2023: A Personal Overview
What can I say about 2023? It started out with a bang with a great event: I finally got a chance to meet my grandson Charlie. I flew down from Seattle to Los Angeles to spend a couple of weeks in late January and early February with the lad and his parents. The timing was fortuitous; my son was about to start a new remote job, and I was able to get to know my grandson and also free his father to focus on work. Charlie was a few months short of a year old. He and I would sit together and play in his spacious playpen, watch his favorite animated shows, and take long walks with him leading the way in his stroller.
Back at home in Seattle, besides taking on all sorts of remote writing jobs to pay the bills, I continued my literary career. In January, my short story “Exorcism and Other Requests” appeared in the horror anthology Tales of Fear, Superstition, and Doom, and during the summer my story “Dark Mirrors” appeared in the anthology Dragon Gems Summer 2023. “Dark Mirrors,” in fact, is my most oft-reprinted story; it had appeared in several other compilations prior to this one. I was supposed to have had one other original anthology appearance in December. Unfortunately, though, at the last minute the publishers canceled the book and reverted rights to the authors due to financial difficulties. Such are the vagaries of the publishing world.
On the book publishing front, early in the year saw the appearance of Silent Interviews and Other Tales of the Telepathic Guild. The blurb offers a succinct summary: Long have the clandestine members of the Telepathic Guild assisted individuals, corporations, and governments by means of their unique skills. Guild Home functions as a headquarters and a refuge, and its strict regulations foster unity and discipline. In this linked series of stories, a guild member falls in love with an outsider and is faced with a life-changing decision; a group of young people rebel against the guild’s stringent rules; a famous sports star discovers he is telepathic and must choose between his wealth and celebrity status and a chance to change the world; a renegade telepath establishes affinity with a wolf pack in the arctic wastes; a talented telepathic detective attempts to solve a brutal murder at a chaotic science fiction convention. These and other tales explore the fascinating, enigmatic, and often dangerous lives of those who have sacrificed everything to join the guild and use their extraordinary abilities for the betterment of humankind.
During 2023 I also published another compilation of book reviews: Reviews and Reflections on Books, Literature, and Writing: Volume 3. This quote from the introduction sums up the contents: A popular topic in science fiction these days is the multiverse, the concept of an infinite number of parallel worlds. Remember, though, that the multiverse is not as far away as you suppose. Each book that you read takes you into a new universe. When you enter a bookstore or a library you are in the midst of thousands of portals to other worlds. To enter all you have to do is follow the words that the authors have set down to guide you. If they have done their jobs effectively, you find yourself in strange lands and alternate timelines with all sorts of different types of characters. The best part is that you can do it anywhere and anytime. Just open up the door, namely the cover of the book, and dive in. I compile these collections of book reviews to serve as maps leading to wondrous worlds. I wish you joy, amazement, prosperity, fun, and adventure in your explorations.
My final book publication of the year was the collection A Glimpse of the Cosmic Dance and Other Stories. In a world whose inhabitants routinely visit famous historical events, two jaded road-weary tourists take a holiday in an isolated retrograde enclave where time travel is forbidden. Humankind is plunged into chaos as the recently deceased reappear and take up residency in their former homes. As the result of an expensive technique that restores their youthful vigor, wealthy old people gallivant from place to place adventure-seeking and partying. However, their newfound energy comes at a terrible cost. In these and other tales you’ll find heart-pounding excitement, deadly perils, baffling perplexities, complex conundrums, dread mysteries, deceptive hallucinations, fantasy landscapes, far planets, distant futures, evil menaces, and unlikely heroes.
As for 2024, I plan to continue writing the best novels, short stories, memoirs, essays, and other works of which I am capable. I would also, if possible, like to do some traveling. I would definitely like to see my grandson Charlie again, and visit my sons, who have all gone off to far-flung places. I would also like to take a trip to Greece. I lived there for almost two decades, but I haven’t been back since I left eleven years ago. Next year around this time, readers, I’ll let you know what has become of these ambitions. For the moment: Happy New Year! Hang in there. Remember that we all go through tough times, but it is how we react to our circumstances that defines our characters. Take it one step at a time and you’ll get through.
