As I sit here on Christmas Eve, I can’t help but reflect on 2019.  The biggest accomplishment for me was finally finishing and publishing Life Models, but I also made progress on two new projects.  One of those is the sequel to The “Volunteer”, now titled The Girl Who Stopped Wearing Clothes.  The goal now is to get that released in 2020.  And if you can’t wait for the release date to read at least part of the sequel, check out Panther City Review #4, which includes the first chapter.

The second project is a psychological thriller that I started for National Novel Writing Month.  Sadly, my travel schedule to FACE derailed my plans for a high word count for NaNoWriMo, but I was able to lay a good foundation for this as yet untitled novel.  If I work hard, maybe I can get at least a first draft finished before next November, which would free me up to begin a new project for NaNoWriMo 2020.

I also completed one of my personal reading projects in 2019.  Several years ago, I set a goal to acquire and read every winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, going back to the beginning, when the award was called the Pulitzer Prize for Novel.  Because of the difficulty in acquiring some titles, I did not read them in chronological order.  The last one I read, finished on July 21st, was The Store by T.S. Stribling, the 1933 winner.  The collection of 92 books has outgrown the bookshelf I have for it, so I will be getting a larger bookcase soon…

I am looking forward to a very productive 2020.  To all of you reading, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.