Wandering Aimlessly into 2025

 

Typically, I'd have already written and shared a post where I look back on 2024 and shared what I'd accomplished through the year. I didn't do that for 2024. Why? Because 2024 sucked big time! I'd lost two jobs that I loved, haven't been able to find a new job that works for me, I've been scammed by "jobs", and I've dealt with a host of health issues within my family. I gained back some of the weight I'd lost. My cat died. All of this has led me into a depression that I'm still struggling to get out of. 

I've lost the joy in everything--writing, editing, reading, watching TV, working out, coloring--you name it, and it's become a chore for me. I truly feel like I'm aimlessly wandering into 2025, so I've decided to fully embrace this and use it to my advantage...

Before I get into all of my non-plans for 2025, I do need to reflect a bit on 2024, because it wasn't all terrible. So, here are my highs and lows of 2024...

HIGH: I went on a cruise with my best friend, daughter, and daughter's boyfriend who proposed to her! I was so happy to witness this and be a part of such a special moment. 

LOW: I was let go from a writing job that I loved. It was very unexpected, and the loss of income hit me hard. 

HIGH: My best friends bought a new house and are settling in, which means they will not be leaving Michigan! 

LOW: The publisher I'd been working with for over a decade closed its doors, leaving me without my editing job. Again, the loss of income was difficult, but more than that, I no longer had any job. What on earth was I supposed to do with myself all day now?

HIGH: Without any job, I now have all the time in the world to devote to writing!

LOW: Without any job, I have no money to pay for all the expenses that go along with being an Indie author. 

HIGH: I've redeveloped a working relationship with a serial book app and am once again selling licensing rights to my books!

LOW: My cat, Luna, died.

HIGH: We welcomed little Miss Daisy Ray into our home and lives. She's been such a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster year. 

HIGH: I went on vacation with my girls to Georgia, which despite all the problems we encountered, it was so much fun! I loved the aquarium and the Vampire Diaries Tour. 

HIGH: I read a lot more this year than many years before, and I've discovered a new-to-me genre that I'm obsessed with: Romantasy! My complete list is below.

HIGH: I finally managed to get my husband a French bulldog, which is a breed he's wanted for so long! This is Biskit, and he's 9 weeks old. He's got the attitude of a big dog in the body that right now is literally smaller than our cats. lol. 

So, like I said, 2024 wasn't all terrible, but you'll notice that I don't have many highs that involve writing or publishing. That's because I did very little of that this past year. I used to keep track of all my daily word counts, hours I spent writing, etc. I stopped doing that mid-year, and it was one of the best things I could've done for myself. And this leads into my non-plans for 2025...

In 2025, I have only one goal: 

FIND JOY !

This is how I plan to do that:

1. I'm not going to set a bunch of goals because I know they will only stress me out. 

2. I'm not going to worry about tracking my every moment and word written because that just makes me feel bad when I have days where I can't or don't want to do anything. 

3. I'm not going to berate myself for not writing or for choosing to spend the day doing self-care. Instead, I will live in the moment. 

4. I'm not going to force my muse. I know what personally sells for me in terms of what I write and publish. What sells doesn't necessarily align with what I want to write on any given day. So, instead of making myself write what sells, I'm going to let my muse lead me. 

5. I'm not going to be a prisoner to technology. I will spend less time on social media and more time doing the things I enjoy. 

As promised, here's my complete reading list for 2024:

• The Game by Linsey Miller
• Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
• Pestilence (The Four Horsemen, #1) by Laura Thalassa
• War (The Four Horsemen, #2) by Laura Thalassa
• Famine (The Four Horsemen, #3) by Laura Thalassa
• Death (The Four Horsemen, #4) by Laura Thalassa
• Killer Content by Kiley Roache
• Lost in Michigan, Volume 3 by Mike Sonnenberg
• Kingdom of the Wicked by Keri Maniscalo
• Quarantine #1: The Loners by Lex Thomas
• Quarantine #2: The Saints by Lex Thomas
• Quarantine #3: The Burnouts by Lex Thomas
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Two Degrees by Alan Gratz
• Landry Park by Bethany Hagen
• Truth or Dare by L.L. Hunter
• Ever (The Ever Trilogy #1) by Jessa Russo
• Evade (The Ever Trilogy #2) by Jessa Russo
• Entwined (The Ever Trilogy #3) by Jessa Russo
• City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare
• No Escape by Maren Stoffels
• City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare
• Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban
• Room Service by Maren Stoffels
• Fright Night by Maren Stoffels
• The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
• The Stranded by Sarah Daniels
• The Girl Who Lived by Christopher Greyson
• Rhapsodic (Bargainer Series #1) by Laura Thalassa
• A Strange Hymn (Bargainer Series #2) by Laura Thalassa
• The Emperor of Evening Stars (Bargainer Series #3) by Laura Thalassa
• Dark Harmony (Bargainer Series #4) by Laura Thalassa
• The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
• To Kill a Shadow by Katherine Quinn
• 49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards
• Last One to Die by Cynthia Murphy
• Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are by Kathryn Foxfield

