Status Updates:

I'm back to writing every day. Getting back to basics.

What's Next:

The Wizard's Cat​
I'm finally seeing some significant progress in getting this thing moving along. I'd hoped to have it drafted, at least, by year's end. I suspect you all did, too. Unfortunately, I've disappointed all of us.

Future Ishmael​
No change here. It's been tempting to shelf The Cat and go back to the Deep Dark. Unlike the situation with Cape Grace - which I put away several times over a number of years to work on Ishmael - I don't think it would work this time. The problem isn't the story. It's me.

Tanyth Fairport​
I really want to get back to her and the people in that world. When I'll find the time is anybody's guess. The audiobooks are still in limbo. Sorry.

What I'm Reading:

I finally finished The Wandering Inn, Book 14, the last one published to date but not the last part of the story. I believe it's still going on as a web novel, but I'll wait until it hits Kindle before digging in again.

I went back to some space opera to round out the year. I picked up Skip Scherer's Warship Ares, Captain's Fate, Book 1. As a first novel it has a lot to recommend it. Some interesting world building and engaging characters. Recommended but I followed it up with a familiar author in a series I've been waiting for - Jenny Schwartz's Alien Haunts, book 3 in her Pax Galactica series.

I know I've recommended her work before and this book reminded me of why. Great world building. Troubled, but relatable characters. A lot of heart and just enough fiction in the science to make me keep turning the pages.

Highly recommended and a breath of fresh, canned ship-board air in a heartfelt yarn about identity, personal connections, and responsibility. I loved it. If you haven't been introduced to this universe yet, grab a sample of book 1, Doctor Galaxy, and check into the PGC universe for yourself.

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Looking Ahead:

Progress. I know. I've been saying this for months now. It's frustrating for me, too.

Having cancer changed me. I've been trying to operate as if everything is back to normal. And it is. It's just not the old normal and I haven't adapted as well as I might have.

I've gone back to basics. Writing first thing in the morning. Right after my daily journal and before the day has its claws in me. I haven't been able to recover the same level of through put yet, but I've established the routine. The rhythm I need to deal with ADHD and accommodate the mental and emotional changes that 2022 wrought.

With a thick layer of new existential dread layered on top.

But I'm getting back to first principles. Feed the crew.
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I'm getting there, slowly, and there's no Burleson drive waiting to fire up, just a long sail into the unknown.
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But I'm still working at it.

Thank you for coming along with me for the ride.

Until next year, safe voyage.

-NL

Remember ​
I update the blog every month on the first so if you're wondering what's happening, you can check there to get an interim report until the next one shows up in your inbox.

Beta Readers:

Every so often, I put out a call for beta readers. These are people who are willing to read the work in progress in a short period of time with only the briefest of notices.

I'm going to be fine tuning this process going forward but if you'd like to be considered for future works, then click this link.
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​It puts a tag on your address in the email list. You don't have to check anything. The ConvertKit people (who store the addresses) will handle it and then take you to a page to tell you that your preferences have been set. By clicking that link you're done.

And thanks.

Fine Tuning:

Would you prefer to get ONLY new release notices?YES, PLEASE​

Note: Newsletter people will get New Release notices, too, but
I've had several people say they preferred to only hear from me when I
release a new book so I'm trying to accommodate them.
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