After 2020, no one had any idea what 2021 would look like. But honestly, it was pretty much everything I could have hoped for, if I’d known to hope for it.
Professionally, I’ve been grinding. I released Visceral, the sequel to Storm’s Breath, as well as a free novella Permadeath Reincarnation for anyone who joins my mailing list. Both were fun to write and turned out better than I’d hoped. I’ll have less time for writing next year as I swing back into full-time software engineering, but Nullified, final book of the Nullifier trilogy, will be out in 2022 – you have my word, and I like to think my promises are a bit more reliable than those sworn by my protagonists.
Beyond work: getting vaxxed up in April gave me confidence to start traveling again – travel which I’d sorely missed. I visited friends in cities across the US like I’d envisioned since before I’d even moved back here, saw some of my favorite bands in concert, and explored new places on new adventures. I’d been stuck in Tampa for most of 2020, and being able to get around again was a breath of fresh air.
Not to say everything was peachy. I was still inside for a lot of the year – in my room and in my head. Moving to a new apartment helped, especially one with a lake I can brood over. With nearby HEMA clubs still closed, I started attending the ninja gym for parkour and agility training – healthy body, healthy mind, right? But demons aren’t so easily exorcised, and the past couple of years have been a constant battle.
Being indoors also meant a lot of reading, gaming, and music. So without further rambling, I present to you the 2021 Ford Awards!
Book of the year:
Masters of Strata by G.D. Penman takes it out of sheer excitement. Revelations about the best setting in LitRPG hit hard and fast – more than once was I up late devouring this book, goosebumps all over and adrenaline driving me to the next page.
Honorable mention to The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie. Never could I have imagined the finale to his latest trilogy would live up to the Grimdark depths of the Last Argument of Kings.
And, naturally, Visceral and Permadeath Reincarnation. If I don’t stan myself, who will?
Game of the year:
Super Auto Pets is a free autobattler where you buy and train teams of cute and deadly pets. The art style is adorable and the gameplay is addictive. As an autobattler, the combat is non-interactive: all the gameplay decisions come from buying, selling, and feeding pets between battles. The gameplay loop – designing your team, watching the battle play out, and then coming right back to the store to either double-down on your strategy or to try to pivot – is rewarding and hard to put down.
Album of the year:
If I’d asked myself two months ago, I’d have been torn between Tyler’s Call Me If You Get Lost and Lil Nas X’s Montero. Both pack bangers and hard-hitting emotional tracks of superb quality.
But then I discovered Upsahl’s debut album Lady Jesus. She brought the vocals that had impressed me since her breakout hit “Drugs”, combined with slapping basslines, clever bars, and adventurous new effects. Am I biased because she played a killer show at the 97.X festival? Unashamedly. And also because I’m super jealous of her musical talent?? Perhaps. And also because she’s hotter than Tyler and Nas X??? I’m straight, don’t @ me. But even without these biases, she brings so much to her debut album that it’s really no contest.
Overall 2021 score: 10/10. I published books, traveled, spent time with friends and family – what more could I hope for?