Kara's Book Cravings: Atomic Habits

I'm generally not a self-help book type of person. Writing and craft books? Yup! True crime? Sign me up! But self-improvement books? Not so much... But my daughter read ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear, and she really liked it. She borderline harassed me until I agreed to read it, too, and because I want to encourage her to read more, I agreed. 

I have to give my daughter props -- this book was really good! It was very clear and straightforward and had some really actionable steps you can take to create better habits while breaking bad ones. 

I really enjoyed the examples the author provided, too. As someone who often struggles to balance work, life, and my health, the tips given in this book have been invaluable. He talks quite a bit about implementing these tips for creating good exercise and eating habits. As an author himself, he discusses the habits around writing goals, too, which I found refreshing. 

Everything he discusses in this book is really very doable. They are small steps that build into something life changing. And it's not just the "do this" attitude, either. He speaks so much about your mindset and how that can impact your daily habits, for bad or good. 

As soon as I finished the book, I signed up for his newsletter and his free email course that gives a lot more information and even worksheets to help implement the strategies he talks about. 

If you're looking for a book to help you shift your mindset about life and attaining your goals, and you want something that will actually work, I highly suggest this book. It changed my life!

Tell Me Something Tuesday: 01.02.2024 (Reading and Blogging Goals)

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I read just shy of 50 books in 2023, which I know isn't a lot compared to some people, but it's a lot for me when I take into account how much reading I do for my day job. This year, I'd like to read at least 50 books, but ideally, I'll hit 75 or 100. 

On the blogging front, I'd like to post 2-3 Book Cravings posts per week (my personal thoughts on books I've read), along with keeping up on this feature: Tell Me Something Tuesday. I'd also like to open up my blog for any fellow author who'd like to be featured, and share whatever thoughts I might have throughout the year. 

What are your reading and/or blogging goals this year? 

Share in the comments!

GOALS: 2024

 

Usually, I love writing this post each year. I like to have a semi-plan in place about what I want to accomplish in any given year. At the start of 2024, though, I'm a little hesitant to put anything in writing. Why? Because life seems to have other plans for me lately that don't always involve writing and publishing. And when I don't reach a certain goal I set for myself, I feel like I've failed. So this year, I've decided to be a bit more vague and go easier on myself. 

So, here's what I'm going to focus on in 2024...

1. Maintain My Health

I'm finally on a good dosage of my Fibro meds, and I've added in some new supplements that's really helping with my fatigue, so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm also going to get back into a routine of working out. Once the weather clears up, I'd like to start taking Crowley on walks again, too. 

2. Gain More Financial Freedom

I'm still working for Anaiah Press, and I plan to keep doing so. However, I've applied for a new work-from-home job that's within the publishing industry, and I'm really optimistic that I'll get a position. This will take a lot of stress off our household finances, but it will also give me a bit more freedom in terms of funds to keep publishing and marketing my books. Ideally, within the next 3 to 5 years, I want to be making enough income from my books alone that I don't *have* to work anywhere else unless I want to. 

3. Keep Blogging

I've made some good progress with my blog this past year, and I want to keep up the momentum. Between a weekly group post I've joined (Tell Me Something Tuesday), my book thoughts, and anything else that pops into my head, I shouldn't have any issues keeping up with this. 

4. Read

I read more in 2023 than I have in years, and I've really enjoyed branching out into new genres. My total last year was 43 books. This year, I'm aiming for 50! I've even started a reading journal so I can keep better track. 

5. Write

As of right now, I don't have any set in stone plans of what I want to write. I have a couple co-authored projects I'm working on, and I'll keep moving forward with those. Beyond that, though, I'm going to try my hand at a New Adult romantasy for my new agent to send out on submission this year. I'm also going to rework some older projects to re-release, and hopefully that will snap me out of whatever writing funk I've been in. 

6. Take a Vacation

Yes, I'm going on a cruise in February, and that's a wonderful vacation, but I'm going on that for a specific reason. I can't share what that is just yet, but I promise to tell you all about it when I return home. Beyond that, though, I want to take another Mother-Daughter Vacation this summer. Our goal is to visit Covington, Georgia and take The Vampire Diaries tour, along with visiting the Atlanta Zoo and Aquarium. 

