Almost there. That’s the mantra that feels most fitting here at the end of the this, “annus horribilis” as they say in Latin. Almost through this one. Almost finished the next book. Almost. Almost.
But while I didn’t get to where I had hoped to this year, I did make it through. And along the way I even had some nice moments, for which I am deeply grateful.
Climbing Mountains
This year I attempted to finish book 4 in the Swordspeaker Saga, Mountainfall. To say it went slow would be the statement under the understatement. I struggled to write consistently and when I did make progress, it was far less than what I’ve typically written in the past. Still, I proved to myself that I can write a novel even in tiny, paragraph-sized chunks.
And in the end, I did finish the first draft and rewrote the ending three times. Each time it kept getting better and I got to really flesh out a new favorite character, which was a massive win.
Though another year went by without publishing anything, there’s something freeing about finally getting that first draft done. I feel I am in a good place to say with confidence that Mountainfall will be coming sometime in 2026.
Coming in out of the storm
Ironically, my first relief from the storm that was 2025, came in March with my first appearance on the Stormcave podcast.
My dear friend, Jenelle Schmidt and her talented brother, Grant Walker, invited me on their podcast, “An Evening in the Stormcave.” I had the best time and you can listen in on our wide-ranging conversation about books and why we love them here:
Their other episodes are great as well. I love the interaction Jenelle and Grant have and their heart for encouraging families to discover great stories together. If you love good stories, you have to check it out.
Just in Rime
Another bright spot when the clouds cleared came in the form of my continued adventures in 3D printing. In June I decided to return to RiseUp Con for a second year. It was a little disappointing, to be honest. But I did get to hang out with a friend. And it also gave me the extra motivation I needed to bring Rimewinter, the dagger from my book of the same name, to life.
I still need to write up a recap on the process I went through to create it, but for now, here is the first ever picture of it I’ve shared in the wild!
Once again, I think it turned out even better than expected.
In case you’re curious, I am currently working on a 3D replica of Grimbriar! It’s going so slow…but I hope to get it to the printer sometime soon!
The usual suspects
This year marked a very special milestone in my involvement with the Silmaril Awards. This year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of these fantasy character awards. In addition to the usual nominations and voting for our favorite characters, several of the hosts got together after the awards and participated in an online Lord of the Rings trivia contest, which I thought was quite neat.
It was great to finally put faces to names, some of whom have been hosting for the Silmaril Awards for years.
As part of the contest, we also gave away a whole treasure trove of fantasy and Lord of the Rings-themed prizes.
Whether or not you participated in this year’s awards, I hope to see you there for next year.
Never give up
As I mentioned, but in case you scanned this post and missed it, I fully expect to publish Mountainfall this year. In addition to that, I also have my targets set on finally releasing the Swordspeaker Saga prequel Bladewarden (what???) which chronicles the rise of Strom Glyre to glory among the Warding armies. And after that…well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
It was a rough year for writing. It’s been a rough couple of years, actually. I have a little post it note on my desk where I wrote the words: “Remember why you started.”
I started to write for three reasons. I believed the world was in need of God stories that only I could tell. I believed God would use those stories to bring some good into the world. And I had hoped that by writing I would have more opportunities to forge greater connections with my family.
13 years later, I am still here writing and trying to hold onto why I began.
And so, as 2025 draws to a close, I leave you with these simple but powerful words from an unknown source.
“No one can stop a man who won’t quit.”
Unknown
(That Unknown fellow is quite the fellow. He has some of the best quotes.)
