Hello, book people.

2023 has been a memorable year for me both for literary and personal reasons. I look back on the release of two new books: Lockspell in January and The Quickwild Odyssey in November, both of which I am very proud to have out in the world. I also got the opportunity to lead some writing workshops, sit on a panel at a literary festival, and participate in some book signings along the way.

I also have had the opportunity to expand my bookish horizons as I’ve returned to school for some more formal education, taking my experience writing so far and putting it through the academic ringer as I pursue my MFA. The result of this is a slowdown in my personal writing, but I hope to carry on with new ideas and new horizons, as I take a more methodical study across all fiction genres and not just my tried and true genres of science fiction, fantasy, and adventure.

Lastly, this year meant that I said goodbye to one of the people in the world I love the most. Please remember to reach out to the ones you care about, check in on them, and make the most of the time we all have together.

So, what’s next for 2024? I have temporarily put work on my middle grade steampunk/fantasy so that I can devote more time to planning it out as a series versus solely focusing on book one and to devote time to my studies. While the first book “The Leftover Alchemist” (working title) has gone through a few revisions, I do not have a target release date, instead I’m drafting the sequel “The Lost Alchemist” (working title) so that the overall series arc is where I want it to be.

Here’s to a wonderful 2024.

-phil coleman