What are your goals and plans for 2024? Share in the comments!

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?

Looking Back on 2022...

I read somewhere once that whatever you're doing at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve is indicative of how the new year will be for you. Well, at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2021, I was in the children's hospital with my daughter, and to say that 2022 has been a year of ups and downs for her health, my health, and others in my family would be a massive understatement. While my main focus this year has been keeping my loved ones as healthy as possible, I still managed to do some publishing stuff. So, let's take a look back on the year to see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2022.

My original 2022 goals included: 

(1) FINISH WARS OF THE HEART SERIES

GOAL ACHIEVED! I wasn't sure I'd actually finish this series, as I was really struggling with the final book, but I managed to write, edit, and publish the entire trilogy, and now all three books are available. So, if Jax is your favorite, go grab these books and find out what happens :) 

(2) FINISH VAMPIRE WARS SERIES

As previously noted, I'd written and released a short YA vampire story called The Culling that was part of a multi-author collection. While that collection is no longer available and I have all rights back to my story, I had hoped to add more and republish it, but because of how much I struggled with Jax's series--and the numerous health issues--I didn't get this done. Maybe next year. 

(3) CO-WRITE BOOK 2 of EON SAGA

Hahaha. NOPE! Though, I'm not the only one responsible for this, and my co-author and I just couldn't seem to coordinate our schedules enough to get the second book written. But, we do have a solid plan for the first book in this series, so stay tuned for updates about that. 

(4) RELAUNCH WARPED REMAINS

Yeah, I'm going to be honest... this has been at very bottom on my list of priorities. Though I'm hoping to revisit this next year. We'll see. 

(5) BRANCH INTO MIDDLE GRADE

Sadly, I didn't get the opportunity to actually write a middle grade story, but I've been thinking about one a lot, and it's starting to take shape in my mind. Fingers crossed!

(6) SELF-PUBLISH ADULT ROMANCE

I'm proud to say I did do this! I wrote and published 2 books under the pen name Lexi Lawton--Obligation and Obsession. I have two more books planned within this world, so be on the lookout for those.  

While I did okay with my goals this past year, (though not nearly as good as I would have liked) so much more has happened that I never expected or planned for, so here's the quick rundown: 

Professionally: 

• I wrote a total of 370,324 words. That's actually 9,201 words MORE than last year, which I have no idea how I managed that, but I'll take it!
• I blogged a total of 12,632 words.
• I rebranded my author logo, and I'm so in love with it. (Thanks again, Courtney!)
• I released 5 books: Bound, Beholden, and Banished, all written as Kara. And two new adult romances--Obligation and Obsession--written as Lexi Lawton.
• I wrote book 1 of a brand new series that will eventually be published as Lexi Lawton. It's a motorcycle club romance, and a new genre for me, but I love this book and can't wait to share it!
• I dabbled in a bit of ghostwriting again--mostly story creation and outlines. 
• I wrote a rom-com proposal for my agent, and she sent me some notes, so I'll be reworking that a bit.
• I attended two book signings and had a blast at both of them! 
• I finally got to meet some of my amazing book people--Kris Riley and Andy Garcia-Ruse. This was a real highlight of my year. 
• I've booked multiple signings for next year, too. 
• I reconnected with my CP, Courtney, and we've been so much better about keeping each other accountable and trading our work for feedback.
• For Anaiah, I edited 7 full length novels and 5 novellas. 
• I freelance edited 6 manuscripts.

