Plans for 2012
 
I’ll be taking down the majority of blog posts sometime in the next week, leaving the most popular and a few of my favorites. If there’s anything you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t, now is the time! And if there is one you love and wish I would leave up, drop me a note at keswickhouse@earthlink.net.
 
I’d like to post a few notices and some news and plans today: First, The Hot Air Quarterly recently published its last regular issue, the cover featuring the photography of southern Californian photographer Jim Manley (pdf copies of the issue are available for free via email). Donations were down, my freelance income was down, and the work involved seemed to increase exponentially with each issue to the point that it was negatively impacting my own creative work. It was a wonderful ride, and Jim and I are so thankful to everyone who helped support the effort, and thankful that Bill Siemer came up with the idea five years ago. I feel that we published some absolutely outstanding work, both on the covers and between them. We’re proud of what we accomplished. Back issues are available in pdf format; email your request. And I apologize to anyone who submitted and to whom Jim and I haven’t yet responded; we hope to work our way through the backlog over the next six months or so.
 
Last year, I finished a novel I had been working on for seven years, The Listener (the first half or so of which was serialized in The Hot Air Quarterly), a picaresque fairy tale for adults, set in alternative contemporary times. I’m currently exploring publishing options, such as a limited edition softcover combined with e-book versions such as Kindle. I would love to publish it (and a collection of linked short stories) in the same collectible format as The Last Good Fairy but lack the funds. I’ll be looking for grant funding or sponsors, and/or hoping that e-book sales can provide the necessary means. More information on this title will be posted later.
 
As I mentioned above, I also have a collection of linked short stories, Altar of Fire, that follows the experiences of fifteen protagonists as they encounter a destructive, out-of-control wildfire. A minor character in one story becomes the main character of a following story, so that each main character appears in three stories and from three different points of view. The last story circles back to the first one. I will be exploring publishing options for this title, too.
 
I’m also considering offering my hard copies, including The Last Good Fairy, on Etsy.
 
I more or less took a sabbatical from my artwork in 2011, which was not a good thing, and am planning to do quite a bit of artwork in 2012. I have two or three new series I want to explore, and I have some new tools/toys I’m eager to experiment with. I will be participating in a group show at City Hall in Redding with a wonderful group of artists known as The Artists Gathering from mid-January through May 3. I’ll post more information about that as the January 27 opening draws nearer. At some point, I’ll be moving the art portion of this site to a separate site, Keswick House Productions.
 
I’m currently working on a new novel, so my blogging will no doubt be sporadic. But I will post news and events and the occasional article .
 
Above is a photograph of a courtyard in La Coste, France, an idyllic location in the Luberon Valley of Provence. Richard and I traveled there this last fall with his sister and her husband, having an incredible time where we stayed at Les Trois Sources in Bonnieux. (Highly recommended! Check out my review on Trip Advisor if you’re interested.) We also spent a week in Italy, which was a total blast.
 
Hoping that 2012 brings you all much happiness.
Monday, January 2, 2012