So, how was your 2024? 

And what are you goals and dreams for 2025? 

GOALS: 2023

It's once again my favorite time of year -- GOALS!! I absolutely love setting goals for myself and seeing just how much I can accomplish in a year. And after the (surprisingly) productive 2022 I had, I'm more excited than ever to see what 2023 has in store. So, let's do this!

STAY HEALTHY!

Yes, this is absolutely the first thing on my goals for 2023. I'm finally in a good place with my Fibro and all my meds, and I want to maintain this. I'm no longer actively trying to lose weight, but I will continue to eat healthy and stay active. Encompassed within this goal is to keep my family as healthy as possible, too. Thankfully, my daughter seems to be adjusting to her disease and the recent medication change very well, and I pray that she continues to improve and do well. 

KEEP ON WRITING & PUBLISHING!

Obviously! I mean, this is what I do after all. Unlike previous years, though, I don't have any firm plans in mind of what I want to write and publish--and admittedly, I was freaking out about this for a while, but then I realized it doesn't matter. I don't need to have my writing planned out for the entire year. That's the best part of being an Indie author: I can write whatever I want, whenever I want. So rather than list out all the projects I think I might want to work on (and let's face it, I *always* veer away from my list anyway), I'm going to aim to write and publish another 5 books this year. I'm going to make this a mix of YA and adult. 

TREAT MY BUSINESS LIKE A BUSINESS!

I realize this might sound a little bit odd, and I do treat the act of writing and publishing like a business, but it's all the other stuff that goes with it that's lacking. I need to become better organized with my marketing, expenditures, and time management. I'm confident that doing so will also help me in the long term with my output and overall creativity.

EXPAND MY AUDIENCE!

Back in 2021, I'd sold licensing rights to my series to a couple of serial reading apps. I have a list of others that I want to explore and potentially contract with so that I can continue to expand my audience. I'll also be looking for new fun ways to help spread the word about my books. 

READ!

I'd like to aim for 1-2 books per month again, not including any submissions I have to read for Anaiah. I read quite a bit in 2022, and I'd forgotten how much I love to get sucked into a story. I will attempt to read every night before bed.

BALANCE: SLOW DOWN & LOOK AROUND

I'm forever making lists of things I need to do, setting deadlines, and basically working as much as I possibly can. This past year, though, I'd taken a Mother-Daughter vacation (which is going to become an annual thing), and I can't tell you how much fun I had exploring, spending time with my girls, and laughing. I want to do more of that in 2023 -- So, I'm hereby giving myself permission to slow down, look around, and just enjoy life. I'm not getting any younger, my kids are starting to spread themselves farther apart, and I'm to the point in my life where I feel like I've earned the right to really start enjoying all that I have. While I will always keep writing, publishing, and editing, this is the year I find a better balance between my professional and personal life. 

What will you do in 2023?

GOALS: 2022

It's once again my favorite time of year -- GOALS!! I absolutely love setting goals for myself and seeing just how much I can accomplish in a year. And after the productive 2020 I had, and the slightly less productive but still great 2021 I had, I'm more excited than ever to see what 2022 has in store. So, let's do this!

KEEP ON WRITING & PUBLISHING!

Surprise surprise that this is on my list. LOL. Specifically, these are the projects I'd like to work on this year:

1. Wars of the Heart Series -- This is Jax's series, and as of right now, it's a planned trilogy. I've written and edited the first book, and I'm halfway through writing the second book. Ideally, I'd like to finish all three and then publish them later this year.