Personally:

• My husband surprised me with a new kitten! His name is Salem, and he's all black. He's a jerk most of the time... except in the middle of the night when I'm trying to sleep. Then he wants to purr--LOUDLY--and snuggle into my neck. I love him though. 
• My neighbor and best friend who moved away has moved back, and she's once again right across the street from me. I couldn't be happier about this. 
• My other close friend has moved out of state and informed me recently that she's not coming back to Michigan, which makes me sad, but I'm truly happy that she's happy. 
• The weight I'd gained back in 2021 is now gone again. I haven't really been dieting per se, but I have been way more stressed and active this year, so I'm sure that's a big part of the loss. Totally not complaining!
• I made a trip to NY to attend my aunt's wedding. Being a part of that and catching up with the family was great.
• My favorite aunt moved to Michigan! Now her and my uncle are here, and I love that. They also have a litter of puppies, and I probably spend a tad too much time at their house now. #SorryNotSorry
• The house my husband and I had purchased as joint office space has now been converted back into an actual house that we live in with our youngest daughter. My son and other daughter now live together (along with some friends) in our old house. I still have a dedicated room for my office, though, so it's all good. 
• I, along with 3 of my 4 daughters, took our first annual Mother-Daughter Vacation. We were supposed to take a cruise, but for obvious health reasons, that didn't work out. Instead, we explored Michigan and visited Mackinac Island. (Which is totally gorgeous!) We're already planning next year's trip. 
• During a signing I attended in Missouri, I took a day to drive into Lawrence, Kansas and take a picture in front of the sign. For those who don't know, Lawrence is a big part of the show, Supernatural. 
• My husband, son, and I are in the early stages of launching a new business. More about this soon!

I even managed to read more this year: 

• Dead Wednesday by Jerry Spinelli
• Hush-a-Bye by Jody Lee Mott
• One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
• The Kill Jar by J. Reuben Appelman
• Raine's Fall by Erin Osborne
• Knight's Rising by Bella Jewel
• Savage Protector by E.M. Gayle
• Sinner by Lexi Timms
• All the Missing Girls by Meghan Miranda
• Fallen, Torment, Passion, Rapture, Unforgiven, and Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
• Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
• I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll
• Outbreak by Davis Bunn
• Creepers and Scavenger by David Morrell
• Peeps and The Last Days by Scott Westerfield
• Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso
• The Project by Courtney Summers
• Chain Letter and An Ancient Evil by Christopher Pike
• The Ash House by Angharad Walker

Overall, it's been a decent year for me, and I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in 2023. Stay tuned for my official goals post :-) In the meantime, tell me in the comments what YOU did this year! 

Spill the Tea Tuesday: Don't Lego

Today, author Rosalie Spielman is here to spill the tea...

Building a writing career is not unlike building with Legos. Everyone builds a little different, some faster than others, some use different methods and are more or less organized than others, and some might have to restart to make their structure work. But everyone has to put the work in, piece by piece, and build it up over time. 

In 2019, I started querying a cozy mystery. During my research, I was introduced to the mystery writers organization, Sisters in Crime (SinC), and joined the national and local chapters. They are a great organization that has provided a plethora of learning and networking opportunities, and joining ended up being my first step toward publication. In the Lego metaphor, it has been a base plate that provides my structure support. 

As a SinC Chesapeake Chapter member, I received an email about anthology submissions. Had I ever written a short story? No, not really. But I had an idea for a story, so I decided to try it. Grabbing this opportunity ended up being my next building block.

I was shocked when I got the email that said my paranormal mystery short story had been accepted for the anthology. Especially since it had come right after a couple agents passing on full manuscript requests. I was in the process of rewriting (aka rebuilding) that manuscript and was thrilled to know I would have something for my writing resume. I was determined to use my new “cred” as best I could and create some opportunities: I contacted the agents who previously or still had my full, let them know about the anthology acceptance as well as changes I was making to the manuscript. I got three re-requests and one of them stuck. So just a little over a month after hearing I was accepted to the anthology, I signed with my agent. That could be considered several blocks built!

The next opportunity was presented shortly after that. My agent posted that a small publisher, Gemma Halliday Publishing, was looking for more writers for their multi-author series, the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries. Though I was doubtful that I’d be accepted, I did my research and decided to give it a shot, throwing my hat into the ring with four story ideas, plus a writing sample, using my short story for the anthology as my sample! The publisher liked one of my pitches and loved the short story, and asked me to write and submit a synopsis and three chapters. My pitch was eventually accepted, and I signed my first contract in November of 2020.  

