2023 In Review (Look out 2024!)

Let's get ready to do something different!

2023 is spiraling to an end here and it’s time again for my year-ending blog post of highs and lows. I want to take the time to acknowledge that I made a lot of growths this year as an author and as an indie publisher. I was able to reach a lot of readers who were previously unfamiliar with my work, go to new shows, meet lots of new amazing authors and publishers, and most importantly, learned my own limitations when it comes to marketing. (That’s a deep hole to fall into, fellow self-publishing friends, trust me.)

But really, it all came down to the books for me. It all came down to bringing The Wild Oblivion series to a temporary end so that I can focus on new stories, new characters, and new adventures with Strange Wilds Press.

My first book to drop was The Wild Fall, for which I received some beautiful blurbs from insanely talented authors, lots of wonderful book reviews, and got to go on some amazing podcasts to promote it. This was one of the most fun and stressful times of my life packaged into a four month mega advertising stint. While I enjoyed writing and promoting The Wild Fall, nothing hits me more than the idea that I had to say goodbye to this world and these characters.

I got to do it again with Lost Oblivion, which was my sequel to Hallowed Oblivion, which says goodbye (most notably) to Hank and Gerard. Lost Oblivion was my exploration of dealing with personal grief after having lost a friend this year and my attempt at exploring a darker, previously unseen area of The Wild Oblivion universe. This is one that people haven’t quite discovered yet but if you read and enjoyed Hallowed Oblivion, I’d love for you to continue the story and give this one a go. It means a lot to me.

This was also a year of audiobook releases for both The Wild Dark and Hallowed Oblivion, narrated by Lisa Roumain and Jason Bishop respectfully. It’s hard to put into words the stress that comes with sharing your words with another creative and wondering how things are going to be translated into another consumable format. Both of these narrators did a killer job getting Liz’s and Hank’s voices down and telling the stories in ways that are compelling. I would highly recommend listening to both (which are available via Amazon and Audible now).

Books I Read & Loved

I ended up getting pretty close to my 25 book Goodreads Goal this year but fell just short at 21 (I’m hoping I can finish up one last one before New Years, but we’ll see…). All in all, I had a blast discovering some new authors’ work and ended up throwing five into my top picks for the year based on my personal preference. Here they are in no particular order:

Shown: A Pantheon of Thieves by Coy Hall, Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper, Hungers As Old As This Land by Zachary Rosenberg, Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling, and The Vile Thing We Created by Robert Ottone.

Some others I read that I’d definitely recommend: White Ibis by Wendy Dalrymple, A Blackness Absolute by Caitlin Marceau, Mister Magic by Kiersten White, The Year Under The Machine by Peter Danielsson, What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman and We Spread by Iain Reid.

Top Films/TV

I end up watching a lot of tv and have tried to work my way into more horror films. My big problem is that I am SO picky about my horror movies. As I writer, I take a lot of visual inspiration and I pick up concepts from the things I watch. I love the idea of trying to translate these into a written perspective that will awe a reader just as easily as if they were seeing it on screen. While I do sometimes watch things just to relax, it’s usually stuff I’ve seen a million times over so that I won’t have those analytical wheels turning in my head (sometimes it still happens).

Film (Horror):

• The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

• Snowpiercer (2013)

• A Haunting In Venice (2023)

• Prey (2022)

• The Menu (2022)

• Possessor (2020)

• Valley of the Dead (2020)

Film (Other):

• Bullet Train (2022)

• Nimona (2023)

• Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)

• Supernova (2020)

• John Wick (2014)

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

TV (Horror):

• Fall of the House of Usher

• From (Seasons 1 & 2)

• Limetown (Season 1)

• What We Do In The Shadows (Season 5)

• The Last of Us (Season 1)

TV (Other):

• Shadow & Bone (Season 1)

• The Good Place (Seasons 1-5)

• Blue Eye Samurai (Season 1)

• Only Murders In The Building (Season 1)

• CSI: Vegas (Seasons 1 & 2)

Music

Just like I take a lot of inspiration from visual art, I also take a lot of mood from music. This year, my tastes leaned into a lot of industrial, nu-metal, 60’s rock, and good ole ambient. I rediscovered a love for and listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac, Nine Inch Nails, Puscifer, and System of A Down during the latter half of the year. A lot of indie rock was part of my listening for the earlier parts of 2023. As of late, this is what I’ve been listening to more:

• Together by Nine Inch Nails

• bury a friend by Billie Eilish

• New Person, Same Old Mistakes by Tame Impala

• Queen B (Versatile Mix) by Puscifer, Maynard Keenan, Carina Round, Mat Mitchell

• Nightmarish Waltz by Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill 4 Soundtrack)

• Aerials by System of A Down

• Some Velvet Morning by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood

• Children of the New Dawn by Johann Johannsson (from Mandy Soundtrack)

2024 (What to expect!)

Currently, I do not have any personal releases set for 2024. This may change. My current goals are on getting new material written with hopes to submit them to other presses for consideration of publication.

I’ve enjoyed self-publishing a lot of my own work these last several years. I am ready to make a leap in my own career and become more of a hybrid author with books out from other presses. That means first getting some stories put down on paper for submission. I’m currently rocking and rolling on a new story (with a temporary name “Crocodile Tears”) which I’m hoping to finish in early 2024. Beyond that, we’ll just have to see what strikes my fancy next.

For the record, this does not mean that I will never self-publish again. I would like to merely take some steps to strengthen myself as an author, to try something new as well as take time to strengthen my indie press.

As far as Strange Wild Press goes, I’d really like the press to begin establishing itself as a worthwhile entity in the horror community starting in 2024. That will begin with my first open call for a themed anthology all about the Taiga biome. I’ll be putting out my guidelines in late January of what I’ll expect and hope to open submissions in March.

I want to start with an anthology because it will give me a chance to really dip my toe into this sphere of the horror publishing world and get a taste for readers’ appetites. That is my only project for Strange Wilds for 2024 because I want to ensure everything is done to the letter. I know that my life can get crazy with work and personal things, not to mention with my own writing career. This should be a good way to settle in without taking on too much too quickly.

I will also be assuming editing duties for Third Estate Books in 2024 and that in itself will take some of my time and dedication as well. I’m really looking forward to highlighting queer BIPOC voices and help give them a chance for more of a spotlight in horror literature going forward.

AND THAT’S A WRAP! My last post of the year will probably come at the end of December and include a few things I learned as well as my personal resolutions for 2024. Stay tuned!

Love you guys!

~Kat