So What’s New With You, Andy?

It’s been awhile since I updated this here blog. So much has happened since! I’m trying to make blogging a part of my weekly habit again in 2016, but first, I need to do a big catch up post…

I spent the bulk of 2015 working on a couple of animated films — Hotel Transylvania 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3. I think both films turned out great, and I’m proud of the work our teams did on both. It was awesome to work with so many talented folks. I’m especially thrilled that the Character Effects (CFX) team was nominated for an Annie award for our work on HT2. CFX doesn’t get recognized that way very often, and we worked our butts off on that show. Well-deserved. Go team!

Writing-wise, it was a slow year for me, a side-effect of all that hard work I was doing on HT2 & KFP3. Still, though, I had a few of stories published in collections in 2015 — “For Outside Are the Dogs,” (Not Our Kind, ed. by Nayad Monroe), “We All Look Like Harrie,” (XIII, ed. by Mark Teppo), and in early 2016, “Prix Fixe,” (After the Fall, ed. by Jaym Gates). I must do my due diligence and tell you how much I love these anthologies – there are kick-ass writers with kick-as stories chosen by kick-ass editors in all of these collections. Go support them!

(As an aside, “We All Look Like Harrie” represents a pretty big departure from the sort of story I usually write, and I’m determined to write more like it.)

I’m still hard at work on the dark fantasy novel set in Depression-era America, I got a great start on revisions last year, thanks to some downtime in January and a novel workshop over the summer (thanks Kate!). I’m sailing full steam again on revisions even as I type this (well, almost as I type this), thanks to helpful insights of some fellow Rainforest retreat peeps, who helped me untangle some stubborn knots. Speaking of Rainforest writers Retreat, I attended second session in 2015 and 2016, and it was the usual awesome mix of focused writing and shenanigans with my fellow writers. This year, I outlined a new(!) book and got a solid start on two different short stories.

But there’s more. The BIG NEWS of 2016 is that Herself and I finally left Los Angeles for the green(er) hills of the Pacific Northwest. In January, we moved to Seattle. For most of you reading this blog, it will come as no shock since I’ve splashed the move all over social media. The move does represent a pretty big change in our lives, though, with all the attendant joys and challenges. it’s taken a while for the dust to settle, so if we haven’t connected yet, I promise we will!

I’m very happy to be here. Seattle feels like a homecoming in so many ways (not the least of which is the amazing community of writers here, and in nearby Portland and Vancouver), and there’s something also about the green, and the rain, and overall Seattle-ness of the place that suits me well. I’m really looking forward to settling in during the coming year. So much to explore, so much to do, so many cool people to see, so much good food and drink…

And hey, so many words to write. I’d best get back to it. See you soon.