2021 - Writing and Publishing Year in Review

On the personal level (next post), 2021 was pretty traumatic, but on a small press level, it was stupendous. Post the first is here, post the second follows.

As a writer, I:

• saw my novel, Blood Moon, out into the world. Moar menopausal werewolves, found family and other fun stuff! Reader response has been good so far and it gained an Honorable Mention at the Rainbow Awards.
• I saw a new story in my ongoing serial about queer female pirates and spies in the 17th Century Caribbean up at Heather Rose Jone’s Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast! Check out "The Adventuress" here.
• My story, “A Cry in the Night,” appeared in the latest World of Darkness game book, Ghost Hunters,  marking my first in-game appearance. 
• I had articles at Library Journal and Dream Foundry as well as a short essay in Mark My Words: read the Submissions Guidelines and Other Self-Editing Tips edited by Lee Murray and Angela Yuriko Smith (produced for Stoker Con).
• I got my first writing grant for a queer horror project from the Ladies of Horror Fiction.
• I also saw 2 Emily L Byrne reprints appear on the Nobilis Erotica Podcast: "Heart's Thief" and "Diplomacy."
• I also wrote 4 new chapters and a guide to my novel in progress, plus a couple of short stories and an essay for my Patreon, which supports Queen of Swords Press.
• I taught 8 workshops at the Rambo Academy, Springboard for the Arts and the Novel in Progress Bookcamp, appeared on the WROTE Podcast, the Writers Drinking Coffee Podcast, multiple webcasts, 5 online conventions and a couple of online readings and FB groups. Also, my first two gaming conventions and an short clip for the Edelweiss Bookfest. And Skepticon, the Pride StoryBundle (co-curator), the Story Hour, FAE Productions, two book festivals and more! It was a lot.

Publishing Me:

• Queen of Swords Press put out 3 books in 2021: Blood Moon, Foxhunt by Rem Wigmore and Obviously, Aliens by Jennie Goloboy
• We have our own new chai tea blend from my fabulous local tea shop, Bingley's Teas.
• Our 2020 title, The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by A.J. Fitzwater won a Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Collection, was a Runner Up for Best LGBTQ Collection and for Best Lesbian Book at the Rainbow Awards and was a featured title at Edelweiss Bookfest.
• Foxhunt earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly, was included as an essential work of solarpunk fiction in this Tor.com piece on "The Solarpunk Future," and was a Runner Up for Best Transgender Book and Best Transgender Science Fiction at the Rainbow Awards.
• We all participated in a r/Fantasy Small Press AMA (first time!).
• Between us, we did a whole bunch of literary festivals, online cons, online readings, panels and more.
• Queen of Swords Press had our first university intern, the awesome Shannon, who helped Alexa and me get a ton of stuff done.
• Laya Rose and Terry Roy created amazing covers and book design for us.
• DragonByte/Andi C. Buchanan redesigned our website to make it scalable and added Square payments.
• We doubled the size of our mailing list, added direct preorders and nearly doubled our sales from 2020.

I am so, so proud of all the work we've done and the books we've put out! I hope you'll give them and us a try as we enter our 6th year!

2021 Year in Review - Personal

This one will be shorter than the publishing one. 2021 was kind of a trashfire on the personal level. I kicked off January in a seriously unpleasant and abusive job situation, didn't get much support from my union and got bounced out of my job under circumstances that suggested that my supervisor had a younger buddy that he wanted to hire. I was out of work for a month, then picked up a 3 month contract, with assurances of more work to come, with a former employer. They were "unable to place" me after 3 months  (and believe me, given my skill sets, if you can't come up with something, you're not trying very hard or don't know what you're doing - my guess is that the problem lay between these two points). So I interviewed and interviewed and interviewed, 3 and 4 times at the same place in some cases and about 3.5 months later, got picked up for another contract at a company I had interviewed at 4 times previously for other gigs (5th time's the charm!).

I lost a good friend to cancer, several acquaintances to other illnesses and saw my friends and social networks lose an enormous number of people and pets to all kinds of things. Minneapolis is still struggling to recover, unsurprisingly, and that process is very fraught. The environment and social issues, the attempted coup, the refugee crisis and on and on, overlaid with COVID and its impacts, made for an incredibly hard year.

We spent most of the year on stopgap insurance because I wasn't sure how long I'd be out of work. Jana's health issues are definitely getting worse, so finally being able to get back on the ACA next week is huge. This week started with an incident that will result in her getting her driver's license pulled - fortunately, no one was hurt, my friends and the police officer who came to see what was going on went above and beyond and were awesome and I'm very relieved that it wasn't worse. But it amps up the amount of caregiving that I will have to provide by quite a bit. It will impact everything from my weekly schedule to travel to things I haven't even considered yet - I'll be figuring this out for a while. And asking for help, which I am terrible at. So...

