I know an end-of-year review is rather a cliche, but when I do this, it’s a good reminder for me of what it is I do all year. At times, I think all I do is sit at my writing desk and stare at my view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nothing wrong with that, of course; it’s a beautiful view. And in the almost 15 years I’ve been staring out my office window, the scenery has definitely changed.

When I first started writing in my office/writing room, I looked out over a very small town and farm fields. Now, the small town has grown and continues to do so, and I look out over a light industrial area. Not as pleasing to me, but it’s not terribly invasive.

So, after that bit of nostalgia, here’s what I did this year.

Books

I had five books released this year.

Now, don’t go, “Wow, five books in one year? All you must do is write.” Well, yes, that is mostly what I do–write, but each of the stories in those five releases I began several years ago. I’m not an indie author who writes only to publish. I have stories to tell, but I want to tell them well. Some of my novels have taken close to two decades from rough draft to publication, but my average right now is three to four years.

Okay, now that’s off my chest.

The first 2024 release was a New Year’s surprise. In December 2023, the conclusion of my series Meeting the Enemy came out in the form of book four, RENDITION. Each of the novels in the series had a reader magnet I’d released as a teaser for its associated novel: Prologue to TERROR, Prologue to REVENGE, Prologue to TREACHERY, and Prologue to RENDITION. The reader magnets were released as eBooks and small paperbacks I gave to purchasers of the novels at in-person book events. So, I combined the four reader magnets into an eBook called PROLOGUES. (Yes, I thought that was clever, too. I have my moments.)

On June 1, 2024, I released an eBook-only box set of three novels written at the request of readers. My novels are character-driven, and three secondary characters caught the attention of several readers, who asked for stories about them: former KGB colonel-turned nanny, Olga Lubova; head Directorate analyst Grace Lydell; and a character who’s never appeared but was only mentioned, Mai Fisher’s spy mother, Katherine Maitland-Fisher.

Of course, I want to keep my handful of fans happy, so out of those suggestions came A Spy’s Legacy (about Mai’s mother), For My Country (Olga), and Taking Her Bows (Grace). As I wrote the three novels over a period of three years, I realized they had a common theme: a significant secret that someone would do anything to keep–hence, the eBook box set’s name, SECRETS. However, not everyone who reads books has an e-reader, so in June, July, and August, respectively, I released paperback versions of the three novels.

I almost forgot–my debut mystery novel, Supreme Madness of the Carnival Season (Ewington Mysteries Book 1), won an International Impact Book Award.

Blog Posts and Podcasts and Newsletters, Oh My!

In 2024, I published 21 blog posts on a variety of topics about “writing, spies, and writing about spies.” That includes this post, which is the final one for 2024 because I’m taking December off from social media, blogging, and podcasting.

This year, I produced and narrated 44 podcast episodes, again on a variety of espionage- and/or writing-related topics.

Twenty-two newsletters came out in 2024, where I shared what I was reading, featured other authors’ releases, updated readers on my personal appearances, and gave subscribers free excerpts. If you aren’t already signed up for SECRET BRIEFINGS, you can do so HERE. It’s free.

I created close to 700 marketing graphics this year for various social media outlets, primarily Facebook, Instagram, and X until I discontinued my account after our disastrous election. And I’m not a graphic artist, so don’t think I’m bragging. I’m not. It’s merely a statistic. I’ve been experimenting with posting on BlueSky, and my Insta posts carry over to Threads.

This year, I also edited four books for two author clients; attended six in-person book events (maybe seven or eight; I lost track); I attended two virtual writing retreats and one in-person residential writing workshop; I conducted two workshops (on how to use Scrivener and Vellum); and I was featured on two panels about writing mysteries and using social media.

And Now, on to 2025!

On New Year’s Day, there’ll be another surprise release. The only social media I’ll be doing in December is dropping occasional vague hints about what it will be and whom it will be about.

In March, Ewington Mysteries Book 2 will release, titled Mournful Influence of the Unperceived Shadow.

Later in 2025 will come the release of a novel I’ve been working on for close to five years, The Devil Passed By, about The Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1979. It’s a subject close to my partly Irish heart and one of Mai Fisher’s and Alexei Bukharin’s earliest missions, and all I’ll say is this is not the Alexei you know and love.

Again, I’m taking December off, so no blog posts, no newsletters, no podcasts, little or no social media. When I worked for Uncle Sam, I managed my leave so that I could take three weeks off at the end of the year for about the last 10 years of my career. That always allowed me to reflect and re-charge for the upcoming year. I started doing that again about three years ago by taking January off, but this year I returned to December for reflection and re-charge mainly because November has been horrible. My brain and soul needed a break sooner rather than later.

Yes, I’m “retired,” but from federal service, and I did that to “start” my current career as an author. Being the overachiever I am, I charged headlong into that, and in the past 15 years, I haven’t given myself many vacations.

So, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Happy Holidays, and see you next year!