2. Vampire Wars Series -- This is a brand new YA paranormal romance series that I'm launching in exactly three days with the release of The Culling as part of The Magic of Midnight Anthology series. I'd like to write the remainder of this series (I'm unsure how many books that will be right now) and release it. 

3. EON Saga -- This is the YA sci-fi romance series I'm co-writing with Rosie Somers. In a perfect world, we'd finish the series and begin publishing it this year. But a lot of that depends on her schedule, too, so I'd be happy with simply getting the second book written.

4. Relaunch Warped Remains -- Originally, I'd co-written and released this book in 2020, but due to unforeseen circumstances, my co-author and I have decided to part ways. (I promise there's a more detailed post about this coming soon!) So, now that I have all rights to this book, I'm going to re-edit it, update the cover, and re-release in March. 

5. Branch into Middle Grade -- I've done a lot of self-reflection this year, and one thing that's become apparent to me is that I'm not well-suited for the traditional adult market. God bless my agent for trying, repeatedly, to sell adult books for me, but it's just not working the way I had hoped. YA, however, seems to be doing well for me. The books I've self-published are doing well in terms of sales and the reader response has been wholly positive. Sadly, my agent doesn't represent YA, but she does represent MG, which is the next logical step for me as it's often closely tied to YA. Therefore, I'm going to write an MG proposal for my agent to shop around. I already have some ideas, and I'm crazy excited about them!

6. Self-Publish Adult Romances -- While I have no luck in the traditional market with adult romances, I know I can find success in self-publishing them. I have two series I'd like to get out this year: a small town cowboy romance and a billionaire series. I'm leaning toward creating and launching a new pen name for my adult books, but the thought of all that extra work is a tad overwhelming. But, stay tuned for an eventual announcement one way or another.

READ!

I'd like to aim for 1 book per month again, not including any submissions I have to read for Anaiah. I'll be reading a lot of MG for research purposes, and I'd like to dive into more adult romances. Though I still have a massive YA TBR, so maybe I can knock that down a little bit. 

PERSPECTIVE: PUBLISHING ISN'T THE END ALL BE ALL

For those of you who've been following along on Facebook, y'all know that I've spent the last 4 nights in the hospital with my daughter. She's been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, which was a shock to say the least. This will obviously require some lifestyle changes for her and me, and a little bit of adjustment all around. While this ordeal sucks and has been terrifying as a parent, it's also taught me a much needed lesson -- Publishing isn't the end all be all. I'm a workaholic, and when I have deadlines or projects and I can't work on them / meet them, I stress about it. I feel like I'm letting people down, and I hate that feeling! But y'know what? Publishing won't come to a stand still simply because I need to tend to my family or I need a day off for my own health reasons. My WIPs won't cease to exist because I don't write any words on a given day. So, moving forward through 2022, I'm going to focus on keeping this perspective at the forefront of my mind. 

What will you do in 2022?

GOALS: 2021

 

It's once again my favorite time of year -- GOALS!! I absolutely love setting goals for myself and seeing just how much I can accomplish in a year. And after the productive 2020 I had, I more excited than ever to see what 2021 has in store. So, let's do this!

KEEP ON WRITING!

I wrote so much in 2020, and I would love to keep up with the momentum I'd built. Here are the specific projects I hope to work on: 

1. Small Town Cowboy Romance Book -- I'm busy working on a proposal for my agent for a series of small town cowboys. I want to get the first book written, and possibly have outlines for the rest of the series. 

2. Cursed Series Spinoff Book -- I have the characters, and the idea for the story, and I've already written the first couple of chapters, so I just need to finish writing it. 

3. Adult Romantic Suspense Book -- I have one I'd started several years ago, so I'm going to dust it off and finally finish it so I can send it to my agent. This will be written and eventually published as Lexi.

4. More YA Books -- I worked hard last year to launch The Cursed Series, and I've seen some wonderful gains in my readership, which I don't want to lose, so ideally, I'd love to write another YA book or series I can release. I have an entire list of ideas to choose from, so we'll see what happens. 

READ TILL MY EYES BLEED!

Okay, so maybe that's a little extreme. LOL. I read more books for pleasure last year than I have in a very long time, and I loved it. In fact, I'd forgotten just how much I love getting lost in a book. Between all the writing, editing, and reading submissions for Anaiah that I do, I rarely have time to read stuff that I want to read, so this year, I'm going to make it a priority. I will read at least one book per month, hopefully more. And maybe, if I'm feeling frisky, I might start doing reviews again, too. 

