Only a few days to go until your New Year resolutions kick in. Have you made any?

Mine is obviously to finish Past Mistakes. By "finish", I mean not only to get the text written, but the other steps that come after.

Re-reading, editing, cover design, beta-readers, early reviewers, launch marketing, and so on. It's almost as much work as writing the book itself. The mountain of items on the to-do list seems to go on forever. That said, we're down to 4000 words to complete the advanced draft.

I thought I'd get more done over the holiday period, but with hindsight that was always ambitious, there's too much else going on. That said, there's a little more time before the year kicks off and I hope to get the final period down on paper in January.

Concept Art

There's an event in the novel, to which the title refers, which occurs before the very first scene. This image is emblematic of that event, or its aftermath. If you were one of the readers of the original three-part book which I released (and have now withdrawn), then you'll know exactly what this refers to.

You can let me know what you think by replying to this message.

A free short story for you

I start a lot of stories that I don't take any further. The ratio of new ideas to avaiable time is (approximately) infinity-to-one, so when an idea jumps into my head and gets in the way of the project I'm trying to finish, I take a few hours and write the concept into a short story to get it out of my head. In this way I achieve some measure of closure, then move back to my main project.

This short story is one of those, an initial idea I really liked, based on a character who's both stronger and more competent than anyone around him, because of some unfair advantages from a long time ago. But he's also weaker, because in the society he lives in, he's an outcast, and would be killed on sight if anyone knew what he was, so despite his superhuman nature, he has none of the advantages that we all take for granted.

I enjoyed writing it, and I think it would have made a great story. It's one of many short stories available on my website.

Click here to read "Machine Man" for Free

Recommended Read

Every newsletter provides at least one recommended read, and this edition I'd like to suggest you reach out to Mel Todd and test this side-story, by clicking on the button at the bottom.

Shattered by Mel Todd

Cori and Stevie are each other's best friend, isn't that what twins are supposed to be? When something happens at the playground Cori's life is shattered and more than just her heart breaks.

Click Here to Download "Shattered"

Honestly, the short moment between Christmas and New Year isn't the best moment to draft a newsletter, so I hope you'll excuse me as I get back to the last few drinks of the year!

Happy New Year!

Nick.

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