Resolutions: The 2018 Edition
I’m a person who likes to make New Year’s resolutions. Do I remember what my resolutions from last year? Nope, but I still think it’s nice to begin the year with some goals in mind. Since I’ve started writing monthly newsletters, I figured it may be time to jot down said resolutions and review my progress throughout the year. I’m going to forego the usual resolutions, ie. maintain a healthy weight, ski more, go on more trips with Shannon, etc., and, for the purposes of this newsletter, stick to goals related to writing. So without further ado, in no particular order, here are my resolutions for 2018:
Complete The Prisoners of Sparta: The Raiders of Folklore Book 3.
This goes without saying. I’m already a few chapters into this work-in-progress… and I’m liking it—a lot.
Complete Oh No! Where Did Dopey Go? My first foray into picture books.
I’m well into this project too. It’s going to be different from other picture books I’ve seen—and as a librarian, I’ve seen a few. I won’t go into detail right now, but I think it’ll be pretty neat.
Run a Kickstarter campaign for the above picture book.
After the success of my previous Kickstarter campaign (thanks to all of you), I’ll be planning another campaign, this time focusing on the picture book. Stay tuned.
Create and promote my Patreon page.
What’s Patreon you ask? Like back in the Renaissance when wealthy nobles used to support great artists and thinkers of the time, it’s now possible to support artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, etc. around the world. Patreon is a web-based platform that helps artists, writers, etc., do this. If you want to know more about Patreon, go to the website here.
Get back into my artwork.
This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I used to sketch and get in touch with my “artistic” creative side when I was younger. I’m planning on blending my photography and my rookie-photoshopping skills to create something neat. Chances are there will be a lot of ski themed prints :)
And that’s it. Let’s see how many of these I complete when I revisit this newsletter next year.
Do you have any resolutions, ones that are out-of-the-ordinary? I’d love to hear them. Jot them down in the comment section below.
Complete The Prisoners of Sparta: The Raiders of Folklore Book 3.
This goes without saying. I’m already a few chapters into this work-in-progress… and I’m liking it—a lot.
Complete Oh No! Where Did Dopey Go? My first foray into picture books.
I’m well into this project too. It’s going to be different from other picture books I’ve seen—and as a librarian, I’ve seen a few. I won’t go into detail right now, but I think it’ll be pretty neat.
Run a Kickstarter campaign for the above picture book.
After the success of my previous Kickstarter campaign (thanks to all of you), I’ll be planning another campaign, this time focusing on the picture book. Stay tuned.
Create and promote my Patreon page.
What’s Patreon you ask? Like back in the Renaissance when wealthy nobles used to support great artists and thinkers of the time, it’s now possible to support artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, etc. around the world. Patreon is a web-based platform that helps artists, writers, etc., do this. If you want to know more about Patreon, go to the website here.
Get back into my artwork.
This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I used to sketch and get in touch with my “artistic” creative side when I was younger. I’m planning on blending my photography and my rookie-photoshopping skills to create something neat. Chances are there will be a lot of ski themed prints :)
And that’s it. Let’s see how many of these I complete when I revisit this newsletter next year.
Do you have any resolutions, ones that are out-of-the-ordinary? I’d love to hear them. Jot them down in the comment section below.
What I'm Reading
I’ve been reading a lot of mysteries these past few weeks. In particular, I’ve been enjoying the Ray Robertson Mystery novellas by Vicki Delany—another Canadian author (www.vickidelany.com). They are quicker reads (roughly 100 pages) and packed with suspense. I highly recommend you check them out:

Juba Good - RCMP Sergeant Ray Robertson has spent eleven and a half months serving with the United Nations in the world’s newest country. He’s tired of the chaotic traffic and jostling crowds that fill the narrow streets. Tired of the choking red dust that blows into the capital from the desert. He can’t wait to get back to his wife and kids—and back to policing a world he understands.
But when a young woman—the fourth in three weeks—is found dead at the side of a dusty road with a thin white ribbon wrapped tightly around her neck, Robertson fears that a serial killer is on the loose. In a country plagued by years of extreme poverty, civil war and the struggle to establish a functioning government, the policeman realizes that it’s up to him and his Dinka partner, John Deng, to find the killer before they can strike again.
But when a young woman—the fourth in three weeks—is found dead at the side of a dusty road with a thin white ribbon wrapped tightly around her neck, Robertson fears that a serial killer is on the loose. In a country plagued by years of extreme poverty, civil war and the struggle to establish a functioning government, the policeman realizes that it’s up to him and his Dinka partner, John Deng, to find the killer before they can strike again.

Haitian Graves - RCMP sergeant Ray Robertson is serving with the United Nations in Haiti, a land of brilliant color and vibrant life, Vodou and vast above-ground cemeteries. Ray’s job is to train the local police and assist investigations. One call comes in from the home of a wealthy American businessman. The man came home to find his beautiful, young Haitian wife floating face down in the swimming pool. The American embassy and the Haitian police immediately arrest the gardener, and the case is closed. But Ray isn’t so sure, and he keeps digging. Until one night he finds himself in a Vodou-saturated cemetery, surrounded by above-ground tombs and elaborate statuary, confronting a killer with nothing left to lose.

Blood & Belonging - RCMP Sergeant Ray Robertson is in the Turks and Caicos Islands, enjoying two weeks of leave from his job training police in Haiti with the UN. On an early-morning jog along famed Grace Bay Beach he discovers a dead man in the surf. Ray is shocked to recognize the body as that of one of his Haitian police recruits. To his wife's increasing dismay, Ray is compelled to follow the dead man's trail and finds himself plunged into the world of human trafficking and the problems of a tiny country struggling to cope with a desperate wave washing up on its shores.
upcoming events
February 3 - Kickstarter for Beginners Workshop - Kamloops, B.C.
The Kamloops Society for the Written Arts is sponsoring this workshop. The workshop will be geared towards those interested in learning more about Kickstarter and how crowdfunding can help get your project become a reality.
The Kamloops Society for the Written Arts is sponsoring this workshop. The workshop will be geared towards those interested in learning more about Kickstarter and how crowdfunding can help get your project become a reality.