GET OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE!

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I'm generally a shy person. I prefer to stay home, chat via messenger or text as opposed to talking on the phone, and I do most of my marketing online, too, without having to really put myself out there all that much. Well, this year, I'm going to make a real effort to get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there more via videos, podcasts, conferences, etc. 

PROGRESS: KEEP MOVING FOWARD!

As I've mentioned, I made a lot of traction in my writing and publishing life, and I don't want all of that hard work to be for nothing, so for this year, I'm going to focus on moving forward while progressing with my writing and publishing. I'm going to continue to self-publish via FireChicken Press, and God willing, I'll get Lexi back on track with some new publishing contracts as well. 

What will you do in 2021?

New Year's Goals: 2019

via GIPHY

It's that time of year again!!! GOALS!!! I love setting goals. So, I won't even waste anymore time on anything else. Let's do this.

Finish What I've Started

After taking an inventory of my current half-started projects, I have a lot of stuff to finish. There's also a couple of series not included in my tally that I'd like to finally complete. So, here is the official list of books I'm going to attempt to finish writing this year:

1. The Georgia Corbins, Book 1. I started a total rewrite of this in November 2018, and I've been steadily making progress. I have less than 30K left to write, which will easily be completed by the end of January. While it still has all the same characters, the plot is taking a slight detour away from the original love triangle and it will now have a present faith element. My plan is to publish the entire series via Anaiah Press.

2. The Georgia Corbins, Book 2. I have a complete draft of this written that will need to be heavily revised to be consistent with the changes to book 1, so I plan to do that this year.

3. The Georgia Corbins, Book 3. This is a maybe at this point, because I'm not even sure there will be a book three now. It will all depend on what happens in the first two books.

4. Eternal Bond. This is the sequel to Eternal Curse, a young adult paranormal romance.

5. Untitled, unknown project. Okay, so an editor who rejected my paranormal romance said she loves my voice (which, for you non-writers reading this, that's a HUGE compliment) and that she feels I'm very well-suited to writing YA. She then asked if I had other projects I could pitch to her. So I did. If she likes any of them, I will focus on working on whatever she wants. And, if she doesn't like anything I pitch, I have a super-fun new Christian YA that I'll work on.

Officially launch FireChicken Press, LLC

I have a "work-in-progress" website for FireChicken Press, LLC (FCP, LLC). I'd like to release, at the very least, one book under FireChicken Press in 2019. Right now, it's looking like it will be a YA thriller I'd co-written a couple years ago, but that could very well change depending on what happens with other things.

Read and Blog

These two items are always on my goals list, but this year, I'm combining them because I've decided to be better about reviewing the books I've read. So, as you'll see across the top of this blog, I've added a new tab: BOOK CRAVINGS. This is where I'll be sharing all my bookish thoughts.

Persistence: Slow & Steady

Last year, my focus was on staying positive. While I'm sad to admit I didn't adhere to that as much as I would have liked, there were key moments when I did cling to positive thoughts to get me through. I will continue to do that this year, too, but I'm adding persistence as well. What many of you don't know is that I'm very hard on myself. If I don't write "all the words" every day, I feel like I've somehow failed. So, in 2019, I'm giving myself permission to do less more consistently. Instead of binge writing 5k in a single day and then not writing for a week after, I'm going to pace myself -- 2k a day everyday. After all, slow and steady wins the race, right?

What will you accomplish in 2019? 

Share your goals in the comments!

Looking Back on 2018

I'm not gonna lie... 2018 kicked my ass! I'm pretty sure everyone feels this way in terms of the state of politics in the world, but beyond that, on a much more personal and professional level, this has been a very not good year for me. I'm really optimistic about 2019, though. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look back on the year and see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2018.

So, my original 2018 goals included: 

(1) Finish Eternal Curse, the first book in my YA paranormal romance series.

Status: GOAL MET!!

My Thoughts: Not only did I finish this book, it made the rounds with several beta readers, and I revised the heck out of it. I'm SO pleased with how this book turned out, and I cannot wait to share it with the world. 

(2) Write the sequel to Eternal Curse.