I'm ending the year with that and this same week, got an invite to teach a workshop for Clarion Online, about which more when we get things sorted, got asked back to the Novel in Progress Book Camp, got an invite to teach at a prestigious  art festival in 2023 (about which more later) and got my first Author GOH invite (Marscon in Minneapolis, March, 2022) last month. I joined my neighborhood Buy Nothing Group and started working on paring down our stuff and building some new community. I've managed some amazing quality time with friends either in person or online and seen some great online music, plays and readings. In addition, I got invited to do a ton of great interviews by wonderful people, a ton of friends and complete strangers have supported my Patreon, bought Jana's work, bought QoSP books, did minibenefits (thanks, Elise!) for me, fed us and did a bunch of things to help us stay afloat and I am so, so grateful. Thank you all! I'm hoping that 2022 is a less tumultuous year than the last 2 and that we all get so see some good things coming our way!.

Where I'll be in 2021

Updates as I have them!

January:

• Arisia (online) - Friday, January 15th-18th. Boston area sf convention being held online this year. I'll be on a couple of panels on Sunday the 18th.
• No More Lone Wolves: Writing Characters in Community - Saturday, January  16th, time 1:00-3:00 PST. Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, online . Join me for a workshop and discussion on writing communities for your fictional characters and making them come alive for your readers.

February

• Capricon 41 - February 4-7, online from Chicago. I'll be on programming.
• Lesbian Campfire (Facebook Group) - reading as Emily L. Byrne from "Toads, Diamonds and the Occasional Peal" in Witches, Princess and Women at Arms edited by Sacchi Green. Exact date is TBD.
• In Flagrante Delicto: Writing Effective Sex Scenes - Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, online. Sunday, February 14th 1:00-3:00 PST. Spend part of your Valentine's Day learning about putting some spark, sizzle, and steam into your writing!

March:

• Deep Valley Book Festival - March 6-7th, online from Mankato, MN. I'll be one of the featured authors at this event for Minnesota writers and publishers.
• Book Promotion on a Budget- Sunday, March 7th, 1:00-3:00 PST. Online class at the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. I'll be helping you to set up a promotional plan for your books and figuring out how to get the most from your available resources.
• Rainbow Space Magic - March 12th-14th, online. LGBTQ+ science fiction convention - I'll be back on programming and possibly vending with Queen of Swords Press.
• DreamHaven Books - Minneapolis, MN. 3/17 - release reading for Blood Moon! There will be a prize drawing and you *may* be able to attend in person, but it will otherwise be streamed on Facebook Live.
  
• Story Hour - March 24th, 7PM PST. I read some of my short fiction in a slot with author Laurence Raphael Brothers in this delightful weekly online spec-fic reading series.
• Quick Reads Author Reading - March 28th 4-5:30. Link when I have it.

April:

• Steampunk CommuniTea Weekend (online) - April 9-11th, Tucson, AZ. Weekend long steampunk event with tea and fun and panels! Alex Acks and I are both special guests.
• So You Want to Put Together an Anthology? - Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, online. April 10th, 9:30-11:30 AM PST. What goes into creating an anthology? How do you find authors? Decide to pitch it to a publisher or indie publish? And what do you do with it when you’re done?
• Publishing Basics for Genre Writers - April 14th, 6:00-8:00 PM CST. Zoom, Springboard for the Arts. I'll be teaching this interactive online workshop for Springboard, a Minnesota nonprofit.
• Flights of Foundry - April 16-18th, online sf/f/h con. I will be on programming and will have a Queen of Swords table in the virtual Dealer's Room.

May:

• "What is Book Coaching" - May 11th 1-2:30 PM CST. Online panel with the Professional Editor's Network, Minneapolis. You can register here.
  
• StokerCon - May 20th-23rd. Online from Denver, CO. I have a reading slot, still waiting to hear about panels.
  

June:

• Pride Month StoryBundle - June 2 - July 1st. Our annual event, this year featuring books by Melissa Scott, Matt Bright, A.J. Fitzwater, Andi C. Buchanan, R.B. Lemberg, Eboni Dunbar, Cecilia Tan, dave ring, Leigh Harlen, Anya DeNiro, Langley Hyde, Heather Rose Jones, J. Scott Coatsworth and Catherine Lundoff and benefiting Rainbow Railroad.
• r/Fantasy Queen of Swords Press Reddit AMA - June 4th online, 24 hour Q&A featuring A.J. Fitzwater, Alex Acks, Rem Wigmore, Jennie Goloboy and Catherine Lundoff.
  
• 2021 SFWA Nebula Conference. June 4th-6th, online. Panelist, "Thinking Big, Publishing Small" on Saturday, June 5th at 11AM PST.
• Edelweiss BookFest. June 8-9th, online. Queen of Swords Press title The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by A.J. Fitzwater is an Editor's Pick and I have a recorded spotlight and will be otherwise around doing promo.
• Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention 2021. June 11th-13th. I'll be on the Writing Horror Games panel on Friday night at 8:30PM CST.
• Behind the Scenes: Nuts and Bolts of Small Press Publishing. June 13th, Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, online 9:30-11:30 AM PST. In which I explain what goes into publishing a book, what I do as a publisher and answer your questions.
• Twin Cities Lesbian Fiction Book Club - June 16th, 7PM. Discussing Blood Moon with me. This is an invite-only online event, so please let me know if you'd like to attend.
• Romance in Her Prime - June 27th, 4PM CST. I'll be doing a reading from both Silver Moon and Blood Moon and doing an author interview on this FB group.

