Hello and welcome to my 2021 year end summary!

Instead of simply listing my credits like I did in my 2020 BooksOfM publications post, I want to share a more substantive update. The list follows and only reflects published works not what’s in progress.

2020 was, in my mind, a successful year because I survived the pandemic. Yes, I lost a lot, much like so many of you, but at the same time? I am incredibly lucky, because I am still here. To help me get through months of quarantine and endless amounts of waiting, I made a list—well over 100 items long—of all the things I wanted to do, learn, or try. If 2020 was “Wake Up. Kick Ass. Repeat,” 2021 has been revised to: “Wake Up. Plant a Seed. Help it Grow.”

It has been a quiet year, a year of personal development and growth, a year of cultivating, cutting, and harvesting, a year of being “off-stage” to work, find new gigs, and write on spec. I started the year not knowing how I was going to plow through 2020 Round Two with an article sale 101 Softly Delivered Writing Lessons to Apex Magazine and two 30-day challenges: a month-long art challenge I posted at BooksOfM on Ko-Fi and a month-long poetry challenge I published through BooksOfM on Patreon. (You can find the poems when you become a patron; you can also read about my decision not to publish a chapbook.) The poetry was emotionally draining, so I took a break to refuel my proverbial well and focused on social media management—making images for my existing/upcoming releases—along with a presentation about new players at the GAMA Expo Online.

Then, in April (following my hilarious-to-me Artisanal Writer April Fool’s joke news of vaccine availability started to circulate and I breathed a little easier. (Okay, a lot.) It helped I also had something fun to focus on: Sirens: Battle of the Bards Kickstarter. I signed on to write for the 5E campaign setting; that work is now complete and I really loved the experience and my contribution to the larger world.

In the Spring, I also taught a couple of writing workshops through the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers using tarot and ways to generate stories. I’m happy to report that my not-so-secret secret is slides; I do prep well ahead of time. It helps me keep time and the students engaged. In the middle of a very busy month, I was surprised to find out my short story “Scritch, Scratch” from Haunting Shadows for Wraith: The Oblivion was a 2021 Scribe Awards Nominee.

This Summer, I shifted gears to focus on community content and prepare for my first guest appearance in two years at GameHole Con 2021. I released the “Eyes of Spiragos” adventure for Scarred Lands, then drafted a pair of adventures I wanted to playtest along with a city building workshop, interview questions for my Rethinking Fear in Horror Games with Megan Connell, fundraising for Extra Life, etc. The show was packed and I’m very grateful for time spent with wonderful peers, fans, and friends.

Also in October, I was invited to participate in the Infinite Masters program for Pathfinder, published two releases, and then announced I’m part of a super exciting project—Tales of the RED for the Cyberpunk RED RPG. In November, I completed the first drafts and handed those in! More on this upcoming project later.

Now, as I inch closer to 2022, I’m wrapping up the year to (hopefully) leap forward in 2022. In December, I typically spend time free writing to reflect on the prior year. So how did I line up with my public-announced resolution to write for myself every day? Well, hilariously that is exactly the spot where I ended up, just not in a way I expected it to. When I wrote that resolution, I thought it meant: “Work on my own IPs every day.” Or, to not write for someone else. Except, this year I rediscovered joy in everything I wrote—from marketing copy to Cyberpunk. (Especially Cyberpunk!!!!) Now I really do “write for myself” every day, no matter who I’m volunteering/working with or for, in the healthiest, loving way possible.

This year, I’m tabling my Writerly Accountability post; setting goals has been great, mind you, but friend I need a vacation. Sunlight would be nice, too. And an ocean or three.

On that note, here’s my 2021 publications:

Published Fiction in 2021

“From an Honest Sister, to a Neglected Daughter”, Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Mysteries, 2021, Chaosium Publishing

“Revenge of the Deceiver” short story, Pathfinder, 2021, Pathfinder Infinite

Published Games

Sea of Legends board game, 2021, Guildhall Studios (IF)

WORLD OF DARKNESS GHOST HUNTERS, 2021, Onyx Path Publishing/Paradox Interactive

EYES OF SPIRAGOS, a Scarred Lands 5th Edition adventure, 2021, Slarecian Vault

UNLIKELY COMPANIONS, Pathfinder First Edition, 2021, Pathfinder Infinite