The Year I Tried to Outrun My Keyboard

If the year had a speed limit, I broke it – politely, with indicators. Between tea (God bless T-Leaf), commas, and questionable life choices involving too many notebooks, ignopring firends and family and making my back a source of continous pain, I wrote three books – that’s 288,000 words (not including drafts and terrible scenes I deleted the moment I wrote them), to be precise. (My spellchecker just asked for annual leave.)

As the ink dries (metaphorically; I’m not a complete monster), the world of Pekka Wall – his friends, his foes, and the innocent bystanders who should probably move to a quieter street – has started to properly emerge. The big news? We’re only halfway there. Three more books to go before the whole series clicks into place like a particularly satisfying climax with a twist ending.

Lessons from the Word Mines

It’s been an education. A degree in Surprise, with a minor in Shenanigans.

• Every sentence taught me something new – sometimes grammar, sometimes compassion, sometimes that I should never draft while hungry.

• Every character handed me something unexpected: secrets, jokes, and the occasional moral quandary I definitely didn’t see coming on page one.

• Every draft reminded me that writing is equal parts craft and magic trick…with extra rabbits.

Oh, and some of you left 5‑star reviews. I’m not crying, you’re crying. (Fine, I’m crying. Thank you!)

A Little Gift for You

As a token of my gratitude, I bundled together two funny fairytales. They’re free. They’re feisty. And they double as a gentle roast of the sorts of people who think red tape is a love language.

Download your copies of the stories here.

These bite-sized tales offer a window into my strong, profound, and all‑encompassing dislike of authoritarian rules – and of civil servants who turn into civil serpents the moment they bare their bureaucratic fangs to poison ordinary lives.

What’s Next

More Pekka. More mystery. More mischief. I’m marching the next three manuscripts toward the finish line with the determination of a cat headed for the hot laptop keyboard.

If you stay with me, I promise: sharp twists, tender moments, and at least one joke you’ll wish you hadn’t laughed at in public.

Thanks for reading, for reviewing, for recommending, and for letting these stories move in and rearrange the furniture.

With gratitude (and many drafts),

Janus Lucky
www.januslucky.com

Get The Birthmark Murders from below:

👉 Amazon
👉 Apple Books
👉 Books.by – for those who like things a bit more indie

And local Schrödinger’s Books In Petone is selling my book both on-site and by mail across New Zealand.

and of course, Kobo.