A Signing Today, A Printing Delay, and Some Resolutions
I foolisgly approach a year with a smile.
Here Be Dragons - January/13
♫ Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere. ♫
The Sun Rising, John Donne
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This newsletter goes through what I’ve been up to in my writing - I have to account for myself and what I have to show for my efforts recently. Have I been productive, or not…? A map of my brain, so to speak, and here be dragons.
2024 -- dig it.
DEER EDITOR #1 Landing In Stores [soon-ish]
The official release for DEER EDITOR #1 - the antler noir comic from me and Sami Kivela [with Lauren Affe colours and Jim Campbell letters] was all set for our launch through Mad Cave Studios this past week, but then a delay sent us back a week, so you can grab it from your local comic shop next week from January 17. Remember: look for this cover…
Or, if you’re a Cover Hound, then there are two really awesome options for you.
This Phil Hester cover is beyond amazing, and it’s limited to only 200 copies. Score your copy here and bask in that Bucky gorgeousness.
Jon Sommariva did an exclusive cover for my local comic shop, Impact Comics, and it’s also limited to 200 copies - you can order it from the shop here - or I’ll be signing them in store with Jon on Saturday [today] the 13th of January from midday-3pm. I’d love to see some of you there :]
I’m excited for Deer Editor, and it’s got some great reviews landing, so here’s to people having a little fun [and murder] on the pages in 2024.
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2024 Resolutions
I love New Year’s Resolutions. I find them invigorating and as much of an opportunity to take stock as they are a chance to push forward.
2023 wasn’t my best for resolutions - I wanted to exercise 200 days and think I only hit around 180, but I’ll take that as enough of a win not to worry. I avoided all dessert for 6 months, and held staunch on that, but did let a few slip past me in the second half of the year, but that’s also fine.
For 2024, I’m actually gunning on a few angles. I try to do more value adding than just taking things away. I already took away chocolate about seven years ago and never went back. I refuse to drop all of any other food group - coffee is fuel, chilli lime chips are manna, and bread is too damn good in every bloody format/arrangement I can consider. So there’s nothing I’m taking out - though in the back of my head I am considering my alcohol intake. Even though I’m only usually one beer a week on Friday night as I make the family pizzas, I’m actually considering skipping it because that’s 52 beers and even just saving money on those 2 cases is a win. I’ll save my beers for finding interesting flavours and sharing with mates.
So, what to value add to my world in 2024? This one is always tricky because I also only have 18 waking hours in each day and I don’t want to get crazy. I know I won’t find time to prep for a half marathon or introduce a new hobby of sewing my own clothes or anything. I need to be realistic, so here’s what I’ve come up with. These are more things I’m doing that I’m hoping to amplify, and also hone into a more concrete shape.
Exercise 200 days. It’s only 30 mins, while I watch a movie at 6am, and this would be my 5th year running on this one.
Stretch 2 times a week, for like 20 mins. My upper body gets stretched when I exercise, but my legs get far less and I need to work on this. Them hamstrings feel like piano wires about to snap, and I’d like to avoid that.
Exercise bike 2 times a week. We bought this little bike and it fits into the tv room well and I think I can knock out little bursts of 20 mins on it twice a week. Just to get a little cardio that moves the heart rate a little because I walk frequently with my wife, but my jogging days are well behind me.
Watch 200 films. Last year I hit 197 [devastating!]. I like a film as family bonding time, and post-discussion time, so I think this can happen. I’m not helping myself by watching FARGO S5 in the mornings right now, though. Although, swerve, I want to make 12 of these films documentaries.
Read 12 books. I just finished my 3rd so far this year, so that’s a good start, but I know term times slow things down.
Read 15 graphic novels [or comics that add up to a trade]. My comic reading was way way down last year, and I need to consciously remedy that.
Bullet Journal, again. It’s been a while since I’ve effectively kept up with this. This year: it’s just setting that daily list the night before I get into the office at 4am. So I can come in and hit the ground running. I’m not tallying the month in columns, like I’ve done previously, but more I’m keeping my days in line and ticking things off and the diary is a week at a glance and this shows me that I’m getting stuff done [which is a nice thing for my brain to believe].
Oh, and I lie, I do want one thing to be reductive - I want to keep my phone screen time under 2 hours a day. Secretly, I want it under 90 mins, but 2 hours allows for whatever random rabbit holes of definitions I might end up in with the kids, or a long Wordle or Connections, or a facetime call. On this: so far, smashing it with sub-90 numbers nearly every day this year. I’ll also be going by weekly average stats as they hit me.
So, that’s the year ahead for me. Back to basics, really - keep exercise in as a non-negotiable, read more, and focus on the writing and controlling what I can.
No other pie in the sky hopes - no guarantees of publishing, or number of pages written, or anything specifically productive like that. I just know I don’t have it in me. But a pledge to stay focused and work hard and above all else try to enjoy this ride I’m on. As the year phrase way above states - dig it. I just want to dig what I’m doing.
Why else would I be doing it all?
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Be one of the good guys, because there's way too many of the bad.
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Who is Ryan K Lindsay?
I’m an award-winning Australian comic writer. I’ve been published by Black Mask, Dark Horse, ComixTribe, Mad Cave, IDW, Heavy Metal, Vertigo, and a few more. Kickstarter has been a home for many short comics. I often get to collaborate with great mates, and this brings me joy.
I write about balancing this creative game alongside a full teaching load [currently College English and University Intro to Creative Writing] and a lovely family load and the forever melting brain that is modern man. I think about a lot of stuff, I still don’t know if it’s the right stuff. ymmv.
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POST CREDITS SEQUENCE
I’ve yet to line up that next big gig for 2024. This moment where I’ve written what’s about to land and I don’t have confirmation of what’s next always leaves me feeling a little adrift. Which means, I’m dividing my time between a lot of little things to keep me busy, and things I enjoy.
I’m finalising and honing a few comic pitch ideas I have to send out into the world. I’m looking at some short form prose stuff I’m planning on writing. I’m tinkering with a few new small RPG ideas, and aiming/hoping to get one off the ground in a bigger way than before. And I’m even considering the possibility of turning one comic pitch into something else because it’s an idea I love so much and truly, truly believe in. All things I can float between and have fun with until [hopefully] the next thing lands.
It’s always been my experience that luck is an opportunity met with prior preparation. You never know what’s coming up, so it doesn’t hurt to keep busy. I think about my decade of being published and a lot of that work and hustle came without any deadline or knowledge of what would happen. I just did the work as best I could and hoped it would pay off and ensured I didn’t get caught flat-footed too often [it happens, but I try to minimise it].
All that’s to say - I need to keep myself busy. Even when there’s no race, I’m still getting up and running and training anyway.
Guess 2024 will let us know if it pays off :]
Ok mate cheers I appreciate that.. I'll check it out.
Yeah hi Ryan I was just wondering can I buy can you buy fistful of pain if you're a non-paying subscriber as I am..? And how do I go about getting it s not being released in to the mainstream.?? Thank you appreciate it