Lots of writing this year, though mostly shorter, versus full novels – a trade-off, I suppose! Let’s see…
Scholarship / Non-fiction (doing this first, since it’s a shorter list!)
–wrote a chapter on The Traitors and medievalism for Paul Booth’s book on reality television (published now!)
–wrote a chapter on Patricia Nell Warren’s The Front Runner and the romance genre for Nikolai Endres’ book on Warren and her legacy (book submitted to publisher; currently awaiting peer review)
–contributed (one among the et al!) to Heather Schell et al, “Defining the Trope in Romance Fiction” (article submitted to the Journal of Popular Romance Studies; publication forthcoming)
I semi-accidentally dropped out of a project I really wanted to do – just totally flaked and forgot the deadline even existed, in the midst of so many other things going on —and I am sad about that, but it was a good impetus to try to be a little more strict about writing down deadlines and reminders. (To be fair, that was also right when I was in the middle of a) somehow viciously injuring a hamstring, still not sure how, just existing while being over the age of 40 I guess; b) being given really good drugs by Kaiser; c) attempting to then convince Kaiser that I needed more than three days’ worth at a time, because, you know, teaching requires being able to stand up, and, not exaggerating, that was not possible without assistance…)
A couple other things forthcoming—abstracts accepted—but still very in-progress, so I’m not counting those yet, just the projects essentially done on my end.
Romance Fiction!
Seventeen publications this year, which sounds like a lot, though a couple of them are collections and box sets! I think this is numerically more than last year but fewer words written – shorter stories + some republished and collected stories. I didn’t manage to finish The Warlock Affair (Kitten & Witch #3), which has become The Story That Won’t Behave, so I’m a bit grumpy about that. But I did finish off the Regency MMM trilogy (yay for finishing something!), and at least a couple of these stories are ones in which I really love my own writing, so I’m proud of them.
Italics for novellas, quotes for short stories and flash fic! Stand-alone stories unless otherwise noted.
January – “Hexes of Bronze,” the fourth Aric/Em story! This one will reappear later… There will be two more stories in this series, ideally this upcoming year.
January – “Portraits” (short version) in the JMS Books Love Is Free charity anthology benefiting the ACLU! This is a Lorre/Gareth bonus story I’d been wanting to write, set after Magician.
February – A Valentine for Violet (this is one of my own favorite stories this year, if I have to pick!)
March – “Sunlight and Skystone” (little short fic, sequel to “Starlight and Stone” – this one was fun; it just turned up and wanted to be written!)
April – “Tulips for Two” (flash fic length)
April – the Midwinter box set (Midwinter Firelight, Midwinter Music, Midwinter Marriage)
May – “In Perfect Time” (this one makes me happy because it was a story I’d had bits and pieces of, for years, and finally finished!)
May – June (only available one weekend!) – Small Adventures, my collection of short / new / old / preview pieces offered as part of R. Cooper’s ACLU fundraiser! This has some stories you’ll never find anywhere else…like that very early Humorous Fantasy, Pratchett-inspired, story…
June – “Portraits” (expanded version, individually released)
July – “Gifts,” for the JMS Books anniversary releases! One more Gareth/Lorre bonus story; this one was a delight, thinking about how they’d try to make each other happy.
August – Storm Point (individually and as part of the collected National Lighthouse Day box set); this is, oddly, one of my other favorites! It has a slightly different feel from what I usually write, but it was surprisingly easy to write; it flowed well.
September – the Character Study box set (In Frame / In Focus: the two Leo/Sam novels that are the Character Bleed spin-off story!)
October – The Prestley Ghost, which is also one of my favorites; I just like a lot of my writing in it!
November – A Thousand Kisses, the third and final Regency MMM story! This is the other one I’ll pick as a favorite, maybe the most so: because I’m glad to’ve finished the trilogy, because I got to revel in classical quotations, and because in some ways the POV in this one’s very personal.
December – “Illuminations,” free for a day as part of the JMS Books Advent Calendar, on sale after that! Set in the Magician world but with new apprentice magician characters, and winter festivals, and a missing magical lantern.
December – the JMS Books 2025 Top Ten Gay Romance anthology, including my “Hexes of Bronze”, to finish out the year!
I have stories submitted for January and February 2026 as well – one’s an update and republishing of a very, very old story (got the rights back!), and one’s something new, in the Kitten & Witch world, while I keep poking at The Warlock Affair! Also got a couple things submitted for the JMS Books flash fiction anthology (deadline tonight! still time for you!).
Decently productive, I think, though next year I want to get back to at least one full-length novel, and also finish off the Aric/Emrys stories, and Warlock! Those are the big goals, I think – or that’s the plan! There are a couple WIPs…the direct Jer/Talis sequel to Apprentice’s Luck, for one, and also the last Spells novel, co-authored with K.S. Murphy…that I’d really like to finish up as well.
Thanks for reading and sharing all the love of characters and stories!
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