This used to be “really good” for me, I’ve gotten better…
WRITING
I’m a contributor at UpstreamReviews, I post weekly updates at CrackerStack, and I pick at a novel in between illustrations.
Very pleased to announce I wrote a thousand words on my next manuscript, which you can read over at the CrackerStack if you’re a premium supporter.
READING
Go subscribe to the CrackerStack for my weekly reading updates. If you become a paid subscriber, you’re helping me support my book habit. Thanks!
I really only finished one book, which was SERVANTS OF WAR. Video coming soon on that one. Tomorrow I’ll finish TOUR OF THE PRAIRIES by Washington Irving.
DRAWING
I’m an illustrator and I post on my Instagram account. Follow me there and I will update more regularly.
Finished a piece! I think my method for this book is “I’ll touch up the backgrounds when I’m all done.” Because they’ll need it, and I can do that in batches, but for now I need to get the individual pieces ready.
Big week for the channel, I’ve posted consistently since Monday. I’d like to keep that up. My biggest video was the one with Current Week buzzwords, which I kind of hate, but I had something relevant to say about it, so I regret nothing.
FITNESS
Got my weight back down to 215. I took a look at some food options and I’m committing hard to zero junk this week, no excuses. I need five days of clean eating. This is a test of wills. I’m setting aside Tuesday and Friday nights as exercise nights in the shop, too. Nothing fancy, just setting that time aside to do some iso for a few sets. Gotta get consistent. I’m losing the progress from PectoCracker last year.
Find a girl who looks at you the way my wife looks at God’s Mightiest Trucker.
WRITING
I’m a contributor at UpstreamReviews, I post weekly updates at CrackerStack, and I pick at a novel in between illustrations.
Last week my review of THE VINLAND SAGA #1 went live on Upstream. I posted a chapter on the Stack, and also posted my reading update. This week I’m setting aside time (late Friday night) to knock out a thousand words on a manuscript for next year, one that I’m tremendously excited about. I will also write a video script for the channel (TBD).
READING
Go subscribe to the CrackerStack for my weekly reading updates. If you become a paid subscriber, you’re helping me support my book habit. Thanks!
I have a few review books to read, I’m behind on those, but first I’m going to reread a fantasy from last year. I should be able to knock out four titles this week. Generally I can read a book in a day (trucker, audiobooks, etc) but I’m also following a few podcasts and streaming shows, I like to vary it up.
DRAWING
I’m an illustrator and I post on my Instagram account. Follow me there and I will update more regularly.
Didn’t get as far as I wanted on this week’s piece, but here’s my progress so far.
I’ll finish this and start another one. With a few long nights I can increase production.
If Rumble’s mobile interface was better, I would upload to that one regularly as well, but right now I don’t have the time to worry about it. I need them to improve their tech so I can post videos from my phone without delays.
Solid week on the channel, knocked out a video every weekday and I have a few audio files that just need video put to them. Very pleased with that. My best video was a recap of the “Year of Sanderson” novels.
FITNESS
Gained some weight back and only did the AbWheel once. I am deeply ashamed. Judge me for my fatness, and also for my weakness. This week I shall repent of both.
Go 49ers, I suppose. I’m happy for the Chiefs, I like Andy Reid and stuff, but the Patriots just finished their run and I don’t want to watch another dynasty unless it’s the Colts. Thus, on this go-round I hope Brock Purdy does the deed.
I was on vacation this week so I managed to finish up some projects.
WRITING
Over on the CrackerStack I posted the 26 riders in HOWLING WILDERNESS and their bios. I also posted some premium chapters from THE KORBADELL JOB so check those out and consider subscribing. In addition, I drafted a few pieces for Upstream.
This week I am mostly back on drawing, though I might draft some more video scripts.
READING
Since I was on vacation, I caught up on some print stuff for a change! This includes THE ELLIMIST CHRONICLES and a boat load of comics. Some will get videos, some will get posts. I also (finally) finished XENOS, a Warhammer novel.
This week I have another Reacher to read, as well as some new Audible pieces.
DRAWING
I didn’t draw as much as you might think. Being off work meant being off my schedule. I was awake alongside my kids a lot more, and that necessitated changes. I did finish a HW piece and started a new one.
Calico Hind takes his shot
This week I will finish that one and start another.
VIDEO
Jeez, I think I posted one video and went live once. Recording was about as difficult as drawing, and I wanted to spend time with the kids anyhow, so it is what it is.
