Am I Even a Writer?

Attending the same event year after year has a way of putting a spotlight on how much—or little—you’ve published. When someone asks, “What’s new from Beth Martin?” the last thing I want to say is, “Uh… nothing.”

I started writing a few years before I published my first book, so once I started publishing, I had a few novels that were ready to get polished and released. Then I quickly put out four puzzle books, and then finally got back to novels and released Memory Clear.

After that, I didn’t release another book for a while.

I’ve still been busy. I call myself a full-time writer. Heck, I haven’t even slowed down, I’ve just been working a lot behind the scenes, looking forward to new endeavors ahead.

My Short Story Era

I’ve been wanting to put together a short story collection, and after sitting on some stories for a while, waiting until I had enough to publish in a collection, I thought, why not share some of the stories as ebooks? This past June, I released “Worth a Thousand Words” which is about a woman who inherits a mysterious painting. My next short will drop on January 1st. It’s called “The Pary Guest” and is a heartfelt piece about a teacher who drops in on a student’s Memorial Day party.

Of course, my big short story project in 2024 was Starship Blunder, a shared universe anthology filled with humorous stories that all take place on an appropriately named fictional spacecraft. In addition to creating the world and editing the collection, I wrote three of the stories (I’m particularly proud of “The Last Voyage,” and you definitely need to read it). Acting as acquisition editor was a completely new experience—challenging and rewarding in the best ways. I can’t wait to dive into similar projects in the future.

My friend and fellow writer Edward Swing has created his own Shareverse Anthology titled Enigma Station, which should release early next year. I wrote the story “Limited Vision” which will appear in the collection.

A New Era for Puzzling Escapes

The most exciting development this year is that a publisher purchased the rights to my Puzzling Escapes series. Their amazing team is working hard, transforming my existing puzzle books into stunning new editions that will be more immersive and beautiful than ever. Plus, we’re crafting a brand-new adventure to add to the series! The first re-release is tentatively set for summer 2025, and I’m so excited for you to see what we’ve been creating.

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When a fan came to my table last month at my local craft fair to ask, “What’s new from Beth Martin?” I smiled and responded, “This!” as I handed over a copy of Starship Blunder. Next year, I’ll have another few books to share with them. Will one of those books be a new novel? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I’ll keep writing, dreaming, and crafting stories that excite me—and hopefully you, too!