That Lego building block became my first book, Death Under the Sea, which led to a second Aloha Lagoon book, Death on a Cliff, which is being released today! Shortly after my contract on my second book, another Lego was added to my build when I received an offer from the same publisher for my original manuscript. Welcome Home to Murder, the first in the Hometown Mysteries series, was published last month. 

And that anthology story, my first publication building block? Strangely enough, it won’t be released until the end of this month! So if you’re interested in the story that started it all, check out Chesapeake Crimes: Magic is Murder! and my story “What’s a Little Murder Between Mammals.”

I’m determined to keep building on my structure, grabbing all the building block opportunities I can! No matter what your end goal, keep working away. I’m no expert, I’m just getting started, and not even sure what my Lego creation will look like in the end! But advice – if you’re a mystery writer, join SinC. And regardless of your genre, build up your resume. Try your hand at short stories, flash fiction contests, or whatever other opportunities come your way. Just keep building!

Rosalie Spielman is a mother, veteran, and retired military spouse. She was thrilled to discover that she could make other people laugh with her writing and finds joy in giving people a humorous escape from the real world. She currently lives in Maryland with her husband and four creatures—two teens and two fur babies. For more information on her books or to subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.rosalie-spielman-author.com

Welcome Home to Murder, the first in the Hometown Mysteries series, was released in June. Death on a Cliff, Rosalie's second contribution to the multi-author Aloha Lagoon series, will be released today, 9 August. You can find order links on her website. 

The tea has been spilled! Who's gonna clean it up? 

Drop your thoughts in the comments!

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?

Looking Back on 2020....

Hmm... Well, this was certainly "A Year" wasn't it? Between politics, the pandemic, and the rollercoaster that is publishing, 2020 has not been a great year on a global scale. While I, too, had to deal with all of this stuff in my everyday life, I had an overall amazing year! And I'm reluctant to even type that because I know for so many, this year was truly awful. But because it's been so awful, I'm not going to feel bad about my accomplishments. If anything, we need more reasons to celebrate this year, so buckle in and let's take a look back on the year to see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2020.

My original 2020 goals included: 

(1) FINISH BOOKS 1 & 2 OF THE GEORGIA CORBINS SERIES

These books... I both love and hate them. LOL. They are very near to my heart, but I'm still really struggling with what direction to take them, so while I thought about them quite a bit this past year, I didn't actually open the docs and work on them. But that's okay. Maybe next year. 

(2) WRITE BOOKS 2 & 3 OF MY YA PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES

Bahahahahaha! Wow, has so much happened with this series! Originally, it was only supposed to be three books. That turned into four. Then six... All of which are now written. Four are now available for sale with the final two up for pre-order. 

(3) RESURRECT MY PEN NAME

For those who don't know, I write steamy New Adult and adult books under the name Lexi Lawton. After a surprising (and wonderful) email from my publisher, I found out they are re-investing in my books with some new marketing efforts, and I couldn't be more excited! So, I've revamped Lexi's website and social media, and I'm actively working on some new stuff for her. In the meantime, if you want to stay up-to-date, you can follow her (me) on social media: newsletter / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Amazon / AllAuthor / Bookbub. 

(4) OFFICIALLY LAUNCH FIRECHICKEN PRESS, LLC

I didn't just launch this with one book as I'd originally wanted to--I launched it with the entire Cursed Series! And I did so several months earlier than I'd expected, too, so that's been fun. 

(5) KEEP ON EDITING

I'm still with Anaiah, and I've still been editing. I don't foresee this changing any time soon. I also managed to snag a couple new freelance clients. 

(6) FIND MY PASSION

My official word and state of mind going into 2020 was passion. I wanted to find that spark again, to fall in love with writing and editing and life in general, and despite everything, I did. I'm exactly where I've always wanted to be in terms of loving what I do, and this is probably the best thing to have come out of 2020.

