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The Spring Update - new novel coming!

  • joelcmckay
  • Mar 28
  • 4 min read


This is not what it looks like in Northern B.C. but it's nice to look at anyway and kinda sorta fits the theme of this update.
This is not what it looks like in Northern B.C. but it's nice to look at anyway and kinda sorta fits the theme of this update.

Well, spring has allegedly sprung. You wouldn't know it given the frozen hellscape I reside in ... kidding. They're just spring snows, right? Right?!


Anyway, lots on the go. Here's the update:


Interviews and stuff:

I enjoyed a brief digital foray into South Africa this past week when I joined Kino Isaac on his Podcast out of that country. Good guy, Kino. Musician. Knows the artistic process and the general suffering that goes along with any kind of art. You can watch our chat here (ignore the shirt and tie, I was at work ok?):


I was recently featured in Books & Pieces Magazine. You can flip through digitally here: February 2025 Books & Pieces Magazine


I'm now writing a monthly guest post for Horror Tree. My latest musing is here: Read what you love, not what you think you should love - The Horror Tree



New Writing:

Late last fall, I returned to a manuscript that's been sitting finished in my files for three years. It was a #NaNoWriMo effort that wound up being about 105,000 words once it was drafted. I waited entirely too long to get back to it.


Through late fall, Christmas and early this year I completed a comprehensive edit. It's now going through cover design, copy editing, and formatting for an August release.


Warning: this one is different folks - it's a young adult fantasy adventure, more in the realm of Dungeons and Dragons paperbacks from the 80s and 90s. Again, I'm drawing on my love for pulp pocketbook fiction. Anyway, it's a lot of fun and I'll have more to share about it soon.


I have yet to return to the final act of the script I'm working on which is a direct sequel to Home Alone 2 - set 30 years after the fact on Halloween. It's an absurd take on a middle-aged Kevin back in his parents' home complete with undead ghouls. Honestly, this thing will never sell or get made but it's fun so it's going to get finished and find a life somewhere.


I'm trying to get back to my MA thesis/cosmic horror novel. Edits are underway, as well as research and an accompanying paper. Hope to have this all drafted by end of April. But don't get excited about two novel releases in one year - this one will be held back until after the completion of my MA in, hopefully, 2026.


Currently Reading:


Currently Watching:

  • The Wheel of Time season 2 on #Prime (not bad)

  • Finished Severance season 2 on #Apple (was excellent)

  • Seinfeld reruns on #Netflix (as good as the day it aired)


To be honest, there's a lot of new releases out there but I haven't been too into any of them. I think my attention has been captured elsewhere, largely with writing and gaming.


Currently Playing:

  • Ori and the Blind Forest - magnificent

  • Asheron's Call - resurrected this MMO from the late 90s/early 00s to play on a fan server. Remains one of the best open-world, loot-heavy MMOs, even if it's visually dated.

  • Resident Evil 4 - taking my time, it's a wonderful update to a classic survival action horror.


So what's really eating my time?

In January, I started a new gig as a city manager in a small city an hour from here called Quesnel. It's a ton of fun and exactly what I needed to reenergize myself. Since it's a career change, it involves a lot of learning, which I love. But this is the main reason I haven't ready as many books so far this year, written as much or exercised as much as I'd like. Plus, you know, winter.


Good news is, as stated above, spring is here. Sort of. That means my fun little yellow car (Nissan 350Z) comes out of storage soon. And it'll be back to regular runs, workouts and fishing as the ice clears from the lakes. Can't wait.


That's all for now. I'd be a terrible author if I didn't include the obligatory links to some of my writing you should go buy:



Anyway, happy spring!


 
 
 

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