From right to left, the elements in this composite header are 3D mockups of "Bone of Contention" as a fat paperback and on a black ereader; the four-part composite from the end of this blog post, and the 2020 portrait of G. S. Norwood in a cloak with a wizard's staff with her dog Kata (blonde-phase red border collie) on a street in Deep Ellum. The words at the bottom say, "Bone of Contention cover artwork ©2024 by Tom Kidd. Portrait of G. S. Norwood ©2020 by Chaz Kemp. See referenced posts for other image credits."
One Heck of a Year

One Heck of a Year

2024 has been one heck of a year. It’s gone by blazingly fast, because I’ve been busier than I could imagine. Major things happened, new avenues opened while others permanently closed. Seems like a good time to stop and take stock.

It has been my intention to check back in here every month or so to keep a running tab of updates. But as I moved into the summer months all my best-laid plans got scrambled. For the first eight months of the year, my near-entire focus was my new book Bone of Contention. It went live on September 24, 2024, and I anticipated it would be my most important event of the year.

This square design is dominated by sepia, black, and white tones, as it is focused entirely on black-and-white photos. The words say, “Snapshots of Little Sister Gigi (and Big Sister Jan) from the 1950s and ‘60s. All photos courtesy of and © by Sherrell Family Archives.” The photos depict, clockwise from top: 1964: Jan in white scarf and Gigi in plaid shirt hold bags in their hands and stand at the edge of grassy area with a winter deciduous woods in the background. Taken near Vienna, MO. 1965: Gigi, in long brown braids and large sunglasses (they were hot pink) strikes a dramatic pose: chin up, hand to forehead, and big grin on her face. Taken in a photo booth, probably in Rolla, Mo. 1957: a close-cropped head shot of Gigi as a bright-eyed toddler; and Gigi and Jan in footed pajamas holding Raggedy Ann dolls. Gigi is laughing, while Jan stares at the camera. 1956: Aunt Barbara Wolgamott looks on as her sister Janet Sherrell holds baby Gigi while sitting on a couch. Jan reaches toward her new baby sister’s feet. Taken at Christmastime in Rolla, MO. 1958: An unnamed neighbor woman and child look on as Gigi, in short pigtails, prepares to blow out the candles of her birthday cake with 2 candles on it. Her mother, Janet Sherrell, looks on from the right side of the photo. Finally, center, 1964: Sisters Jan and Gigi stand next to their mother Janet Sherrell in front of their house on Adrian Street in Rolla, MO on the first day of school.
All photos © Sherrell Family Archive.

Losing Gigi

It wasn’t. On September 3, 2024, my sister G. S. Norwood died. She was my only sister (thank goodness I do still have a dear sister-in-law, Pat Pike). Suddenly, as her next-of-kin, I had about a million and one things to do–Preferably yesterday.

Gigi had not expected to die. She had barely just retired. She had no will, nothing on auto-pay, no neatly-laid-out list of accounts and subscriptions and repeating bills. Meanwhile, until her estate goes through probate, all of her accounts are frozen. I hadn’t budgeted for a car payment and a house payment, but suddenly I have them. Oh, yeah. It’s been a heck of a year.

My work schedule this fall has suffered a lot, and blogging has suffered most of all. I’ve been down to a single post per month on The Weird Blog. I did manage to blog about Gigi’s (and others’) Unfinished Stories. But Gigi also was my business partner, as co-founder of Weird Sisters Publishing. My December Weird Blog post described Changes at Weird Sisters Publishing.

A square image with a variegated background shows the covers of the three books of the XK9 “Bones” Trilogy by Jan S. Gephardt, grouped around the words, “The Trilogy is COMPLETE!” Words next to each cover, L-R top row say, “Book 1: ‘What’s Bred in the Bone,’ cover ©2019 by Jody A. Lee” and “Book 2: ‘A Bone to Pick,’ cover ©2020 by Jody A. Lee.” Below and slightly off-center is “Book 3: ‘Bone of Contention,’ cover art © by Tom Kidd.” By each of the three books is a QR Code that takes readers to the relevant book page on Weird Sisters Publishing. Also next to “Bone of Contention” is a yellow, 7-pointed star on which the words say, “Pre-Order BONE OF CONTENTION in the USA NOW! Available Sept. 24, 2024.”
Cover art © by Jody A. Lee and Tom Kidd, as noted in this design.

The Other Big Reason it’s Been One Heck of a Year

Of course, there’s also the other big event I had planned to be the main event of the year. That was publishing my third XK9 “Bones” Trilogy novel, and finishing the Trilogy, with Bone of Contention. I wrote about it and shared preview chapters with my Newsletter subscribers (you can be one, too! Click here!).

I also blogged about how artist Tom Kidd and I worked together to craft the cover, in New Visions, as well as some of the more agonizing uncertainties of production in Any Day Now followed by The Day Came! I’m gratified to say the book came out on time and has been well received. But it was definitely one heck of a year.

This square composite collects images from four posts published in "The Weird Blog." Clockwise from upper left, they exhort readers to write book reviews, advertise SoonerCon 32, create a visual evocation of Publishing Trends, and reference Archon 47. Image credits noted in the referenced blog posts.
See posts for image credits.

More Features of this Heck of a Year

At the start of the year, I made a New Year’s Resolution to write more book reviews, and to share them both here and on The Weird Blog, as well as on Amazon and Goodreads. 2024 threw curves and unexpected pitfalls into my path, to the point that I gradually stopped blogging about book reviews after the summer got into full swing. I posted some good review posts during the earlier months, at least! See my collections from earlier this year in Recent Posts on The Weird Blog and More Book Reviews.

But although it’s been one heck of a year, I didn’t stop reading, or writing book reviews. I’ve been collecting my reviews, planning for future blog posts. And I’ve been reading some really delightful books (they’ve helped keep me sane!). More book reviews will be something I, at least, look forward to, after the new year.

I explored Publishing Trends and How Readers Find Books at the start of the summer–vitally important things to know, if you’re trying to market books!

Other big events were the two (yes, only two–one heck of a year, as you may have heard) science fiction conventions Ty and I attended in 2024. See my convention reviews SoonerCon 32 Discovers that Change is Hard and Archon Persists. I already have plans to attend more sf cons in 2025.

The year isn’t over. It may yet hold more surprises. But for now you’re up to date on what I’ve been doing during the latter half of this heck of a year.

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