While I kicked butt with my goals this past year, so much more has happened that I never expected or planned for, so here's the quick rundown: 

Professionally: 

• I wrote a total of 680,227 words (!!!) That's the most I've ever written. 
• I blogged a total of 19,393 words.
• I released 6 books: Warped Remains, Perfectly Imperfect, Eternal Curse, Eternal Choice, Eternal Bond, and Eternal Love.
• I wrote approximately 5k of a spinoff from The Cursed Series.
• I rewrote the ending to Lexi's 3rd book (Resisting Ryder) and submitted it to the publisher for consideration. 
• I've re-signed with my former agent, Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency!! 
• I dove headfirst into self-publishing. 
• My book, Perfectly Imperfect, released as an audio book! And I've since started moving The Cursed Series into audio, too. 
• For Anaiah, I edited 8 full length novels and 5 novellas. 
• I freelance edited 6 manuscripts.
• I had professional author photos taken--finally! It's only been 10 years. LOL. 

Personally:

• I went on my dream vacation--A Caribbean cruise with my BFF, Emily!
• I survived an ongoing global pandemic without getting sick. Well, not any sicker than usual, anyway.
• Despite the gym closing, I managed to continuing working out on a regular basis -- thanks to my wonderful husband investing in an elliptical for me. 
• I maintained my weight loss from last year! In fact, I even managed to drop another couple of pounds. 
• Caught up on lots more TV... I finished the final season of The 100 (severely disappointed) then began a rewatch but stopped midway through season 4. I made it through every single episode of Supernatural, and then watched the finale with my daughter (when we both cried our eyes out). I watched the only season of V-Wars, Daybreakers, and The Society. Oh, and I watched Shadowhunters, too!
• My daughter is on track to graduate from high school early, and I've gone on a couple of college tours with her. I'm beyond excited that she's been accepted to her top choice. 
• My son, who does not do well with online learning, passed all of his classes this first semester, and he's on track to graduate next year, too!
• My other daughter got a new kitten. 
• Two of my girls have gotten first jobs this year--one at Subway and the other at Little Ceasers. 
• We got a new puppy on Christmas eve. Her name is Maggie May, and she's absolutely adorable.

I even managed to read a lot more this year than I normally do: 

• City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
• Kissing the Wrong Twin by Christina Herrara
• Risen by Cole Gibsen
• Crave and Crush by Tracy Wolff
• Twin Souls by K.A. Poe
• Flight by Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Fading by Cindy Cipriano
• The Immortal Mark, The Immortal Truth, and The Immortal Bond by Amy Sparling
• Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson
• The Vampire's Promise by Caroline B. Cooney
• Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
• Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
• Hex by Thomas Olde Huevelt
• Uncomfortable and Unavoidable by Nessa Page
• A Cowboy's Pride and Winning the Cowboy's Heart by Karen Rock
• The Country Vet by Eleanor Jones

Overall, it's been a pretty great year for me professionally, and I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in 2021. Stay tuned for my official goals post :-) In the meantime, tell me in the comments what YOU did this year! 

GOALS: 2020

It's my favorite time of year again!!! GOALS!!! I love setting goals, and I'm more excited than ever this year because there are some big things happening, and with me in much better health, I'm going to hit 2020 hard! So, let's do this.

WRITE Until My Fingers Fall Off!

Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic--LOL--but I do want to get back into a steady writing habit, and in doing so, I hope to finish a few projects and/or start some new ones. Here is the official list of books I'm going to attempt to finish writing this year:

1. The Georgia Corbins, Book 1. I swear this book is on my goals list every single year, and I'm determined not to let it still be here come 2021. Haha! I have a large portion of this book already written, so it really just needs a final revision.

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

4.  Eternal Regret. This is the third book in my young adult paranormal romance series. I don't expect to finish it, but I'd like to at least get started on it.

Resurrect My Pen Name 

A few years ago, I'd written and published a couple of secular New Adult books under a pen name. For anyone who's been around this blog for any amount of time, you know that things didn't work out so well for me with that deal--at no fault of anyone! Sometimes, things just don't work out. That's the nature of publishing, and life in general. So, after some time away and a lot of reflection, I've decided I'm going to bring back this pen name. I'm going to release the third book in the series that wasn't published by the publisher, and I have a romantic suspense series I'm going to work on. (Please be aware that under this name, I write stuff that is not Christian; in fact, it's rather steamy, so if that's not your thing, feel free to stick to my Kara books.)

