Well, the end of the year is upon us, but there's no need to panic: since 2015 was neither a prime number nor a year ending in zero, I don't think anyone's prophesying the end of the world. And yet... and yet... wouldn't that be the ideal time to strike? When we're all complacent in our assumption that this December 31st WON'T portend the end of civilization as we know it?
Ah, well. If it happens, it happens. It's not like we haven't all lived through worse.
Lindsay and I wrapped up another year of holiday gluttony over at Mainlining Christmas. I already mentioned one story I posted, The Collector of Old Toys, so I won't do that again. I had two more, as well: The Society of the Worldly Mind is sort of a spin on a murder mystery, while Old Gods of the North is best described as post-apocalyptic Christmas sword & sorcery. So go click on that if you want to find out what the hell I'm talking about.
Also, I'd be remiss in omitting Lindsay's first piece of holiday fiction, Juliette and the Christmas Invitation. It's a short fantasy piece you should definitely check out.
Of course, that's just the tip of the Christmas iceberg. We reviewed dozens of movies, TV specials, and holiday episodes this year, including (surprisingly) quite a few that didn't suck. Also, I posted a list of ten deadly Christmas elves. Go read that, if nothing else.
But, as much as I might wish otherwise, not everything can be Christmas. I wrote up a retrospective of all the 2015 movies I've seen, organized by preference. It was a good year for movies, overall, even with Age of Ultron being kind of a letdown. I'm particularly happy to see Hollywood investing in (and being rewarded for) genre movies with female leads. I've been doing these lists for quite a while, and this is first time I was able to give the #1 spot to a film where the main character was a woman. More than that, the top three fell in that category. There's a lot more that needs to be done in terms of representation, but it's a fantastic sign.
Setting aside pop-culture for a moment, 2015 was an extremely productive year for me. Without getting into detailed page counts, I more or less wrote and revised two novels this year, which is more than I've ever managed in the past.
I'm hoping to keep that momentum going into 2016. I've already written a draft of the third novel in the Citadel of the Last Gathering, and I've started the fourth book. For those of you who haven't reached the last page of A Tide of Ice, the title of book three is "A Unique Sickness of Spirit."
It's due out next fall, hopefully in time for Halloween. If you enjoyed the first two, I think you'll like this one, as well. It's still early in the revision process, but I really like how it's coming along.
One more thing: my New Year's Resolution. Actually, it's the same I've had every year since I was seventeen - to give up New Year's Resolutions once and for all. For some reason, I've never managed to pull it off.
Thanks to everyone who's been following along. I hope 2016 treats all of you well!
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