Hello everyone,

After last week’s humorous post, I thought I would give you a more “real” post about what I plan to accomplish in 2026 regarding my writing.

Christmas in Pandemonium: In 2026, we should be bringing this out on Kindle and Audiobook. At what date? Still in the air, but it should be out in electronic and audio format in time for the next Christmas season. Hoping someone will buy and review the book by then. You people do know that Amazon and Goodreads exist, right?

Live in the Dream: Just started querying two months ago. Ideally, one of those literary agents gets back to me, asks for a full manuscript, and by the end of the year wants to sign me up, introduce Live in the Dream to a top Five Publisher, and I’ve accomplished my life’s goal. Realistically, I’m going to query this for the full year, and then drop down to the indies, and see if there’s any interest at that level.

Hailey Phillips Escapes the Terran Birdcage: Right now, I’m in the first stage of Beta reading on this one. It’s a story about a teenage girl who runs away from home. Far, far away. Like to a galaxy far, far away. I plan to put the book through two stages of beta reading before I start to query it. I hope to have a manuscript ready to send to literary agents by the end of the year, or approximately the time that I have given up on Live in the Dream.

Pandemonium Book Two: Currently going through the second round of beta readers on this. I hope to have a manuscript ready to submit to my publisher by the end of the year, assuming they are in the mood to take it. The first Christmas in Pandemonium hasn’t exactly been lighting up the bestseller lists, though given that they haven’t gotten the book on Kindle or Audiobook yet, nobody would think that it would be.

Hypothetical Pandemonium Book Three: I figure that if I get my manuscript to my publisher in time, I should start Book Three. I know generally what it is about, as it would complete a “To be continued….” storyline from Book Two.

Hypothetical Bruce Manley Project: I’ve got an outline for yet another book I am thinking of drafting up. It’s very light, grounded science fiction, with an unlikeable protagonist, a lazy, stupid idiot whose father is a multi-billionaire, so he has no real responsibilities in life. He spends all of his time playing a video game and engaging in virtual sex until someone forces him to go to the courthouse to sign some papers he doesn’t understand. While there, he gets kidnapped by a terrorist group that wants to force the video game he was playing to be fairer, as he was central to the entire game’s economy. Basically, it’s a story about a sorry loser. My only concern is if I can get it to stretch out to novel length.

Happy New Year to everyone!