Yesterday, I had a rant, I think. But when I think about what my job entails, yesterday’s worries or niggles are just so yesterday. Ultimately, my job is really simple. I sit down and I make stuff up. Sometimes I might stand up, record notes or chapters for transcribing, or maybe go for a run to puzzle out a problem, but more often than not I sit down and type. I’ve been through a few keyboards, and my preferred writing computer – a laptop smaller and lighter than an iPad – has very few symbols left on the keys. I guess it helps when writing mysteries.
Okay. Bad pun.
But what “helps” is the whole idea of not knowing what will happen next. I love that. I also love it when I get an idea that could fit with something else, but will need a good shoehorn to make it work. Which is where I’m at today.
I ran a Kickstarter recently, and some generous backers chose the option of getting written into one of my Greenland stories as a character, interacting with my main characters. I’m in full swing working on those stories, and am very excited about how they might fit into the current “canon”. The stories are scheduled to be sent this Christmas Eve, so no spoilers here. But I can’t help sharing a cover, just for fun.
While I thought these short stories might be standalone, it’s more fun for me to make them a part of the whole thing. Yes, this will involve playing with the timeline a little, but they will be “point fives” and can be read later (obviously) without spoiling the stories that come before or after.
They are personalized stories with “real” people fictionalized for the plot. They will also be published over Christmas, but not before they have been sent to the new “characters” first.
Lots to do.
Lots to make up!
Chris