IT’S NOT A YEAR IN REVIEW

I’ve been getting several emails from various social media aspects offering to show me my WRAPPED. You know, like a wrap party at the end of filming a movie or the run of a play. There seems to be a finality to it that is not inherent in A YEAR IN REVIEW. That expression contains some degree of nostalgia. Be that as it may, allow me to present to you some of what happened in 2024.

I spent the first half of the year editing The End of the Treachery, Volume 2 of The Wichita Chronicles with my editor from The Wild Rose Press while waiting on a release date and planning some kind of marketing strategy. Concurrent with that, I was completing the first draft of Book Three, going through four revisions, and then setting it aside to present to the publisher early next year.

But, as it goes with writers, my brain kept churning out ideas. I outlined Book Four and started writing it. On top of that, I got a wild idea for a concept for Book Five. Suffice it to say this series has sunk its claws in me.

Tikiman and The Viking Podcast celebrated one year in July. We ended 2024 with our 34th episode. My co-host Brian Johnson got his book accepted by the same publisher. He and I were brainstorming episodes and new folks to interview next year. We did eleven this year.

As Tikiman and The Viking, we were presenters at the OWFI Conference in Oklahoma City doing separate presentations on Blogging and Podcasting as well as being on a mystery/horror/crime panel. The short guy and the tall guy, both with impressive beards, seemed to make a splash.

I was fortunate to be interviewed for the Tornado Alley Mystery Writers Podcast. It was interesting to be on the other side of the microphone, so to speak. These folks have a wonderful organization worth checking out.

Of course, life is not solely about writing and artistic pursuits, despite our desires. My wife and I settled into the new house we moved into, unpacked, decorate, reorganized, renovated, and basically found a new rhythm to life. I continued to cook and bake and make sausages. The cats, Sir PounceAlot and Lady Mittens, have found their groove as well and are decidedly pleased being characters in my new series.

If you were looking for fireworks from this report, I am sorry to disappoint you. I turned 62 and have two and a half years toward retirement. Maintaining my home, continuing with my creative and culinary endeavors, and finding some sense of balance may not yield a vast amount of excitement but it does lend itself to a tranquility that is often hard to find.