Scars of the Golden Dancer picked up another award today. It was one of the recipients of a Leo Literary Award in the novel category. The Leos are a little different since works are judged, and the judges decide which works in a category are worthy of being honored.
I’m very excited to see the book has picked up another award. To celebrate, I’m doing a 20% off sale in my store through Saturday.
The 2022 Cóyotl Awards were announced yesterday, and Scars of the Golden Dancer won! I am deeply honored that the members of the Furry Writers Guild voted for it as best novel of 2022. It means a lot to me, and I’m thrilled that Zayn and Naji’s story has entertained so many people. I had been talking more about the Ursa Major Award nomination on social media, but the book also was nominated for a Cóyotl Award and a Leo Literary Award. It came in second place in the Ursa Major Awards in the novel category, and I’ll find out later this week if it passed the judging criteria for the Leos.
Not only did the Scars win a Cóyotl, but the co-operative anthology I was been involved with produced by the Furry Historical Fiction Society, When the World Was Young, won two Cóyotl Awards! We won best anthology, and the story “Lids” by Utunu won best short story.
I appreciate the support everyone has given me for the Ursas and Cóyotls with your votes, and I hope to keep making you proud with new
I’m heading off to FWA today. I don’t have any panels this time, but I will see if I can get a space in the artist alley to sell book while there. This is going to be a more relaxed con for me, which is nice. I’ve been busy working on finishing my next book, Gnoll Tales, and writing a contribution to the next Furry Historical Fiction Society anthology. I could use the break.
Anyway, see you in Atlanta if you’re there.
It’s been a busy year for me so far, and I’ve got some good news to share. My novel, Scars of the Golden Dancer, has been nominated for an Ursa Major Award. This is an award that everyone can vote in, so please, if you enjoyed my book, go vote for it. Voting closes at the end of March.
In the meantime, I’m heading to Fur the ‘More 2023 for March 10 through March 12. I was the Guest of Honor at the con last year, and they’ve asked all previous GoHs to come back for their tenth event. So, I’ll be back at the con this year with many other awesome GoHs.
I’ll also be running a table in the Dealer’s Den for my personal imprint, Dancing Jackal Books. I’ll have copies of Scars of the Golden Dancer, Knotty Works, Dissident Signals, and When the World Was Young available. I’ve also decided to experiment with some table theming this year, so even if you don’t need any books, stop by and let me know how it looks.
Outside of being in the Dealer’s Den, I’ll be attending the following events at the con.
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:
I’m excited for Where do Furry Writers Come From? I’ve grabbed some of my old angsty high school poetry, and if the other panelists let me, I’ll read some of that along with some snippets of early stories of mine. Now if you don’t want origin stories, come to the AWOO presents panel. I and other writers will be reading excerpts of their work, and I’ll be reading a sample from Gnoll Tales, my collection that will be coming out this summer.
Finally, if you can’t make it to Fur the ‘More but will be at Texas Furry Fiesta the weekend after, I’ll be there also, hopefully with an artist alley table. I’ll also be running a Sci-Fi panel. This is also the release con for my friend Utunu’s book Rafts, a project that I’m excited to finally see hit print.
I kept busy in 2022, and I managed to get a lot done. When the year started, I was knee deep in finishing up Scars of the Golden Dancer, my first novel, and getting that through the publication process. I also followed that up with Knotty Works, a collection of previously published adult works from various places. Both books debuted at Fur the ‘More, where I was also the guest of honor.
I’m still surprised, even though it has passed, that I was the guest of honor at a con. I’m still honored they asked me, and I let that fact help galvanize me to finish Scars of the Golden Dancer. It also has launched me into attending cons to sell my own books, something I’ve wanted to be doing for a long time.
I don’t track exactly how many words I write in a year, but I estimate since I finished the novel I’ve written around 40,000 new words. That’s not a ton of new content, but I have been working on writing a new novella, which is about halfway done. It took me eleven years to write Scars of the Golden Dancer, so I’m doing a shorter, quicker book for my next one. I also wrote a couple of short stories throughout the year. There was a bit of exhaustion after releasing the books, but I’m back on track now.
I’m planning right now put out two new books for this year. The first is called Gnoll Tales, which will be a short collection of nine myths and folktales about anthro hyenas, or gnolls as they’ve often called in fantasy literature and games. Gnolls often get the short end of the stick with little culture surrounding them, so I’ve decided to write my own for them. I’ve wanted to do this book for a while, and while some of the content has been appearing on Patreon, I’m in the process of writing and revising four more stories to include in it. Some of these are shorter than my usual fare, closer to flash fiction, but they share mythology.
I’m also working on novella called The Blood of Life that looks like it will cross into short novel territory. This I’d like to release near the end of the year, but I’ll have to see how the process for that goes. I’ve been putting up chapters on Patreon as I finish them, and once I wrap up Gnoll Tales, I’ll get back to that.
I also had a story come out in the When the World Was Young anthology, “Eyeshine of the Soothsayer.” This is a collaborative project I helped spawn, so I’m so glad I was able to contribute.
Finally, if you’re looking to hear some of my stories in audio form, I had four stories come out on the Voice of Dog this year. You can listen to “Making it Fit” (18+), “Same as Me,” and “Emotional Support Wolf” on the podcast. Also, “The Art Generator” is one of the three flash stories in Fireside Meeting at the Abandoned Tavern.
Anyway, 2022 was a busy year for me, and I’m hoping to make 2023 just as awesome.