Deep Winter Update

We're three weeks into 2026 now, and it's proper winter here in Ottawa. Heaps of snow with more to come, and it looks like we'll hit -30C (or close to it) this weekend. I love it. Air a little stale, or it's a bit too warm in my apartment? Crack a window open for a couple minutes and whoosh - free, natural air conditioning.

I've been gradually working out of my rut and making better use of my free time as an unemployed loser. I've written three new flash pieces, made over two dozen magazine submissions and agent queries, and took some notes recently for the upcoming Sex Robot sequel. Oh, and I received a rare personalized agent rejection - how about that? Always cool to know a literary professional made it through my query and into the actual pages of my novel, even when it ultimately results in a "no."

Speaking of Sex Robot, I had a nice run of sales over the holidays and a little into the new year, which has naturally tapered off as January's progressed. It's generally a slow month as people are less focused on spending and more about getting back into the work grind.

The sales boost was quite encouraging! More than 85% of the copies moved went to complete strangers, even a few residing in the U.K. The percentage of readers who leave reviews is low, but I was very excited to find this one on my Kobo listing. No idea who left it, but if you're reading this, thank you. This is exactly the reaction I was going for when I was writing the book:

I really hope the extra sales will result in more positive reviews and word of mouth. I don't think I'll be doing more ad campaigns or discounts for a while and will instead focus on future projects. Speaking of which:

We have a release date for the Of Beasts and Bones anthology! It will be available in print and ebook on April 28, and features my speculative horror short story Thaw. It's available for preorder in the ebook format now on Amazon. There are some really awesome writers included in this anthology, and I'm looking forward to checking out all their stories when I receive my contributor print copy.

I'll quickly mention that the new season of Fallout has been fantastic, and loads of fun. And I found the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to be highly entertaining. It's no longer a problem keeping up with new shows with all the free time, of course. Very much looking forward to the Winter Olympics, and you bet I'll be posting about the hockey tournament.

​That's about all for now. Thanks for reading, pals.