Volume Eight Status Update

Great limbs of Gorlan (a favorite saying of Kxxl-Klyxxn, one of my characters from Volumes Six and Seven), I've actually started work on Volume Eight!

Three years ago, I said in this post that "I've been considering taking a break - maybe even a really, really, long one" before I started work on any more books in the Joel Suzuki series. And aside from some brainstorming of ideas and some forays into Volumes Nine, Ten, and Eleven, I hadn't really done much with Volume Eight and was beginning to think that the aforementioned break could and would last many more years.

But then, possibly inspired by the writing and publishing workshop I taught recently, I started coming up with some ideas for Volume Eight that were really intriguing. So last Friday, I sat down and said to myself, "let's just start writing and see where it goes." And lo and behold, I ended up with 1000 words that day, which is double my usual daily word count goal! And then I even wrote 300 more words on Saturday, even though (confession time) I don't normally write on weekends.

So now, as of today, I'm up to 2400 words, which is a totally unexpected but welcome development. Where will it go from here? Stay tuned for more updates!

Event Recap

The author event that I mentioned in last week's post was a great success!

The turnout was larger than I expected, and hopefully I was able to impart some helpful knowledge to those who attended. One of the highlights was an 84-year-old gentleman who had been working on his book project almost his entire life and was full of energy and enthusiasm. I swear, if he had told me he was 64, or even 54, I would have believed him. I hope I'm as energetic when I'm 84...

Big thanks to branch manager Rachael Ries and the Cascade Park Community Library for having me!

Author Event

Hey, look - I'm doing an in-person author event! My first one since April 2024.

Titled "Introduction to Independent Writing & Publishing," I'll be talking about what goes into writing and publishing a novel on your own while making sure the quality of your work is on par with books from larger, traditional publishers.

It will be this Saturday, January 17 from 1pm-2pm at the Cascade Park Community Library in beautiful Vancouver, WA. Additional details are in this link.

If you're in the area (or you're not but you want to travel a long distance to see me, I will be most flattered), I hope to see you there!

Age of Imprisonment: Complete

Hey, so I forgot to mention: on December 31, 2025, after about 73 hours of gameplay spread out over eight-ish weeks, I completed 100% of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.

That's right, 100%. That includes every single side quest, and even the bonus battles Nintendo gave us all as a Christmas present. Which I know is a little different from my usual M.O., which is to just finish the main story portion of a game, but I loved this game so much that I just had to keep going. Plus, it helped that the main gameplay mechanic is basically just overpowered hack-and-slash, which is my favorite kind of gameplay (puzzles are great, but sometimes they make my head hurt). Dare I say that this might have been my new ichiban (number one) favorite video game of all time?

Can't wait for more Zelda! Nintendo, isoge (hurry up)!

Happy New Year 2026!

Akemashite Omedetou (Happy New Year)!

Man, 2025 was something, wasn't it? Hold My Beer premiered to a sold-out crowd, Autism Empowerment's Neurodivergent Creators Collective was born, I was officially diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, I made my official acting debut, I started teaching guitar lessons at my neighborhood School of Rock, and much more.

Looking forward to 2026!