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I wrote almost 25k of the sequel, currently titled Eternal Bond, and then I stopped because I wasn't sure what was going to happen with book one. I didn't want to get too far into the sequel only to find out I needed to change a lot of stuff. I do have a clear idea of where the story is going now, though, and so now it's just a matter of writing it. 

(3) Write Meet Me at the Mistletoe, a sweet Christmas romance novella for the Christian market.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: This project is temporarily shelved while I focus on building my YA brand.

(4) Finish Deception, the first book in a new Christian romantic suspense series. 

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: This project has also been temporarily shelved while I focus on building my YA brand.

(5) Take an inventory of all my half-started YA projects and see if any of them are worth salvaging.

Status: GOAL MET!!!

My Thoughts: Out of 9 started projects, there are 6 of them I think are worthy of pursuing, some of which will possibly be co-written with other authors. 

(6) Query something.

Status: GOAL MET!!

My Thoughts: I sent my first query for Eternal Curse in February, and I've been working at it all year. I've racked up a lot of rejections, but I'm happy to report I have one full and one partial still out with agents. *Fingers crossed* 

(7) Keep on Bloggin'

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: There were some weeks when I was really on top of this, but not as much as I would have liked. 

(8) Read

Status: GOAL MET!!

My Thoughts: I'm please with how much I've read this year, which is much more than in past years. Here's what I knocked off my TBR in 2018:

• Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy
• Evernight by Claudia Gray
• One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
• The Leaving by Tara Altebrando
• There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
• We All Fall Down by Natalie D. Richards
• One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards
• The Cellar by Natasha Preston
• You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston
• The Cabin by Natasha Preston
• Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards
• Survive the Night by Danielle Vega
• Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards
• Campfire by Shawn Sarles
• The Escape by Hannah Jayne
• All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
• Something About Forever by Kimberly Loth
• Bloodlust & Initiation (Vampire Beach 1 and 2)by Alex Duval
• Ritual & Legacy (Vampire Beach 2 and 3) by Alex Duval
• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
• Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
• Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles
• I'll Be Yours by Jenny B. Jones

Out of 8 goals, I fully achieved four, kinda achieved two, and completely flaked on two. Those numbers could be worse--and they have been in past years. lol. In addition to all of that, there were a lot of other things I accomplished, both professionally and personally...

PROFESSIONALLY:

• I wrote a total of 135,844 words on various projects.
• Between here and the Anaiah Press blog, I blogged a total of 11,941 words.
• For Anaiah, I edited 7 full-length novels and 3 novellas.
• I freelance edited 3 full-length manuscripts.
• I beta read 3 full-length manuscripts. 
• I created and legally formed FireChicken Press, LLC, which is my personal self-publishing company.
• I returned to working on my YA contemporary romance series, The Georgia Corbins, and have finally made a publishing decision on that. (More to come on that in my 2019 Goals post)
• I've outlined a couple new YA projects/ideas. 

PERSONALLY:

• In January, I saw Black Veil Brides in concert with my oldest daughter for her birthday. I'm now a diehard fan of them, and they almost single-handedly fuel the playlist for my paranormal series! 
• In October, I saw Twenty-one Pilots in concert again with my daughter and her friend.
• Also in October, I saw Luke Bryan for the very first time! *internal squealing*
• In November, I saw The Thunder From Down Under. 
• I made a couple visits to NY to see my parents. 
• My parents came to MI in November to celebrate Thanksgiving and early Christmas with us. 
• I got a little red sports car! 

Despite the fact I didn't publish a single thing in 2018, and I didn't snag an agent, I accomplished much more than I realized. I'm calling this a pretty good year overall. 

What did you do this past year?

Share your success in the comments! 

New Year's Goals: 2018

It's that time of year again! GOALS TIME! I actually really look forward to this every year. I love setting goals. It gives me direction and keeps me accountable. So, without further ado, here are my 2018 goals...

via GIPHY

LEARN TO LOVE WRITING AGAIN. 
AND THEN WRITE!

2017 was a rough year for me, and along the way, I lost my love for writing. I had lots of ideas, but when it came time to put my butt in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard, I blanked. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the words out. Needless to say, it's been frustrating. So, I'm going to continue to take my time. I'm not going to push myself to write or get upset with myself if a day (or twelve) goes by that I don't write. And I'm going to focus on just the writing for a while. Basically, I'm going to write what I want to write--the market be damned! Then, eventually, I'll see what I have and jump back into the publishing pool.


