Did a Publisher Meeting this morning for breakfast. That’s where I get to take Fabulous Publisher Babe™ out and we talk business. Because that what we do. Talk business.

We started the weird part of the conversation talking about how one might handle passports and mail in an interstellar/galactic setting. Either you end up sending database updates of a passport system to every planet in the nation (with all the weakest-link risks to your data chain), or you end up reverting to mere paper credentials and trying to maintain local/planetary passports. Not sure.

But that inspired another Last Stand story while we were chatting. I have seven of those done right now, all novellas, with the longest (origin) running 31,000 words and the shortest at 17,000. The rest all come in around 22,000+/-, because that’s my target length for story and I’m generally pretty good at hitting length now that I have the groove.

AND THEN: as we were driving home she asked if we would be in a position to publish twelve Last Stand novellas next year. Jan-Dec. Then, as a secondary step, dropping something else every month.

I have not looked yet, but I am reasonably certain that I could, just with what’s in the can right now. (You will see me think on paper shortly.)

After all, in 2019, I intentionally wrote twenty novels. And then sixteen in 2020 and fifteen in 2021. I’ll actually come in under twelve (novels) in 2022, unless I push towards the end of the year, but that’s me writing a BUNCH of novellas (Last Stand, the Commander Machesky erotica novels under Cole Braddock, etc. Somewhere around a dozen already, and still going.) I’m pretty much on pace for the year, though I did take half of August off (and needed it).

Corsac Fox #1 will be part of my first-ever kickstart in December. I just started #2 this week. I have a pair of Marrakesh (military space adventure/opera) novels done, with plans for what the third will look like. The second monster in Kincaid’s war (160,000 words again) is done. On the Action/Adventure side, I have two Pacific Force novels done, plus an unrelated novella. On the “urban” fantasy side, I have two Derlyth novels done, plus Dan & Stewie.

That’s eleven, without even digging. If asked, that twelfth will be another Science Officer, because I know what the next one will be. And I might write two of those for next year. And maybe pull some more of the SF out of the trunk and focus the rest of this year on extending/finishing some of my current series.

(For example, most of you have never read Scour, because I only sent that novel out to my patreon backers and it might be for sale in the shop. I’d have to look to be sure and haven’t. Similarly, I have the first two of the five Giles/Taft Station novels done, and need to circle back. Plus a handful of short story collections that each form their own Novel One in a different series: Peter Najjar, Ollie, Yasmin, and Flight Officer Brannon. Seriously.)

So in 2023, y’all can expect me to drop TWO major projects every month, if all goes well. A wide selection of things. A lot of fun. I’ve been threatening it for a while, but the boss is the one that decides these things, and she has decided to move ahead on this as a project.

And mind you, I’m not even talking about five collections of short fiction I’ve put together, each about 60-70,000 words and assembling all the stuff I’ve been writing for my patreon or other projects over the last several years. Unless you are on my patreon, you haven’t read three-quarters of them. Don’t call yourself a completist without. 😉

And, today is September 4. I’ll write a second 80k Corsac Fox novel this month, plus two more shorts for side projects. That leaves me three more months to do stuff before January 1. I am not worried.

Instead, I plan to sit down with the boss this week and plot out an actual publishing schedule. Then write five more Last Stand books (I have seven in the can now, plus notes in twenty more) to make up a Season One Omnibus (1-12) for 2023. And map out what projects she wants to publish of the twenty things I could drop in to fill twelve slots behind Last Stand.

Y’all get in and hang on. 2023 is going to be a wild ride.