Richard Freeborn

Fiction and Non-Fiction

Month: December 2024

First Thoughts on 2025

December 30, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Here we are, two days from the end of 2024, and nothing dramatic to change the results for this year.

Next year I expect to continue Morning Pages, and this blog. The big difference is I’m planning to move the blog to a Shopify store, which will ultimately replace this web site, and also give me the ability to manage a mailing list. Look for announcements on that in February or March. There are some other business goals, like building my mailing list, and at least one Kickstarter that are in my head, but not fully fleshed out yet.

I still have publishable word count goals for 2025, but the focus is going to be more on completed projects rather than just a raw number of words.

With that said, I’m still looking at what the publishing goal is for 2025. I’m rolling between something conservative, or a big wild crazy set of goals. I’m not making any decisions about what those stories will be at the moment, although the current work in progress is clearly the first. There’s a high probability the next Jacob and Miriam story is in there somewhere as well. 

Beyond that, I’m not making any predictions other than to wish everyone a safe, happy, and prosperous 2025.

2024 In Retrospect

December 23, 2024 / / 0 Comments

It’s difficult to believe we only have eight days left in 2024. It seems like only a month or so ago, I was scribbling thoughts down for what’s I wanted to achieve in the coming year. 

In January, my writing goals for the year were to write this blog every week and post on a Monday, keep the Morning Pages streak alive, and write a thousand publishable words a day. In terms of projects, I was close to publishing Death at a Wedding, so that was a given, and I had started The Corpse in the Courtyard, so in my head was the expectation to publish that during 2024 as well.

The blog has appeared weekly. Mostly on Mondays, although there have been some Tuesdays and I think at least one Wednesday. Morning Pages continues. As I wrote in September, that was the one year anniversary and I am continuing to put something on the page every day. For publishable words I’m going to end up at about 45% of my goal. Not great but it will be the second highest annual word count since I began tracking words.

The two novels did get published. Added to those are a short story collection – Beach House on the Dune, and a novella, The Head of the Serpent. I also had three stories published in magazines.

I’ll talk about 2025 next week or the following week, but I think the focus will be on projects rather than raw word count, and building the business.

Everything Expected and More

December 18, 2024 /

As I expected, the private viewing for Heallreaf 5 was everything I anticipated and more. In addition to the “regular” tapestries, there was Dancing Vessel 2 by Barbara Burns – weaving displayed on a ceramic pot, and Nostalgia by Magenta Kang – a four sided tapestry on a wooden frame. Both are hard to describe but you can see them here: https://www.heallreaf.com/heallreaf-5.html

As a visitor, you can select one of the pieces as your favorite. At the end of the exhibition series in Sedburgh in April the votes will be tallied and the winner receives an award. I’m already looking to see if my schedule will allow a visit in the Spring to see who wins.

And, yes, I did spend a morning browsing through Waterstones in Piccadilly, and it was wonderful. I was tempted by Ottolenghi’s Test Kitchen, but a quick online search showed I can buy that in the US – not the point of the expedition.

Finally, I walked out with a two volume biography of Oliver Cromwell which with the books my sister has for me, gives me plenty to read on the flight home, and a need for some careful packing.

Next week, I’ll spend some time on a retrospective for 2024.

Travel Preparations

December 11, 2024 /

Later this week I am traveling back to England to visit family and friends and to visit Heallreaf 5 at the Morley Gallery in London.

I have all the logistics sorted out – flights, rental car, and hotel, and I have a good idea of the clothes I’m taking. Which leaves the hardest choices of all – what reading material am I taking with me. And how much space do I leave in the bag for items to bring back. For items, read books!

I know there’s at least two books coming back as they are waiting at my sister’s house. There will possibly be more as I have a trip planned to at least one bookstore in London. If that sounds to be a crazy idea ten days before Christmas, I can only agree.

I’ll let you know how the book shopping expedition goes.

First Thoughts on 2025

December 2, 2024 /

Here in the US, the Thanksgiving Holiday is behind us, and Black Friday is gone. All the stores and television channels are now in full Christmas mode. I even received an email over the weekend urging me to buy my Valentines gift now before it’s too late!

I’ve already begun building the 2025 version of the various spreadsheets I use to track finances, investments, and writing. As I’ve done that, naturally my thoughts have turned to the coming year. I’ll leave a review of 2024 until later this month when I’ll have a better idea of how 2024 really turns out.

Some of the 2025 thoughts are very unformed at the moment – like what books to write. I can say the next Jacob and Miriam story and the next books in the Serpent Trilogy, but that’s trying to force my creative voice and as I learned in November, that doesn’t work so well.

Some of the business related goals are easier. The web site where you’re reading this blog, for example hasn’t been updated in over a year, which begs a decision. Spend the time updating the web site, or bite the bullet and move everything to Shopify? My gut feel at the moment is to move everything to Shopify because there I can also manage a mailing list.

Outside of writing, I found a neat investment charting package that looks to do most of what I want for a semi-automated trading system. More on that as I learn more about the software. And let’s not forget the honey-do list :). We’ve been in our current house for nearly seven years and there are a lot of paint jobs coming due.

One blessing is that I don’t have to search for a new contract this year. Leaving that aside, it’s still a long list, and whichever way I look at it, 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year.

© 2025 Richard Freeborn

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