I’ve had my head down for a bit, finishing out the year with a lot of work to do as well as some pretty tight deadlines for the Undertaker Story. Oh, and there’s that whole Christmas thing going on at some point as well — that’s pretty soon, yes?

Shopping’s done, presents are wrapped. No one’s getting any stories from me this year — though I had originally planned otherwise — but that’s okay. I’ve only failed myself at this point. I’ve got a handful of stories wandering around in my head that would be perfect gifts for certain people . . . but there’s always next year for those.

A few (possibly misguided) people have asked me for a paper copy of “Assam & Darjeeling” as the sound of my voice on the podcast immediately induces either deep narcoleptic slumber or extreme irritation. In either case, I sympathize and might do a quick printed copy that people can pass around. Narcolepsy and irritation may still abound, however.

If you don’t have to listen my voice every single day of your life and are wondering what it would be like, you can always subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS and find out for yourself.

We’re all the way up to the end of Book One and rounding the corner into Book Two — the lull in the storm, a safe stopover in the Winter Palace before things get really nasty.

So, if you’re interested, come and join us. Winterly’s got plenty of tea for everyone.

What’s coming up in the next few weeks…

If I can get the Undertaker Story where I want it to be, I may start up a podcast of that as well. It’s a quieter book and shorter than “Assam & Darjeeling” — with a more thoughtful, gently Lovecraftian undertone. Just another possible cure for the discriminating insomniacs out there.

Once that book’s out of the way, it’ll be clean-up time for a handful of plays and short stories ahead of a pretty aggressive submission campaign for next year.

Post-holidays, there’s a renewed assault on the literary agencies . . . just trying to get someone’s attention. I feel like a good looking swimmer kicking against the riptide while trying to get the attention of the overworked, astigmatistic lifeguard on the shore.

Let’s hope he isn’t narcoleptic as well.