Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

Well, there are less than 12 hours left in 2013 for me as I type this. So I shall look forward to 2014 in this post.

My biggest thing for 2014 is, of course, the publication of The Fool’s Assassin, Book on in The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy. That is scheduled for August of 2014 in both the US and UK. This is possibly the most re-written book I’ve ever created. In fact, I still have a bout 200 more pages to go in this read-through, and I’ve already discovered so many little errors and places where I needed to clarify something. Working with a back story that large that stretches over decades of my writing life is very intense. And of course I am simultaneously working on the first draft of book two, as yet untitled. So I have a busy writing year ahead of me.

As a result, I’ve cut my travels back for the year. Even so, I fear I may have taken on a bit too much! Here is my roughed out schedule for 2014.

January. Stay home and write. Get those pages.

February. Stay home and write. Fingers on the keyboard, eyes on the screen, cat on the lap.

March. Keep Writing. Every day. Become 62. Scare myself with that idea, and write harder and faster.

April. Write for the first half of the month. Maybe play a little game with some readers. Then off to Chicago for Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, also known as C3E2.

May. Get back to work and write some more.

June. AUSTRALIA !!! SupaNova in Sydney and Perth. SupaNova is a Pop Culture Expo. Artists, illustrators, writers, actors, comics, video games, wrestlers . . . we’ll have it all!

July. Write like crazy for the first half. For the second half, brace myself for a visit to San Diego and Comic Con International, still often referred to as SDCC. Exhausting and amazing event.

August. Forget about getting any writing work done! The manuscript for book two had better be done and turned in by August 1, because August is eaten up by a book tour of the UK for the launch of The Fool’s Assassin and a wonderful time at Loncon3, the World Science Fiction Convention in London this year. I am bewildered to be one of the guests of honor this year!

September. Oh, start on the rewrites for book two, and begin the draft of book three of the trilogy.

October. Write. Write. Write. Find a child to take Trick or Treating.

November. Write, mostly. But take a break mid-month to fly off to Ontario, Canada for SFContario. I will be a Guest of Honor there.

December. Write some more. And write some more.

No France visit this year, I am sorry to say. I received several kind invitations, but regretfully had to refuse. I was also invited to Israel, but also had to refuse. These books are very, very demanding for me. So I have to face the choice between going out in public and Being The Writer or staying home and actually writing the books. Until this trilogy is finished, I need to focus on actually writing. My publishers may add more events to this schedule, but I’m hoping to hold fairly close to this.

Happy New Year!