As usual, here are my reflections on the year just gone. The short version is that I have made progress in writing (multiple shorts), though everything else… leaves a lot to be desired.

Let’s start with the yuck, to get it out of the way. On the work front I am yet again in the hunt for a new role, after providing shareholder value by being disposable. Three times in four years is about enough to fray even my already non-existent belief in capitalism. Oh well, new opportunities and all that. Let’s keep some unfounded optimism going.

The world in general seems like a dumpster fire, with anti-semitism on the rise and now hitting very close to home in Australia. There’s a fine line with criticising the Netanyahu’s government policies (which I have for years), to suffering the escalation of rhetoric that legitimises mass murder. Our politicians (as well as the UN and anyone who treats Hamas as “freedom” fighters) need a good look in the mirror and learn about modern antisemitism. (For reference, while yelling “kill the Jews” is no longer acceptable, telling Israelis they can’t defend themselves while their citizens are held captive and subjected to torture — tantamount to telling them to sit quietly while someone else does the killing — is the last modern acceptable form of antisemtitism, that is unfortunately still practised widely). If you think the situation in Gaza is horrendous — I agree; but please suggest an alternative that doesn’t involve Israelis waiting to be killed, and indeed one that doesn’t ignore how Jews are targeted (figuratively in universities and literally as seen in Bondi) worldwide for no better reason that they are Jews. Please think carefully what you suffer top exist, and what those slogans actually mean.

Now for the better stuff.

Health is still mostly kinda OK, and the garden is doing well. When you have a sufficiently large backyard in a rural area, the line between gardening and farming blurs, but at least it’s enjoyable and all the fruit trees seem to provide sustenance to the birds and possums. I hope there’ll be enough left un-munched for us by the time they ripen 😜 Still, the sunsets are glorious.

As for writing, we at Purple Togas published an new anthology this year, Rainbows aren’t just for Leprechauns, which saw the official first story from my new series with DI Jack Finkel, Unusual Crimes squad. See Sydney Sandstone for the story, but I’ll add here it was a fun project which was well received. I enjoyed reading all those diverse stories, and publishing them in a time where DEI became endangered.

I’ve also written a few other Jack shorts, mostly still unpublished. I really need to start dripping them, but the Evil Genius Plan™️is to use them to build up the buzz when the actual Jack novel is about to be released. You can read a couple on the mailing list, and I will try to put at least a few out in the meantime. There were some I was particularly proud of.

I’ve also written a new Felix story, the first time since 2019 (when I completed the first draft for In Victrix, even if it took till 2024 to actually publish it). It was fun to get back into his head, and I do have ideas for more shorts/novellas/novels. Time will tell, but you will be able to read that new story — titled Stench — come the new year, when we’ll publish the Feast or Famine? anthology.

So, progress, at least in terms of writing. And isn’t that what we’re all about? And so, as always, may you have a…