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 2020. I'm aiming for FCP's debut release to be sometime in late September or early October with Eternal Curse, The Cursed Series: Book One. 

On this specific topic--my husband and I have purchased the (small) house directly across the street from us, and it will become the official office space for both FireChicken Press, LLC and my husband's company, JMT, LLC. Stay tuned in the next couple of months of pictures and updates. I'd love to host a small, weekend writer's retreat there this summer.

Keep On Editing

I'm still with Anaiah Press, and so I'll continue to edit, but this year, I'd like to be a bit more consistent and aim for about one manuscript a month. I've also got a couple repeat freelance clients that I'll continue to edit for---I'm looking at you, Kat and Katie! :-)

Passion: Loving Life and What I Do

Last year, my focus was on persistence, and while that didn't apply too much to my writing life, it helped immensely with my personal life and weight loss journey. This year, though, I'm going to focus on passion--for writing, editing, family, friends, and life in general. If I'm not happy doing something, I'm simply not going to do it anymore. What's the point, right? Life is much too short to spend it being miserable.

What will you accomplish in 2020? 

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!

Looking back on 2017...

It's been a real "Hold my beer and watch this" kind of year, hasn't it? Between politics and publishing, I'm exhausted! And quite honestly, I'm glad to see 2017 go. But, before it does, it's once again time to look back on the year and see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2017.

via GIPHY

My 2017 Goals Included:

1. Propose and potentially write a fourth book for a contracted series. 

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I wrote a proposal, and it was rejected. My editor felt it was too dark in comparison to the rest of the series. In hindsight, she's right. (She always seems to be right. LOL.) Also, for various reasons, the third book will not be published, so it seems silly to write a spin-off. 

2. Finish Savage Passion (Midnight Rebels, Book 1) and allow my agent to start sending it out on submission. Also, outline the entire Midnight Rebels Series--which, right now, is looking like it could be 7 or 8 books total.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: Because I am no longer writing adult secular romance, and because I've parted with my agent, this project has been officially shelved. Maybe I'll revisit it in the future. 

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

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: I had very good intentions with this one. I love this story so much, and I want it back out in the world. And I am not giving up on this series. But, for the time being, it's not at the top of my priority list, mostly because I don't know what to do with it. Rewrite and resubmit? Self-publish? Query it again? I'm not sure yet. 

4. Finish Hallowed Ground (Graves Barren, Book 1), my YA Gothic romance, and send to agents.

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I have been working on this book a lot lately. It has undergone a title and genre change. It's now called Eternally Cursed (working title) and it's a YA paranormal romance. I'm 15k away from it being finished and ready for beta readers. I am so in love with this book and these characters! 

5. Blog

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I've been doing more blogging over on the Anaiah Press Blog, but this blog has been all but ignored. 

6. Read more books for pleasure.

Status: GOAL MET!

My Thoughts: While I didn't read as much as I wanted to, I read a lot more books this year than I did the past couple of years. Here's what I read:

Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
Running Home by Katie O'Connor
Engaged in Death by Stephanie Blackmore
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer 
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Fire in You by J. Lynn
Fall With Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Forever With You by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Scorched by Jennifer L. Armentrout
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
We Can Be Mended by Veronica Roth
The Vampire Diaries (The Awakening) by LJ Smith
The Vampire Diaries (The Struggle) by LJ Smith
The Vampire Diaries (The Fury) by LJ Smith
The Vampire Diaries (Dark Reunion) by LJ Smith


Out of 6 goals, I fully achieved one and kinda achieved two. Those aren't very good numbers, huh? So, at this point, you're probably wondering: What the heck did you do all year, Kara? I'm glad you asked. I did a LOT! Honestly! Take a look...

Professionally:

• I've written a total of 313,522 words on various personal projects this past year. 
• I edited 2 fantastic manuscript for freelance clients; one of whom went on to sign with her dream agent.
• I've edited a total of 7 manuscripts for Anaiah Press, and acquired a whole heck of a lot more.
• My alter-ego edited, released, and promoted two books. 
• I GOT MY FIRST FAN MAIL LETTER!!!!
• I co-wrote and queried a contemporary YA that deals with mental health and suicide.
• I started a new Christian romantic suspense series. The first book is titled Deception, and it deals with a cult. 
• I participated in a couple Twitter pitch events for some co-authored YA books, and even got a few requests!
• I learned how to use Canva to make book teasers.
• I made some big decisions about my writing career. 
• I learned a lot about myself as a writer and editor--what I can and want to do, what my limits are, and most importantly, that the world isn't going to stop spinning if I don't do all the things all the time. 

