Lincoln Crisler

My autographed copies of Magick & Misery for two dollars below cover price ($10, US shipping included) are one of the best deals in small-press fiction, if I may say so myself.

However, if you’re on a shoe-string budget, you can now purchase a copy for the measly pittance of 6.76 Yankee Dollars over at the Black Bed Sheet Books Online Store! While you’re there, check out some of the other awesome deals on books by my fellow Black Bed Sheet authors!

Wow, the end of 2009. This one has really flown by. I’m blessed in that I can say without hesitation that it hasn’t left me in the dust; not by a long shot.

I deployed to Southwest Asia (again) in March, but not before signing the contract for my second collection of short fiction, Magick & Misery. I learned alot of lessons from the production and initial promotion of my first book, and am happy with the level of support Magick has received. If my next book exceeds the standard I set with Magick in much the same fashion as Magick exceeded the standard set by Despairs & Delights, then I’ll know I’m doing it right!

I made one semi-pro sale this year, to HUB Magazine. Not the same level of output as previous years, but I wasn’t limiting myself to paying markets before and it doesn’t help matters that I didn’t start writing new fiction until fall of this year, either. The first half of the year was devoted entirely to getting ready to deploy, settling into my new environment and mission, and getting Magick ready for publication. I have four stories, the fruits of that autumn hot-streak, subbed out to various publications. This, I can live with.

I learned one hard lesson this year when I had to cancel the two Our Shadows Speak sequels I had planned. This was a combination of technical screwups, a disappearing publisher and my own bad habit of piling too much work on myself. Having to let the project go was a rare taste of humility for me. Back on the horse, though, as they say. I won’t rule out doing another anthology in the future, but I’ll be doing it a LOT differently and probably not in 2010, unless there’s money on the table.

I started selling signed copies of my books through my website, and the support for this has exceeded my expectations. I’m actually at the point right now where I have to decide if I want to order more stock this close to coming home, or risk having to turn people away for a couple months, but Hell, selling out of all your stock is a good position to be in! I even managed to squeeze in a book signing during my two weeks of mid-deployment leave, thanks in part to my wife’s heroic efforts.

I put the finishing touches on my first nonfiction collection, Slice of Life, available for pre-order at the time of this writing. I’m really going out on a limb with this one; it’s hard to gauge the level of interest for a short-story author’s collected rants, but ten bucks for a 25-copy signed and numbered limited release? My readers can’t go wrong, and really, neither can I. I’m looking forward to seeing how it does!

My book reviews have really been taking off! I have a couple of snarls to work out with one of the publishers I deal with, but even still, I’m getting queries every month and still have a backlog. It’s nice to be wanted. I also started up a small online writer’s workshop, hosted on through my website. It’s private, by invitation-only, but the response was overwhelming and I had people on a waiting list mere hours after posting the call online. We mesh well as a group and enjoy each other’s contributions immensely. We also have a humble website.

My professional life this year has been dominated by the deployment, of course, but the time overseas has also afforded me a couple of rare opportunities. I was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant a year to the day after being promoted to Sergeant; anyone who knows me knows what a big deal this is, after all the crap I had to go through before making Sergeant. Now, I’m right where I should be at this point in my career, for the number of years I’ve been in the Army and my level of experience. I’m also in the final stretch towards my Bachelor’s degree; once that’s knocked out, I’m going straight into my MBA program.

The family’s doing well; my wife finished her Bachelor’s program this year and has started on her MBA. She landed an awesome new job assisting the executive in charge of the entire Southwest region of the Girl Scouts of America, following a horrible quarter-long scandal-and-shit-fest at her old job. Feminine Offspring Alpha is a freshman in high school and on the cheerleading squad, Feminine Offspring Beta is in pre-k and Mini-Me is an unstoppable engine of destruction (he’s two now. TWO!). I’ve even made a breakthrough in my quest to actually have my youngest daughter visit me in my home over the summer; that should be happening in August, barring any unforseen complications.

What does 2010 have in store? So far, I have several short stories that should be finding homes real soon, and I’m working on a novel and a pair of novellas. I have one publisher that’s already expressed interest in a novella, so that’s probably next on the chopping block. I’m still chasing my dream of publishing Safeguard as an eight-issue limited comic, only now my collaborator, the indescribably awesome Patrick Bezanson, is able to work on spec, which should increase our chances of success. I’ll probably be doing at least one signing in El Paso next year and possibly one in the Los Angeles area as well; New York’s a bit of a crapshoot, but I’ll do my best. I already have a few podcast appearances in the works, and I’m sure there’ll be more to follow.

Feel free to share your own accomplishments from the last year in the comments box. As always, thanks for reading!

“Crisler’s eclectic collection is something horror fans won’t want to miss… Highly Recommended!”

Read the review in its entirety here and here.

“His talent with the mechanical craft of prose is undeniable, and his stories wield a distinctive, uncompromising edge. To enter Lincoln’s world is not to tread lightly, because very often that “bad thing” you fear so much waits just around the corner, hungry and lurking.”

Read the entire review here.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that both of my short story collections are now available for direct purchase via PayPal! Signed copies of Magick & Misery and Despairs & Delights are $10 each, shipping included. Ordering information, plus review quotes and excerpts from the books, can be found here!