1. Finish Eternally Cursed, which is the first book in a YA paranormal romance series.

2. Write the sequel to Eternally Cursed.

3. Write Meet Me at The Mistletoe, a sweet Christmas romance novella for the Christian market.

4. Finish Deception, which is the first book in a new Christian romantic suspense series.

5. Take an inventory of all my half-started YA projects and see if any of them are worth salvaging.

6. Query something! Probably my paranormal romance because it's the only thing I have that's close to finished.

KEEP ON BLOGGIN'

Yup, this is on my goal's list. Again. I should just accept that this is a permanent fixture on this list. LOL. I actually have a few blog posts written and ready to go that I plan to release soon. I'll be talking books, writing, and sharing every step of my journey to finding a new agent.

READ

I'd like to read 2-3 books per month--my TBR pile is monstrous--but I'll be happy with a conservative 1 book per month. Like I did last year, I'll keep a list of what I read and share it at the end of the year.

BETTER SELF-CARE

I'm going to start going to the gym again, at least twice per week. Not because I want to lose weight--although it certainly couldn't hurt!--but because when I exercise regularly, I have more energy and I'm much more productive. It really does get the creative juices flowing.

POSITIVITY

This is my mindset for 2018. When things seem like they can't get any worse, I will find something positive to focus on. Even amidst rejections and bad reviews, there is always something positive to take away from it. This year, I will become a master at finding the good and sharing it!

What are you goals for this year? 

Share in the comments, or post a link to your own goals post!

New Year's Goals: 2017

It's that time of year again! GOALS TIME! I actually really look forward to this every year. I love setting goals. It gives me direction and keeps me accountable. But, I have a bad habit of going overboard. A close, trusted friend recently told me I needed to scale back a little and stop trying to do "All The Things All The Time." I'm going to take his advice this year and set fewer goals, and if I achieve more than what I list, great! And if I don't, that's okay, too. So, without further ado, here are my 2017 goals...

WRITE UNTIL MY FINGERS FALL OFF!

1. If my editor likes my book proposal and decides to contract it, then I'll be writing Deceiving Devon (working title, subject to change), which is a spin-off to the Collins Brothers Series.

2. Finish Savage Passion (Midnight Rebels, Book 1) and allow my agent to start sending it out on submission.

3. Outline the entire Midnight Rebels Series--which, right now, is looking like it could be 7 or 8 books total.

4. Complete the R&R for The Georgia Corbins.

5. Finish Hallowed Ground (Graves Barren, Book 1), my YA Gothic romance, and send to agents or possibly my editor at Entangled.

KEEP ON BLOGGIN'

Yup, this is on my goal's list. Again. But I won't be blogging here. I'll be blogging once or twice a week / month over on the Anaiah Press blog, where I'll share writing, editing, querying, and publishing advice. So be sure to head on over and follow along.

READ

Because of my busy writing and editing schedule, reading for pleasure usually falls to the wayside. I did better with this goal in 2016, and I'd like to keep it up in 2017. But this year, I'm going to keep track of what I read and share it with everyone at the end of the year so I can shout about my favorites!

What are your goals for 2017? Share in the comments or link to your goals list :-) 

Kara's 2015 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It's officially 2015 and we all know what that means...

1. REVISE & EDIT This year I have three full length books and one (maybe 2 novellas) releasing. Edits on one of the full length books is completed. I still have edits on the rest of them due, so my goal is to get through all of them without making myself crazy. lol. In addition, I want to finish editing and revising: 

• The sequel to The Georgia Corbins
• Fiery Lotus, the sequel to my adult romantic suspense, Deadly Orchid

2. OUTLINE I cannot begin to tell you how many half-started projects I have. When I really think about it, it becomes very overwhelming. I know there's no way I can ever finish all of them within a single year, but I would like to get chapter-by-chapter outlines written for some of them so when I am ready to begin writing, I can get to work. 

