It’s already the third day of the new year and I haven’t started working on any of this year’s projects. Only 362 days left! Oy. Step 1) Don’t beat myself up about it. Holidays happen, and are not to be ignored. Step 2) Write this post instead of working on the books. A sneaky way of procrastinating, but actually getting work done. Step 3) Start writing! After finishing Step 2, of course.
Excuses/Reasons
Holidays happen, and the good news was that I spent some time going to dances and such. I also spent time reflecting. I also spent time planning. I have a schedule to keep (at my discretion.)
And, being the start of the new year also means bookkeeping, organizing, checking supplies, and basic office-style work, even though I don’t have an office. The officials, however, are going to want taxes paid and such. And then there’s the life stuff, like making medical appointments, and the other yada-yada that I won’t bore you with. Writers are people, and people have to do things that other people ask for and require. Groan.
As I type this, I’m aware of the sounds and smells of the laundry at work, and the pause in my housecleaning of the kitchen and bath. The living room will come later. Fortunately, I live in a tiny house, so the chores are smaller. (MyTinyExperiment.net)
Enough procrastination!
The Sequel
This is the year for me to begin writing the sequel to Fire Race, which was the sequel to Firewatcher, which is how trilogies are made. Fire (fill-in-the-blank) is the third in my Exodus/Genesis science fiction series. I should insert a sale pitch here, but this post is more about process. See other posts for why to buy.
I can take more time with this one. Firewatcher‘s publication was driven by the pace of technology. I saw a trend that many thought might occur in 2100. I suspected 2040, and if I was going to write a series, I should give each book more time. Then, as I was writing it, I became aware that some of the futuristic precursors were already happening. They wouldn’t be in the book, but they set the foundation for it, so I accelerated the book to finish it in 2022.
Fire Race was a natural sequel, especially as some readers wanted more, but I had another book I was trying to finish before the end of 2025, ideally before election day 2025. Readers specifically asked for the sequel, so Fire Race took the lead. I finished it in 2024, then finished Muddling By in 2025.
Welcome to 2026, when I can work on the next Fire book, but this time without a time constraint. Some compromises had to be made to finish Fire Race in time to finish Muddling By. Those compromises are gone. I can devote more time to polishing the next Fire book, but not too much because readers are asking for it. I can’t expect them to be infinitely patient.
Photo Books
Another year, another Twelve Month book. Since 2004-ish, I’ve produced a Twelve Month book almost every (other) year. There was a hiatus as I moved to Port Townsend from Whidbey Island, but in January 2025, I started, and in December, I finished taking twelve months of photos at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.
2026 is when I will select four photos from each month (two horizontals, two verticals) out of a few thousand photos. I like producing the books (with occasional photo exhibits) of what a place is like throughout the year. Tour and guide books emphasize the stereotypical sunny Saturday in September. I like chronicling the dreary Wednesdays in March, too. There’s a beauty to both. Summers are photogenic. Shoulder seasons are quiet and thoughtful.
It usually takes me a few months to select the photos, polish them to straighten them and remove dust spots, and produce the book. There is a lot of squinting involved.
There are also some production issues involved as companies provide services, but then may fade. That may be the subject of a subsequent post, but for now, the implication is that I may need to select a new printer/publisher and production style.
That describes Twelve Months at Hurricane Ridge, but I like chronicling the neighboring ecosystems, and Olympic National Park has many. Each year, for the next several years, I intend to chronicle a different site. Hurricane Ridge is at 5,000 feet with panoramic views to the heart of the mountains and across the Salish Sea to Canada. 2026 will be me visiting Kalaloch, a west-facing beach that includes a mountain-fed river. It also includes a lodge and cabins, so I admit that I’m treating myself to some mini-vacations, something that wasn’t possible on The Ridge.
That also means working on one or the other but not on the other other. If I’m at Kalaloch, I can be taking pictures of Kalaloch, but won’t be working on Hurricane Ridge, and possibly not on the scifi sequel. Kalaloch is right along US 101, so it is accessible with a long-ish drive, but it is removed from the internet if I stay in a cabin. Romantic in a naturalist sense, but also a good site for a digital detox.
I put Kalaloch next on the list because the river is getting close to meeting the lodge, and I want to visit before the one sweeps away the other. It may be a limited-time opportunity. It may also stand there for a hundred years, but the local geology is fresh and geologically fluid. One big storm can ruin an inn’s day.
Other Stuff
Plans are things to make, and to be laughed at in eventual retrospect. In 1980, I received my degree in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering. In 2026, I’m writing books and investing in stocks. Not an A to B set of moves. My plan is to produce those books and photos. I also know that I enjoy giving presentations about them, their processes, and encouraging others. That may keep me busy, too. I make plans, but I’m about to turn 67, so there are decades of history and attempts at various projects that could add themselves to the list. My tidal power invention continues to draw interest. Maybe someone wants to develop seaside electricity non-intrusively. Maybe something else will pop up.
In the wings are possibilities in work: another podcast, a variety of inventions, volunteering, reformatting and republishing books and galleries that may be abandoned by various companies, etc.
And, AI. I mention artificial intelligence more frequently on my oldest blog (TrimbathCreative.net) because I suspect its impact to increase significantly in 2026.
Oh yeah, and I’ll continue to pursue movie possibilities for my real-life tall-ship buddy story about two fourteen-year-old kids who end up as cabin boys on a tall ship in 1876 as they sail from Liverpool to Calcutta (during British rule) to New York to Liverpool. Buddies? Yes. And there’s a murder onboard, dangerous pranks to play, sudden maturation as protected kids see the real world, and become the most trusted members of the crew.
Yeah. I’m retired. Ha!
tomthewriter.com 
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