I’m back on daily vids this week. Subscribe to the channel or public school kids will lose their love of reading.
FITNESS
Maintained my weight, hit the Ab Wheel twice, and fixed the pull up bar in the shop so I can spend some time out there.
Last week was shot from the word go. But I still got some stuff knocked out. On Monday we had a giant ice storm in Oklahoma City. I will spare you the details, suffice it to say that I started work 8 hours behind schedule and that cascaded across the next five days. I am exhausted.
WRITING
No new writing on HW. However, over at the CrackerStack I posted more chapters from the old manuscript. Check it out a subscribe for updates.
READING
I finished an urban fantasy, a book about Teddy Roosevelt, and the 4th Jack Reacher novel. This week I will read a Witcher book, along with another Alatriste installment. Most likely I will read Dungeon Crawler Carl #2. And I think tonight I will sit back and read a big piece of XENOS by Abnett (Warhammer/Eisenhorn.) It’s slow but very good.
DRAWING
I’m posting from my phone and the latest version of my WiP is on the computer. However I did finish the piece I was doing last week, because of the ice storm. So.
VIDEO
I did publish five low-edit videos on the channel, which is probably a new record. But you all know that because you are subscribed, yes?
FITNESS
Oh boy. I did 4 reps on the AbWheel, waited a day, and wanted to die. This week I will hit it twice. By the end of the year I will be able to blast out 25 rolls a day all week, and you’ll be begging to wash clothes on my shredded core. I will demean you with slurs. We will both smile.
Things I don’t miss: screwing around with chemboxes in the snow. (2019)
WRITING
Through my artwork on HOWLING WILDERNESS I realized I’ll need to explain certain things about the riders, so I came up with the idea of actually typing out their individual profiles and including them with the illustrations as excerpts from the in-world newspaper. So I’m picking at that when I’m stymied elsewhere.
I powered through DISQUIET GODS by Ruocchio. Hefty series, almost impossible to summarize. I’ll do a writeup at UpstreamReviews in the coming weeks. Check the CrackerStack for my other reading updates.
DRAWING
Didn’t finish this piece, I stupidly picked one that required me to draw two feathered animals, and I had a few lost nights along the way. I’ll finish it by Tuesday of this week, and from there I will probably pick a simpler one to make up the time.
VIDEO
Had a few new ones on the channel, and the success continues. I’m happy and grateful. Should be purchasing some new channel tech in the next week or so.
The big news is that I’m openly declaring what I’ll no longer put up with in the comments. This has been the case for a while but racist histrionics are popping up a lot on my Mayflower stuff, so I’m putting it out there for everyone to know.
Talk dumb, get punted.
FITNESS
I am finally, for the most part, over whatever gunk had plugged up my lungs for the first two weeks of the year. On top of that I managed to lose two pounds. This week I’m hitting the ab wheel every day after work, it’s time to make AbCracker happen with a vengeance.
Zero this week. You’ll see throughout this report that I was waylaid with nasty throat gunk all week long. I had a productive Monday/Tuesday, then after that it was “work and survive” until the weekend. I’m not thrilled about it. This week I’m setting Wednesday and Saturday as my writing days.
READING
Naturally more productive on this front, but it’s easier to do so. I finished two books and punted on three, and I also caught up on some of my comic book reading. More on that over at crackerstack.substack.com.
This week I’m finishing a western called THE LEGEND OF PERLEY GATES (yeah) and tackling DISQUIET GODS by Ruocchio.
DRAWING
Finished another piece for HOWLING WILDERNESS. I’ll do a touch-up round on all of these when they’re done, I know (for example) that I’ll want to make the firework look more convincing and that will take some practice. I’ve never tried that effect before.
Gonna finish another piece this week.
VIDEO
I did manage to get a few out before my voice disappeared, one of them covered a book I didn’t finish. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL.
FITNESS
The sickness has only exhausted me, and the cold makes it worse, so I haven’t been out to the shop. I freaking hate this time of year. On the positive side, I’m still under 215. Back at it.
Okay, the New Year hangover is behind us, it’s time to solidify the process and see how the first week went. For me, it was about 50/50.
WRITING
I drafted a semi-long piece over at Upstream, comparing the film and novel versions of Jurassic Park. Going forward, I’ll have one writing night where I do an Upstream piece and a CrackerStack piece, and another night where I pick at CODE NAME RAZOR. Other than that, I am in drawing mode.