• The third book in The Georgia Corbins series -- currently untitled
• A YA paranormal with an entirely new species of characters -- currently untitled
• An epic romance that will break all the rules of the genre -- currently untitled
• A YA paranormal with angels / demons -- currently untitled
• Broken Love -- the third book I'm co-writing with Jody Holford
• Blood Blossom -- the third book in my adult romantic suspense series

Maybe I need to add: Find titles for all my books to my goal list, huh? lol

3. WRITE, WRITE, WRITE I've got a lot of writing to do this year. Let me see....

• Resistance -- the sequel to Inferno (with David Jemal)
• Jaded Love -- the spin-off from Dangerous Love (with Jody Holford)
• The Georgia Corbins prequel (about 24k)

4. BLOG Yeah, yeah, I know. This is my goal every year. I was doing very well at the start of 2014, but then family issues stopped me cold, and I eventually gave up. However, I know my eyes were too big for my stomach last year. Instead of trying to blog once or twice a week, I'm going to be a bit more realistic and aim for once or twice a month. 

5. READ & REVIEW With all my writing and editing commitments, I tend to push pleasurable reading to the very bottom of my list. This needs to stop. So, I would like to read one book a month and review it here on my blog. Please note: This does NOT mean I'm open to review requests nor will I cross post reviews anywhere else. This is simply for me to get back in the habit of reading books just for the sake of reading them. This will be enjoyable for me ;) 

6. ATTEND RWA The Romance Writers of America National Conference is being hosted in my home state this year. I have to go! Not to mention, I can't wait to get together with my girls from RT2014 and hang out again. I miss all of them so much. While there, I hope to have a launch party for Inferno and do some in-person signings. 

7. BUILD A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE BUSINESS Stay tuned for more information on the services I'll offer and prices! 

It's going to be a busy year! 

What are your goals / resolutions for 2015?

Kara's 2014 New Year's Goals

Image Courtesy of: freedigitalphotos.net/satit_srihin

Well, it's the start of another new year and I've been busy setting new goals for myself. But before I get to those, I want to take a moment to reflect on 2013 because it was a pretty awesome year for me!

In 2013 I...

• Wrote and published a total 5 books!
• Co-authored a collection of stories with 3 really awesome and talented ladies. (Love and Other Games is still only $0.99 so get your copy now!)
• Joined Twitter and actually learned how to use it quite effectively :-)
• Became an intern, Associate Editor, and then Senior Editor at Entranced Publishing
• Attended my first writers' conference
• Did my first face-to-face agent pitch and got a partial request from her
• Made some amazing friendships that I will cherish forever. Excuse me a moment while I mention a few of them by name because they just deserve it:

                                   1. Melinda Dozier
                                   2. Ana Blaze
                                   3. Aria Kane
                                   4. Eden Plantz
                                   5. ST Bende
                                   6. Kat Daemon
                                   7. Rachel Kall
                                   8. Isabel Sterling
                                   9. Nikki Lynn Vale
                                   10. Rachell Nichole

• Started a local weekly writing & critiquing group
• Participated and won NaNoWriMo
• Became a Managing Editor at Anaiah Press

Now, on to what I hope to accomplish in 2014...

1. Blog on a more regular basis. I know, I know. I made this goal last year, too, and I kind of stuck to it. I definitely posted a lot this year, but it was a lot of guest posts, author interviews, blog tours, and such. What can I say? I'm a sucker for helping my fellow authors. This year though, I'm going to blog about writing related topics -- querying, editing, marketing etc.

2. Finish & publish a new YA novel. As of right now, the book is untitled, but it's about a high school senior who is telempathic -- a telepath with empathic capabilities. She's been having a lot of restlessness that she chalks up to spring fever, but when the new boy blows into town, her restlessness disappears. She soon learns that this boy is her guide, the person she's meant to be with, and the boy who will save her from using her gifts for evil.

3. Attend RT 2014 & meet Ryan Winfield. Anyone whose followed this blog knows that I'm a huge Ryan Winfield fan. I'm already registered for RT 2014, and then I found out he would be attending as well. Woo hoo! I can't wait to have him sign my third Park Service book :-) Then I'll have the entire trilogy signed by him!

4. Win NaNoWriMo for a second year! Last year was the first time I ever participated in NaNo -- thanks in large part to peer pressure from Isabel Sterling ;-) but it was such a rush! I absolutely loved it and can't wait to do it again.

5. Build my client list at Anaiah Press. I would love to sign and work closely with a minimum of 5 authors. A total of 9 or 10 would be awesome! Update: I've offered contracts to 2 authors that I'm dying to work with. So, I'm already well on my way to this goal. Stay tuned on Friday for a complete list of what I'm looking for.

What are your goals for 2014?

Feel free to share them in the comments :-)