Rough Drought - Midnight Agency and Other Updates
This summer, our New Mexico temps exceeded 100 degrees for weeks. Rain was a rare visitor, and the Rio Grande's once-mighty flow shrank to a meandering creek, winding through sandbars. Our beloved Elephant Butte, a crown jewel of local lakes, shrank to alarmingly low levels. Even worse, chile crops didn't produce as well, and there could be a shortage.
Earlier this month, Abiquiu released a staggering 650 million gallons of water to "rewet" the thirsty Rio Grande, offering a glimmer of hope for the parched bosque. The result? It was barely noticeable.
Thankfully, late monsoons drenched the state over the last couple of weeks, and the Rio Grande looked normal-ish all the way down to Las Cruces. Hopefully, our cottonwood forest (the largest continuous in the world) will bounce back. The heavy rains lowered the temps -- just in time for the State Fair -- and we’re anticipating a wetter winter, courtesy of this year's El Niño. With any luck, this will create a robust snowpack in the northern peaks and replenish our water sources for next year.
Similarly, I've been suffering through a publishing drought. But that is over, amigos!
Short Stories ✅
Success! A Midnight Agency-related story was published this month in the fall issue of New Myths. Read it HERE. It features a minor character and takes place before Book 2.
The second is a superhero story to be published in an anthology in early next year. Contracts are signed and edits are done.
More to come. Goal exceeded!
Midnight Agency, Season Three 🤠
Feedback from beta readers took longer than I planned, but it was worth the wait. I received great comments, and final edits are underway. The result will be a better book. I aim to complete edits
by the end of the year and publish in 2027. Goal delayed.
Fantasy Novel
I'm still trying to find an agent for my fantasy novel. I'm reaching out to more agents at a time now. One agent passed after 436 days, but at least she responded! Some agents don't respond at all.
NM Thriller ✅
I completed a full outline, a beat sheet, character sketches, a family tree, and experimented with narrative voice. My goal is to write a full draft in 2027. Achievement accomplished!
Craft ✅
Keep moving forward! I've taken MasterClasses from Dan Brown, NK Jemisin, David Baldacci, Joyce Carol Oates, David Mamet, James Patterson, and Walter Mosley. My favorites, by far, were Dan Brown and NK Jemisin. Next year, I may have to try BBC Maestro.
Recent Favorite Reads 📖
I already met my Goodreads reading goal for the year. Here are my faves over the last several months:
The Undertaker, Vol 1.: The Gold Eater & Dance of the Vultures - Xavier Dorison and Ralph Meyer
An award-winning European comic about a mysterious mortician in the American West. I've admired the artist's work (Ralph Meyer) for some time, and I wish we could collaborate on a Midnight Agency comic!
Bad Monkey - Carl Hiaasen
I loved the show, so I reread the book, one of Hiaasen's better ones. The show was faithful and even did a better job with some character arcs, like the Dragon Queen, Ya-Ya, and Yancey's dad, but not Driggs, the monkey.
A Murder in Hollywood - Michael Crichton
Written under a pseudonym, this Crichton whodunit takes place on the set of a western in Old Tucson.
A red and green lining to the drought: Less water = thinner chile skin = hotter chile.
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