July:

• Strong Women, Strange Worlds - July 15th, 5PM EST. Online reading series.I'll be reading with several other authors in this new online science fiction and fantasy reading series.
• Madame Askew's Temporal Entourage Book Club - July 18th, 6:30 CST. An online discussion of Alex Acks's Wireless and More Steam-Powered Adventures. Alex will be Guest of Honor and I'll be the cheering section.
• Perfectly Queer - July 21, 9-10 PM PST. Queer author reading series currently running remote from Dog-Eared Books Castro in San Francisco, hosted by Richard May and Wayne Goodman.
• Golden Crown Literary Society - July 25th, 12PM EST (online). I'll be on a historical f/f fiction panel with cool writers. Stay tuned.

August:

• Novel in Progress Bookcamp - Speculative Fiction Edition. August 1st-7th, West Bend, Wisconsin. I'll be filling in for literary agent Laura Zats and will be on site 8/5-8/7 and teaching a publishing workshop as well as participating in several other activities.
  
• Outwrite DC, August 6-8th, Washington, D.C.online. On Sunday, August 8th, 11:30-12:30 EST, join Kellie Doherty, Eboni Dunbar, Catherine Lundoff and Vincent Scott for Spaceships & Dragons!
  
• Skepticon - Saturday, August 13th. Online, CST. I'll be moderating "Jump Scares and Last Girls" at noon, featuring panelists Bryan Thao Worra, Dr. Raychelle Burks and Jordan Shiveley.
• No More Lone Wolves: Writing Characters in Community - Saturday, August 21st, time 9:30-11:30 PST. Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, online. Join me for a workshop and discussion on writing communities for your fictional characters and making them come alive for your readers.
• Author Reads at Fae Productions - Friday, August 27th. I got interviewed about my work and Queen of Swords Press and did a reading from the Wolves of Wolf's Point books in full Goth regalia. Follow the link to the video!

September:

• St. Cloud Pride in the Park - Saturday, September 18th, 11-3PM. Queen of Swords Press will have a booth - come visit!
• Book Promotion on a Budget- Sunday, September 19th, 9:30-11:30 PST. Online class at the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. I'll be helping you to set up a promotional plan for your books and figuring out how to get the most from your available resources.

October:

• WROTE Podcast - October 9th. I'll be a guest and talking about small press publishing and Queen of Swords Press.
• Columbia Heights Pride - October 9th, 11-5PM CST. Columbia Heights, MN. Queen of Swords Press will have a table and I and my staff will be around.
• Writers Drinking Coffee Podcast - midOctober air date. Interview about my writing, Queen of Swords Press and more.
• North Country Gaylaxians Book Club - October 11th, 7:30PM CST. Quatrefoil Library/online, Minneapolis. They'll be talking about my novel, Blood Moon.
• Twin Cities Book Festival - October 16th, 10-5PM. St. Paul, MN. Queen of Swords Press will be there! I'll also be on the Local Author Showcase, talking about Blood Moon.
• Lambda Sci-Fi Book Club - Thursday, October 28th, 7:30PM EST. The Book Club is discussing Silver Moon and I'll be joining to chat with them online in the second half of the discussion.
• Crimson Peaks and Menacing Mansions: Writing Gothic Horror - Saturday, October 30th, 9:30-11:30 PST. Online class at the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. Writing Gothic horror! Tips, tricks and techniques.

November:

• ConFABulous - November 6th, online. I'll be talking about gaming tie-ins and queer TV.
• Publishing Basics for Genre Writers - November 10th, 6PM. Springboard for the Arts. We're doing a reprise of this that isn't scheduled against a major local trial.
  
• Geek Girl Con - November 13-14th. Online. We'll be a vendor again this year - stay tuned for details.
• Feminist Book Club Holiday Market - Saturday, November 27th. 10-3PM. Minneapolis. Jennie Goloboy and I will be signing books.
  

December:

• Magers & Quinn Booksellers - December 8th, 7PM. Minneapolis. Virtual science fiction panel with writers Jennie Goloboy, John Appel, A.J. Hackwith and Amber Bird.
  
• Minnesota Women's Art Festival - December 11th, 9:30-4:30. St. Mary's University, Minneapolis. I will be sharing a table with artist Jana Pullman.
• Strong Women, Strange Worlds – December 12th, 12-6PM. Multiplatform celebration of the reading series. I decided I had one too many events and canceled on this, but Jennie Goloboy will be participating.
  
• AZ Gallery/Books and Beer Pop-Up Bookstore - December 18th, 12-5 PM, St. Paul. I'll be there with some selected Queen of Swords Press titles and sharing the table with Michael Merriam.
  
• DisCon III - December 15-19th, Washington, D.C. Queen of Swords Press authors Alex Acks and Jennie Goloboy will be on programming and Queen of Swords Press will have a virtual table.