My next Upstream piece is a review of Godzilla Minus One, which goes live on January 11th. A little behind the curve, but the schedule was already full when I wrote it.
READING
Finished three books, including the fifth Sun Eater book. This week I will read at least three more. I have two titles I need to get to on Speechify, then Shadiversity’s book. I also need to pick a reading night with my family. Might be Sundays, now that I think of it…
Make sure you’re following the CrackerStack for full updates on the reading anyway.
DRAWING
Good news! Knocked out the first piece for HOWLING WILDERNESS. I have maybe 20 on the docket. This week I want to finish another one. Tall order, let’s see what I’ve got up my sleeve.
VIDEO
This week has been plagued with audio problems. I recorded a lot of segments but most of them have feedback issues so I can’t use them for decent videos. I’m trying to fine-tune that process, sorry for the lack of production. I did get one book review up, though.
The really cool part about last month is that the channel made a few dollars, and I can invest in some equipment to improve said channel. I’m putting together a list right now.
FITNESS
After spending a year doing push-ups, my brain is molded to that exercise as a preferred workout. I don’t want to lose the ability to do powerful sets like I have been for the last few months, I just want to work in other stuff.
Every day when I get home I’ll take the kids straight out to the shop and we’ll do some workouts. I’ll hit the ab wheel and the pull-up bar. That’ll be the start for this week, to just log reps and see what I can really do.
Well gang, we survived. I won’t recap the entire year month-by-month, that is Dave Barry’s job, and he’s been at it for decades. In my more partisan days I would bristle at the jabs directed against My Side, but as I (hopefully) mature a little, I realize that Both Sides are dumb as dog $#!+ and nobody should be in charge of anything.
(Except for me. I have a secret plan. Make me president and I’ll fix it all.)
Anyway, here’s what I got up to in ’23, and what I’ll do in ’24 to build on it.
This year I’m on deck to read another 150. I don’t care, this is my life now. That said, a lot of this stuff will be content fuel for the channel, and that gets me paid, so it’s a replenishing habit. Lol.
My streak of at least one new publication per annum remains intact. Next year I will publish HOWLING WILDERNESS as well as the print edition (revised) of ANSWERABLE COURAGE.
Also, I’m going to get at least a first draft of CODE NAME RAZOR wrapped up. (Working title.)
Final cherry on top, not that it’s going to take a lot of my attention this year, but since 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the 10th anniversary of PATRIOT’S GAME, I’ll be releasing a hardcover omnibus of Engines of Libertycomplete with some minor revisions, some new material (a trilogy of novellas called Engines of Winter) and most important, improved artwork.
“But Graham, you said you weren’t going to do that!”
Yeah well, guess what? I do what I want. But in seriousness, I do want to release better art, and I’ll be in a position to make it. The old stuff will still appear in the back of the book, in an old gallery. The new stuff will be digital and better.
DRAWING
I illustrated SHERIFF PORTER and did some other doodles along the way.
In ’24 I will fully illustrate HOWLING WILDERNESS, fully illustrate ANSWERABLE COURAGE, and post at least one drawing per week to my Instagram account.
As part of my ongoing artistic development, I will also read at least three of the art books that I have in my library, that I have not yet read.
AUDIO
I finished Radcracker with over 300 episodes in 5 years.
Now the podcast is done. What replaces it? Keep reading.
VIDEO
The channel has grown significantly in ’23. I finally got monetized, I more than doubled my subscriber count, and I’m getting regular engagement on a handful of videos.
I have added a second channel that I will build up in ’24. It’s called The Graham Hammer and it’s for all of the videos I want to do about things that aren’t book-related. That’s what the main channel is for. This is the outlet that will replace my podcasts, because Spotify has nuked the viability of that outlet by absorbing Anchor.
You can subscribe the channel here on YouTube. I’m still working on the Rumble side of things, but the plan is to have my videos post to both channels so I have a backup outlet. Building it up will be slow, but content will be regular, as I’m doing the exact same thing I did with Radcracker all these years.
FITNESS:
I hit my goal of 25,000 pushups. I missed my goal of weighing 200lbs. In 2024 I commit to doing a few things different.
First, I will renew my focus on intermittent fasting, which I have had success with in the past. This year I allowed poor discipline and excuse-making to creep in with regard to my half-graveyard shift, and I was more or less constantly eating. Even though I log ten miles a day at work on my feet I still didn’t lose weight so I have to change. My hard eating window will be 12 hours, and I will adjust it month-by-month in response to my actual work schedule.
