Goodbye 2021

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Books in 2021Who would’ve thought that we could get a year more challenging than 2020? Ah well… with that year having been a practice run, at least I was better equipped to handle 2021.

I had two books published this year. ..

My entry into the Lethbridge-Stewart range of Doctor Who spinoff novels, Fear Frequency, came out in April. We were between lockdowns at that time, but given that it was published only in the UK, there was not much in the way of in-person promotion I could have done anyway. It got a couple of really nice reviews, including one that said: “Fear Frequency is a template of all that is excellent in the Lethbridge-Stewart series.”

The Supernatural Survival Guide, the third book in my non-fiction series, came out in September… during lockdown. Normally I would have done a lot of in-person promotion for this one, but that was not to be. Although I did manage a quick little bookshop tour, to sign stock, after the lockdown ended in November.

But with both these books, I did make trailers. You can check them out in videos section of my site.

Again, the pandemic really cut into my speaking gigs. I managed to get a few in person gigs in the breaks between lockdowns, and the number of virtual visits did increase from 2020 as schools and libraries became more comfortable with the technology.

  • Schools: 6 in person + 21 virtual = 27 (up 7 on 2020)
  • Libraries: 5 virtual = 5 (up 3 on 2020)
  • Festival/Conferences: 1 in person + 3 virtual = 4 (down 1 on 2020)
  • Bookshops: 2 in person + 1 virtual = 3 (up 1 on 2020)
  • Other: 2 virtual (down 2 on 2020)

In terms of individual sessions: 28 in person + 60 virtual = 88  (up 18 on 2020)
Mind you, still nowhere near the 149 I had in 2019.

I am double vaxxed and soon to be boosted. And I am hoping that the Omicron variant can be brought to heel as I already have lots of in-person bookings for 2022.

As in 2020, I baked A LOT of bread and cakes during 2021 lockdowns. I plan on trying to reduce that in 2022. And I did a lot of reading… which I hope to increase in 2022.

I managed to get quite a bit of writing done. So far I’ve got one book, two short stories and one essay scheduled for publication next year. I’ve sent out a further book proposal, two story submissions and a pitch that I’m waiting to hear back on. And I’m part way through preparing a bunch of other submissions/pitches.

Of course, I am also looking forward to the Doctor Who New Years Day special, “Eve of the Daleks”.  We live in exciting times!

Goodbye 2021! Hello 2022!