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?

Writing, Reading, Struggling, and Other Updates

With 2021 almost over, I'll be writing my annual "Looking Back" post, and in preparation for that, I've done some self-reflection. Mostly about my writing, but also about my health and my overall lifestyle habits. So, I thought I'd give some updates because I've been struggling to finish some highly anticipated books. *cough*Jax'sBook*cough*

via GIPHY

This basically sums up how I've been feeling lately. Oh, and this one:

   

via GIPHY

 

Anyone who follows me knows I have Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. For all of 2020, I had it under control. I was working out daily. Eating right. I felt INCREDIBLE! As a result, I was writing like a mad woman, publishing an entire series, blogging regularly, taking care of my house and family. Despite the pandemic, I felt like I was on top of the world. 

And then I crashed and burned. Hard and fast. 

Suddenly, I was tired all the time. I'd wake up in the morning tired, and I'd fall asleep sitting on the couch. I couldn't focus on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. I had no desire to write. No ambition to edit. I couldn't even read for enjoyment. So, I dragged my butt back to my doctor. We switched my medication, readjusted my diet, and slowly, I started to feel a little more like myself. 

Only, I still couldn't find the desire to write or edit. Now, I realize part of this might be because I had written so much in 2020 and maybe I'm just experiencing a bit of burn out, but quite simply, that's not good enough for me. I refuse to let any of this keep me down. All this means only one thing--I need to change my habits. Again. 

Before I go any further, let me explain how things went in 2020:

I'd get up. Write for an hour or so. Work out. Shower. Get dressed, complete with makeup and jewelry. Eat breakfast. Write a bit more. Then edit, answer emails, blog, do promo work, etc. Every day, consistently, without much deviation. I was in my office, at my desktop, working a rather regular set of hours each day. 

Fast forward to now... 

I can barely drag myself out of bed in the morning, and I'm constantly going back to sleep once my daughter is off to school. I don't work out anymore. I'm barely writing. Y'know, all that stuff I've already said above. 

With the assistance of my doctor, I found a new natural dietary supplement that's been helping tremendously with the fatigue. My new medication is keeping the constant pain at bay. Two big hurdles have been cleared. Now it's time to hold myself accountable in other ways.

Throughout all of this, I'd stopped working out regularly. Why? Because when I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open, and my body hurts to even sit up, exercising is out of the question. Of course, not working out leads to even more pain and overall blah-ness. It's a horrible, never-ending cycle. This leads to me having no real ambition for anything--like writing. 

I'd also stopped dressing like I was working out of the home. I'd throw on clothes and yank my hair into a ponytail. I no longer write first thing in the morning. And I stopped working at my desk in favor of sitting on the couch with my laptop (because at the time, it was much more comfortable), but this led to me being too comfortable and therefore wanting to sleep. Or binge watch TV shows. 

But with a new year fast approaching, I'm more determined than ever to get back on track. Starting today, I'm working out in the morning again. I won't allow myself to go back to bed. I'll dress for success, and I'll sit at my desk like I used to! I don't know if I'll actually write any new words, but you can bet I'm going to try, and I'll finish out this year strong :) 

For those of you who have been (not so) patiently waiting for my next book, I promise it's coming. It's just taking me a longer than usual. 

My newest book, THE CULLING, is releasing January 4, 2022 as part of the MAGIC AT MIDNIGHT anthology, so be on the lookout for that. I'm re-launching my book WARPED REMAINS in March (stay tuned for an upcoming blog post about that). Right now, Jax's first book, BOUND, is set to release in April, with book 2 to follow in May, and book 3 in June. I'll be taking July and August off from publishing to go on a cruise and spend time with my family. But then I'll be back in September with another new book, though I'm not sure what yet. 

As always, thanks for sticking with me, and I wish all of you a very happy holiday season and a safe, fun, prosperous New Year 💖