Second, I will continue my habit of daily pushups but I don’t think I will do them at work any longer, like I did this year. I should knock those out at home with my children. Further, I’m not aiming for volume in ’24. I’m aiming at variants. I want to be able to do 10 handstand pushups, 10 one-armed pushups on each side, and 1-3 other difficult types, including diamonds. I’m still brainstorming on this one, but basically I want to do 5 different types of push-ups.
Third, I am going to master my Ab Wheel. I have been extremely sporadic with that thing and it’s time to go whole-hog. This will require me to focus more on core exercises, which is good. There was a time when I actually had six-pack abs (it was 21 years ago…) and I can do it again. I’m just sloppy.
These three things are within my reach. I will do other fitness-related things, this is simply the foundation I will lay beneath it all.
CONCLUSION
2024 will be just another year in a lot of ways. But so was 2023, with the caveat that I accomplished much of what I set out to do, so I will carry that momentum forward and get better in measurable ways.
Knocked out a solid 3k on SIC SEMPER TYRANNOSAURUS, a Silas Proctor adventure. I got the proof back for SHERIFF PORTER and it needed work so I also fixed that.
READING
I’m struggling, cats. But I did finish YUMI AND THE NIGHTMARE PAINTER with a review on CrackerStack. This week I’m knocking out a bunch of shorter reads that I’ve been meaning to get to.
DRAWING
Not much to offer here, I did a tiny bit of work on the HOWLING WILDERNESS thumbnail but nothing to show.
The big one was my review of LIGHT BRINGER, which hasn’t gotten as much traction as the Red Rising recap, but has also gotten far fewer idiotic comments on it, which is nice.
FITNESS
Got as low as 216, so I’m clearing out the basement as it were. Annoying that I was 205 about a year ago, and since then it’s only gone up. I’m doing research into a carnivore diet because it’s been too strenuous to make IF work with my sleep/labor cycle. I can’t afford to bonk at work.
Also I buggered up my palm so pushups suck right now, nevertheless I powered through and did 560 to get me up to 16,000 for the year. 500 per week is my floor. This week it’s my goal to weigh under 215 again.
Biggest news here: SHERIFF PORTER is in the final stages of production. Proof copy comes this week. I was going to start drafting SIC SEMPER TYRANNOSAURUS but didn’t get my butt in the writing chair. I shall repent of my creative fatness.
READING
I literally only finished one book this week. It was LIGHT BRINGER and I have been raking in the views on YouTube with my Red Rising content. Lol. The problem was that book infuriated me so much that I didn’t really get into anything else.
I did start a thriller that I haven’t finished but is so far pretty good. I spent a lot of this week listening to music. Alestorm, which is another Napalm Records band, is pirate-themed metal, and while I’ve tried their music before with poor results, I found some other tracks of theirs this week that were cool. I also came across Beast in Black and I really like their sound.
This week I’m back on the reading wagon. I’ll finish the thriller, then read SON OF THE BLACK SWORD, and start on INHERITANCE by Paolini. I don’t plan to read a ton of it this week. It’s a primer for MURTAUGH which comes out in November. Oh, and I guess I should read that new Sanderson that I didn’t get to last month.
DRAWING
Mostly finishing the SP cover for the paperback. Check it.
I did an introduction video for the channel, just to have one on the home page. The big video was my review of ISOM #2, which got a lot of interaction from Eric July’s fans. Very thrilled with how that one turned out.
FITNESS
I ain’t doing all this math, I’m just glad the average is ticking downward. I’ve more or less dropped 2 of the 6 pounds I gained in Texas, haha. I’ll have the damage undone by the end of August.
The bigger problem is, I’ve lost all motivation to do push-ups. #PectoCracker has stalled and the engine needs to start again. Thus it is that I’m allowing myself to go back to 20-rep sets because I know I can blast them out easy, and I’ll just aggregate until I get back into the mindset of doing sets of 30 or 40. And don’t even ask me about AbCracker, I just suck. I can blame the humidity, the bigger culprit is my sleep cycle has been all out of whack the last two weeks.
Our dog escaped on Friday and my wife woke me up mid-nap to go find her. So that was a bit of an emotional thing, and I didn’t go back to sleep until way late. Screwed up my Saturday and now I’m in recovery mode Sunday. I’ll get there, it’s just annoying. Glad we found our dog and made friends with a neighbor.
DreadPennies: The Mind of Graham Bradley 