January draws toward a close

Just taking a minute for a brief update.

Not that much going on, though, really.

I’m plugging away at the third Warhammer novel and it’s coming along nicely. I’m having a good time with it, as always—it’ll be sad to leave the main characters behind after this one. Maybe I’ll get a chance to tell more of their adventures some other time.

I’ve been confirmed as an author guest at I-Con, out on Long Island in March. This will be the second time I’ve been there as a guest and the fourth or fifth time I’ve gone at all. I’m bringing jendaby and the kids this time, though, which should be fun. I’m waiting to hear back about another con, so I’ll post more on that if it happens.

What else? Night of the Daemon is out in Britain already and will be out here next week. Lure of the Lich Lord, the Warhammer supplement I wrote to accompany NoD, is on the same schedule. That was a lot of fun, getting to write both the story and the adventure/setting, and I hope to do more of that in future.

My dad’s coming to visit this weekend, which will be the usual flurry of unplanned activity. The kids are doing well, recovered from their colds of last week just in time for winter to really hit hard. We’ve started a Mage game, which has been fun so far (just the individual preludes last week, but we’ll be playing in earnest this week).

Our shows have started back up, so we were able to watch Heroes and Studio 60 last night, which was nice. Veronica Mars is tonight! Lost resumes at some point but I find myself no longer caring much. We tried the Dresden Files Sunday and were solidly “eh” on it. We’ll give it two more tries before deciding.

Work is fine—it was crazy-busy the past two weeks but it’s starting to settle down again.

I think that’s it for now.

2006 recap

Well, it’s now early January (2007 for those keeping track) and that’s usually when I post a short rundown of my previous year. So rather than break with tradition, here we go:

What I did in 2007:

• Published two novels and two anthologies (and two roleplaying game books).

• Wrote three more novels. At least two of those will be out this year. Also wrote one educational book and three roleplaying game supplements.

• Watched my daughter grow from a toddler to a preschooler. She gets smarter, funnier, more communicative, and more self-sufficient every day. She still has issues sharing, particularly with her little brother, but she’s also still a sweetie. Her delighted squeal and huge smile when I get home each evening are one of the highlights of my day.

• Watched my son grow from a newborn to a sturdy infant. It’s been great watching him develop his own personality, which is very laidback and affectionate, and to see him crawling (fast!) and grabbing everything he can reach and watching his sister with loving fascination. He and I also developed a strong bond, and his big grin and excited bounce when he sees me get home is another highlight.

• Spent time with my lovely wife, who is still wonderful and amazing and gorgeous and the love of my life.

• Did a little work on the house, decorated a bit more, etc. The process continues, but every step makes it a warmer, friendlier environment, and more ours.

• Traveled back to Kansas to see some of our good friends. This was the only trip we took this year—no gaming cons at all—and it was great. We also got to attend two weddings while there, both of old and dear friends, which was very cool.

• Went to a con as an author guest for the first time. That was fun.

• Made some excellent new friends, through LJ and through the Malibu. Spent time with friends in general, though never as much as I’d like.

• Gamed a bit, though again not as often as I’d have liked.

• Stayed with my day job, made some new friends there as well, and (hopefully) smoothed out a few wrinkles.

• Became more mobile, thanks to my father’s long-term loan of a car. Which enabled us, among other things, to visit my wife’s grandmother more often, which is great.

• Got to see my extended family (mine and the wife’s) more than once, including a huge turnout for my son’s baby naming (which was beautifully handled by dochyel).

• Had an awesome surprise birthday party, and got an amazing memory-book present, courtesy of my wonderful wife.

All in all I’d say it was an excellent year, professionally and personally. I know some of you were not as happy with 2006, and I hope 2007 is better for all of us, in as many ways as possible.