Parity Day

Today is October 23rd, 2014. It’s the birthday of one of my oldest and best friends, so yay for Rachel. She’s 45, much younger than my creaky 47.

Something else happened today, something I’ve been anticipating for a while, although in the end it happened a few days earlier than I expected.

Today, my 42nd novel came out. This is significant not because of the Douglas Adams reference (although that is pretty cool), but because I also have five collections of short stories. When you add 42 and 5 you get . . . 47.

That’s right. Today I reached a rare state I call Book/Age Parity.

Rare, not because it’s better. Rare simply because it doesn’t happen very often. I started early and I write fast; that’s how I made it here. Lots of writers start late or write slow. Most probably never even have cause to think about the possibility of reaching Book/Age parity. And why would they? It doesn’t mean anything.It’s just numbers.

I do love numbers, almost as much as I love words. For a while I was looking forward to Parity Day and thinking of throwing a party to celebrate, because it’s nice to have an excuse. But as it’s come closer I realize it doesn’t mean very much at all, not much beyond the fact that I’m extraordinarily lucky to be able to do something I love, anyway, and I’m forever grateful for that. It might even be a bit gauche to mention the whole thing.

But here I am, mentioning it just the same. Milestones are important even if there’s no destination, perhaps not much of a path either, just a journey going ever onward into the future.

So.

Today I also delivered what will be my 48th book. Tomorrow I’ll start thinking about the 49th. And when that’s done I’ll start working on the 50th.

Maybe when that one comes out I’ll throw a party. But by then I’ll have more books on my brag shelf than years I’m alive. So here’s to the next six months when the numbers match up. And here’s the list, in a slightly jumbled order, for anyone tempted to fill in the blanks:

1. Doorway to Eternity (collection)
   
2. Metal Fatigue
3. The Unknown Soldier
4. The Resurrected Man
5. A View Before Dying (collection)
   
6. Evergence: The Prodigal Sun
7. Evergence: The Dying Light
8. Evergence:The Dark Imbalance
9. New Adventures in Sci-Fi (collection)
   
10. Books of the Change: The Stone Mage & the Sea
11. Books of the Change: The Sky Warden & the Sun
12. Books of the Change: The Storm Weaver & the Sand
13. Orphans: Echoes of Earth
14. Orphans: Orphans of Earth
15. Orphans: Heirs of Earth
16. Star Wars: New Jedi Order: Force Heretic: Remnant 
17. Star Wars: New Jedi Order: Force Heretic: Refugee 
18. Star Wars: New Jedi Order: Force Heretic: Reunion 
19. Books of Cataclysm: The Crooked Letter
20. Books of Cataclysm: The Blood Debt
21. Books of Cataclysm: The Hanging Mountains
22. Books of Cataclysm: The Devoured Earth
23. Geodesica: Ascent 
24. Geodesica: Descent
25. Broken Land: The Changeling
26. Astropolis: Saturn Returns
27. Astropolis: Cenotaxis
28. Astropolis: Earth Ascendant
29. Astropolis: The Grand Conjunction
30. Light Bodies Falling (collection)
31. Broken Land: The Dust Devils
32. Broken Land: The Scarecrow
33. Magic Dirt (collection)
34. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
35. The Fixers: Castle of the Zombies
36. The Fixers: Planet of the Cyborgs
37. The Fixers: Curse of the Vampire
38. The Fixers: Invasion of the Freaks
39. Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
40. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
41. Troubletwisters: The Magic
42. Troubletwisters: The Monster
43. Troubletwisters: The Mystery
44. Twinmaker
45. Spirit Animals: Blood Ties
46. Troubletwisters: The Missing
47. Crashland
    

Thanks to everyone who makes it possible for me to live this excellent life, particularly my collaborators who are rudely unnamed here. You are all excellent and beautiful people.