Every year I recap the writing triumphs and disappointments of the previous twelve months. Practically every year I feel like I haven’t done enough. This year I didn’t do what I set out to do, but a whole lot of the middle of the year (between my second Covid shot and the booster) was spent catching up on the medical appointments three people and two cats had missed in the previous 18 months. So like last year, I feel that anything that got accomplished was a triumph against entropy.
Book publications:
I set out to finish 3 books this year, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I assembled This Morbid Life, a collection of 45 personal essays that detailed my obsession with the darker side of life. I’m really pleased with how to book turned out and the reviews have been good.
I assembled As Above, So Below: The Complete Story this year, too. The ebook set combined corrected versions of the succubus/angel novels I wrote with Brian Thomas, along with a “Dictionary of Demons, Devils, and Angels.” I’m really pleased with it, as well.
Short Fiction publications:
I had three short stories published this year.
“Dumb Supper,” an Alondra story about ghosts and Mardi Gras, was published by the Ladies of Horror Flash Project in March. It was inspired by the image on the left. You can read the story — it’s very short! — for free here.
“Devil in Her Heart,” a story about my succubus Lorelei back when she was working in the music scene in LA in the 1960s, was published by the Fabulist in October. You can read it for free here.
“Zoonosis,” a story not connected to any of my other characters, was also published in October. It’s about being a mom and all the constant calculations that run through your head. It appears in the 99 Tiny Terrors anthology, edited by Jennifer Brozek. Other contributors to the anthology include my friends L.S. Johnson, Emerian Rich, and Mary Rajotte, along with Seanan McGuire and so many more. It’s not available on Amazon yet, but you can get the ebook from Apple and other distributors: https://books2read.com/99TinyTerrors
I’ve had a Lorelei + Alondra story spoken for by another magazine, but we’ve only got a handshake deal. Since there’s no contract yet, I probably shouldn’t announce the details.
Short Nonfiction Publications:
“Cemetery Postcards,” the piece I’m most proud of this year, appeared in The Deadlands #6 on 10/19/21.
“Goal-Setting for Writers” appeared on the Liminal Fiction site 1/31/21: https://www.limfic.com/2021/01/31/goal-setting-for-writers/
“Lost Angels, Orally Fixated,” which talked about the kissing in the first As Above, So Below book, was reprinted on Emz Box on 2/16/21: https://sweetdreamsnovel.wordpress.com/2021/02/16/lost-angels-oral-fixated/2/16/21
My Goal-Setting essay was reprinted, along with my essays, “Overlooked Elements of Promotion” and “How to Write When You Don’t Feel Up to It” at the online HOW Con, hosted by Horror Addicts, February 22-24, 2021.
“How a Writing Planner Saved me Last Year” appeared on No Wasted Ink on 3/4/21:
https://nowastedink.com/2021/03/04/how-a-writing-planner-saved-me-last-year-by-loren-rhoads
I wrote about one particular “Unexpected Influence” that kept cropping up throughout This Morbid Life for MarthaJAllard.com 8/20/21: https://www.marthajallard.com/post/unexpected-influences-loren-rhoad-talks-about-her-new-memoir-this-morbid-life
I remembered the first time I watched a total lunar eclipse for Tillism.com in an essay called “I Fell in Love with the Moon” 8/22/21: https://tillism.com/2021/08/22/i-fell-in-love-with-the-moon/
A Bewitching Guide to Halloween posted my video introducing some of my favorite stories in This Morbid Life 8/23/21: https://www.abewitchingguidetohalloween.com/2021/08/this-morbid-life-by-loren-rhoads.html
“How I Grew into Being Morbid” appeared as a Tell Me feature on Jennifer Brozek’s blog on 8/23/21: http://www.jenniferbrozek.com/blog/post/2021/08/23/Tell-Me-Loren-Rhoads2
The Home for Wayward Spirits published my guest post about Near Escapes, a local tour company that took me to visit a local crematorium 8/25/21: https://homeforwaywardspirits.com/2021/08/25/guest-post-loren-rhoads/
“Ghost Hunting Tips from Loren Rhoads” appeared on The Paranormalists 8/26/21: https://paranormalists.blogspot.com/2021/08/ghost-hunting-tips-from-loren-rhoads.html
Horror Addicts published one of the essays that went into This Morbid Life, so I wrote a piece called “Claustrophobia Revisited” which appeared 8/30/21: https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/2021/08/30/claustrophobia-revisited-by-loren-rhoads/
Hungry? I presented one of my favorite autumn recipes from This Morbid Life at Readers Entertainment magazine 9/12/21: https://readersentertainment.com/2021/09/12/my-favorite-dessert-by-loren-rhoads/
“Telling the Truth as a Radical Act” appeared on Emz Box 9/15/21: https://emzbox.wordpress.com/2021/09/15/telling-the-truth-as-a-radical-act-by-loren-rhoads/
“Living in a World of Ghosts,” about the cemetery I grew up with and my openness to ghosts, appeared on The Book Junkie Reads 9/17/21:
https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blogspot.com/2021/09/spotlight-wguest-post-nonfiction-this.html
“Creating the Character ‘I'” appeared on the WordsMatter SCWA Surfside blog 10/18/21: https://wordsmattersurfsidescwablog.wordpress.com/2021/10/18/creating-the-character-i/
My list of the “Best Death-Positive Memoirs” appeared on The Shepherd List on 10/18/21: https://shepherd.com/best-books/death-positive-memoirs
“Blood-Drinking Freaks” about the vampires who appeared in Morbid Curiosity magazine and in This Morbid life, appeared as part of the Halloween Haunts series the Horror Writers Association blog 10/18/21:
“The Heart of This Morbid Life” appeared on Ellderet.com on 10/23/21: http://www.ellderet.com/emmarkoff-blog/2021/10/21/guest-post-loren-rhoads-death-positive-movement-essay
“How to Blend Teas for the Holiday,” about making teas at Adagio, appeared on Mythical Books on 12/2/21: https://mythicalbooks.blogspot.com/2021/12/if-romeo-had-wings-and-juliet-barbed.html
My favorite ginger cookie recipe was published on Sadie’s Spotlight on 12/3/21: http://sadiesspotlight.com/as-above-so-below-box-set-giveaway/
Pingback: Never Enough 2021 — The Home of Author Loren Rhoads – sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris
Awesome end-of-year wrap up, Loren! I’d say in the midst of missed cat appointments and all that other jazz, you had a stellar writing year!
Well, it’s certainly a lesson. I had been feeling bad about not getting more “writing” done — meaning working toward finishing another book — but then I tallied up how many essays I wrote this year and it’s clear where my energy went. I look forward to seeing how many books I sold this year, so I can judge if the promo energy was well spent or not. It’s all a learning experience.
Thank you as always for your kind words!
Impressive accomplishments! Life sometimes gets in the way of our goals. I consider another year without getting COVID was enough of an accomplishment for me! Keep up the good writing in 2022!
Thank you! I hope we can all stay healthy for another year. There is so much more to do! Happy New Year, Jo Nell!