2/28/2023 - All My Ducks in a Row

Good afternoon from sunny Virginia!

The temperature has been rocketing up and down over the last few weeks, but it looks like—as we transition into March—there are signs of spring.

This means, among other things, Spring Convention Season. But before I get to that, I promised you ducks…

I snapped this picture last week upon finding that my fiction publications fill a shelf. There are a few asterisks, such as the multiple editions of a few of the titles (hardcovers and a revised edition in the case of The Baron), and the fact that I’m missing some (two anthologies, one magazine, one coloring book, and digital-only publications).

It was an encouraging milestone to hit, and, as one might assume, I’m already striving for the next one, even if I don’t quite know what it will look like.

And on top of this bookcase lives my lineup of ducks. The rubber ducks include three genre ducks I’ve picked up at writing events—Fantasy Duck, Space Duck, and Mystery Duck. (Maybe Detective Duck or “SherDuck Holmes” would be more appropriate.) And finally, on the far right, sits Owl Duck, conveniently under the moon, which I acquired two months ago, while proofreading Murderbirds.

Again, I doubt the collection is entirely complete, but time will tell..

And Now For Something Completely Different—in Video Form

Although my computer’s built-in camera is not brilliant, the ducks frequently make an appearance in my video call appearances, including the most recent episode of “Indie Mayhem” with Ron L Lahr and R J Burchett.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuM5J6lWShA

If you’re not familiar with the show, I don’t know if I can prepare you much, other than to say that it’s a trivia experience focusing on indie authors with the expectation that answers are made up on the spot and often wrong.

Somewhat on theme for this newsletter, I have one more recent recording from a karaoke bar in Colorado Springs. I sang this one on request during Superstars Writing Seminars 2023, the biggest professional education event I know of for authors, and it felt like a good recognition of the steps I’m taking in my author career. I hope you enjoy hearing it.

https://youtu.be/G96LuN9aHA8

Preparation for Publications and Conventions

February felt like a giant “prep month,” in which the vast majority of my author hours went toward tasks other than writing. I did manage a few new short stories and some work on THIS FINE CREW 5, but really, it felt like I was spooling up for the many things on the horizon. And as I look ahead at them, many of the upcoming thresholds will be new to me, but, at the moment, I’m feeling good.

Some of the big publications in my sights include:

• The Murderbirds anthology, including Kickstarter fulfillment and official launch in April;
• Defenders Rise, my first Four Horsemen Universe Novel, scheduled to launch April 14th;
• The Forever Song, book 5 of THIS FINE CREW, which I’m hoping to finish drafting by mid-April; and
• Selection for the Murderbugs anthology and prep for that installment’s upcoming Kickstarter.

Sandwiching the publications will be the conventions, starting with

1. FantaSci in Durham, NC, March 24-26
2. Scares that Care AuthorCon in Williamsburg, VA, March 31 - April 2
3. RavenCon in Richmond, VA, April 21-23

If you plan on attending any of those conventions, I hope you stop by my table. It would be great to meet some more people in person.

Between prep tasks, I’ll go out and make good use of the weather, maybe get some more shots of the lake, like this one:

Have a great week!

Mike Jack Stoumbos