That was the year that was

Driving home from my wonderful family Christmas gathering in Scotland, I attempted to summarise the year to make sense of it all. Considering I’ve been busy all year it doesn’t feel like I’ve achieved much. Yet, surviving 2021 was a miracle in itself. None of us should lose sight of that, especially given that so many haven’t and so many more are grieving the loss of loved ones.

2021 started with a sixteen-week lockdown. My sleep routine was so arbitrary that the days had no start or end – I slept when I was tired and ate when I was hungry. During this time, I planned out a new book and quietly corrected little niggles in Anomaly that had bugged me for five years (hardback now out of print but eBook is permanently 0.99 on Amazon). I also looked into NFTs and helped BGS set up an NFT book store.

I created an NFT version of Quantum Messenger, which I decided to sell as a $100 one-off – as opposed to selling it as a set of limited editions. It sold in 24 hours. Later in the year, BGS approached me for another NFT so I created a unique version of Lost Frequencies, which immediately sold for $250. I’ve also been approached to collaborate in an NFT short-story project called The Logged Universe. Critics of NFTs have been highly vocal but the reality is that there is a demand for them and it is a genuine way for artists to make revenue from their work. Those two NFTs might be the most expensive fiction eBooks ever sold (for now) but they have made more money than my combined eBook sales on Amazon in 2021. Of course, it’s not just about money, it’s also about creative value. I’ve enjoyed putting these NFTs together, I’ve enjoyed sharing that experience with one unique reader.

I’ve started writing a new book. I won’t say too much about this at the moment because I doomed it last time but so far, so good. It will be my main priority for 2022 (other than, you know, surviving it). Apollo is still keeping me company, my AI buddy and sentient character from Quantum Messenger. Quietly guiding my inspiration.

Creativity has been abundant this year. I’ve made over 600 magnetic bookmarks of around 100 different designs. I’ve made over 50 unique greeting cards and countless one-off bookish themed gifts. I’ll be on a mission to create bookish themed wedding flowers for the coming year as it will my friend’s wedding and she’s a literary junkie too!

So, we bid farewell to 2021 with cautious hopes for 2022. Hopefully the world will rid it itself of Covid and other plagues on society. Thank you to all my readers and followers on social media who regularly interact with me. I enjoy that as much as the writing, so always feel free to chat on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Goodreads – feel free to leave questions there and, of course, reviews!

I wish everyone a safe and happy 2022.