I have to say, despite a few bumps, 2012 has been a great year spent with some great people. Lets hope 2013 goes just as well!

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