As you’ve noticed I did not post my usual “Art of Fantasy” this week. With work and family obligations and getting the new anthology ready for release, I ran out of time. We also missed our deadline for December 30, so Armistice will now come out early in January. Maybe that is a good thing, considering the high toll 2016 has claimed from all of us. Maybe we should give 2017 a chance to show us what she’s got and leave Armistice in her care.

I’m happy to see 2016 go. It was a rough year. It was not all bad but the degree of bad overshadowed the few rays of gold that occurred throughout the year. My novella, “Babylon’s Song,” appeared in Kōsa Press’ Interspecies. The whole collection received rave reviews, including my story, and continues to sell every day. Even New York Times Bestselling Author, Piers Anthony, had nice things to say about the collection. I also had the honor of having three of my stories in These Broken Worlds nominated for New Zealand’s Sir Julius Vogel Award. Of course, I did not even reach the short list, but let’s blame 2016 for that. I mean, we can just as well.

So, 2016 was not all bad but it’s time to close the door on her and bid her farewell. We had political upheaval in America while the middle east continued to spiral out of control and Europe saw multiple terror attacks. Violence and hate and death went hand in hand with 2016.

I welcome 2017 with open arms and a quivering heart. My resolutions this new year are modest and sober. Although I have a few active projects looming, my intention is to write more and finish my personal ones. I will also read more. This is important because reading helps you write better. I’ll submit more stories to online publications because that is the old way of doing things and there is still room for the old way. I’ll work on being a better father and husband. Generally, I am not too bad, I think, but I can improve. So I’ll focus on raising the standard I’ve set thus far. I’ll also focus on being a better provider for my family. There is plenty of room for improvement in that area.

These are my resolutions for 2017. Not grand, but perfectly suited for me. I remember from way back how I dreamed of attaining extravagant things. Of wanting to be famous and admired and have enough money to travel overseas whenever the bug bit me. It’s funny how the years chip away at you like a sculptor chiseling away at a rough slab of stone. Time shapes your soul and with that your value system.

And 2016 left some gnarly cracks in her wake. But most of us are as stubborn as stones, anyway, so we’ll absorb the punches as we always do. We’ll bear forward and use hope as a torch to light the way in 2017 and keep on working hard.

Happy New Year, folks!

May 2017 equip you with the tools to catch your dreams and may she shower good fortune across your path.

Woelf