Personally: 

• I went to NY to visit my parents and my daughter.
• I went to Moline, IL to see Twenty One Pilots in concert for my daughter's 13th birthday. It was her first concert and was such a wonderful experience!
• My eldest daughter moved back in with me after having lived with her father for the past few years.
• My eldest daughter graduated from high school!
• My son graduated from 8th grade and started high school. 
• My daughter skipped 7th grade and went into 8th--She's doing wonderful, too! 
• I saw a live Burlesque show!
• I have finally learned the importance of self-care. 

Even though I didn't meet many of my original goals, I still accomplished a lot. I'll consider it a mildly good year, all things considered.

What did you get done this past year? 

Share your success in the comments!

Getting Up When All You Want To Do Is Stay Down

As I sit here staring at this page, I have no idea where to even begin.... I suppose I should start by saying I never dreamed I'd ever have to write a post like this. And I pray no other author will ever have to go through what I'm about to explain, but sadly, I know how unrealistic that is. My hope is that this post will help someone in someway. So, here goes...

I have a super secret pen name--although, it's not that big of a secret. If you dig hard enough, you'll figure it out. In 2015, under this pen name, my agent got me a three-book deal. I'm sure you can imagine my excitement. Shortly after, I began working with my editor to get the book publication ready, and let me tell you: the edits were intense! But I enjoyed the process. I had fun reshaping the book and spending time with my characters. Months of hard work were about to pay off.


via GIPHY

Or so I thought.

The book went up on NetGalley to garner some pre-release reviews. IT. BOMBED! I had two dozen one and two star reviews. It was horrible. I questioned every word I wrote. I doubted myself as a writer, big time! I wanted to quit. (Thank God for awesome writer friends who talked me off that ledge.) Together with my editor and publisher, we decided to pull the book from the release schedule and rewrite it. I spent 6 weeks rewriting the book from the ground up. Literally the only thing that stayed the same was the characters and the setting. Everything else changed.

It was once again release time. I held my breath every time I'd visit Amazon or Goodreads. To my relief, the reviews were GOOD! I began to regain a bit of my writerly confidence. My editor and I moved on to work on book two, which as the time of writing this post, hasn't released yet. I will say that the reviews are mixed--equally good and bad.

During all of this, I had pitched my editor FOUR different projects. Every single one of them was rejected!


via GIPHY

Granted, a couple of them were books I'd written earlier in my career and aren't as strong as my current stuff. And some of them simply didn't have enough romance for this specific publisher--I knew that was a risk when I submitted. Still, every rejection stings.

Fast forward to my first royalty payment. Exciting, right?


via GIPHY

I won't get into specific figures and amounts, but let's say I made way less than $100. For more than a YEAR of my time and effort to write and rewrite this book. If we say it was simply one year--12 months and I had earned an even $100--that means I earned $8.33 per month while writing this book. Let that sink in for a minute...

Still with me? Good. Today, October 10, 2017, six days before my second book is set to release, I get the devastating news that my publisher has decided NOT to publish the third book in my series, which, by the way, has already been written. Why? Because of poor reviews and low sales.

I work in publishing, so I get it. I do. This is a business, and they need to make smart business decisions--decisions that are in the best interest of their company and its bottom line. But for me, IT SUCKS! On so many levels.

My agent, who has been by my side through all of this, consoled me. Encouraged me. (Although, let's be honest, nothing anyone says is going to make me feel better right now. I need to wallow in this for a bit before I can get past it.) She also gave me a hard dose of reality. Because of my low sales and poor reviews and cancellation of my third book, the chances she'll be able to sell anything new under this pen name to another publisher is slim. What publisher would want to take a risk on an author with such a bad track record? Again, this would be a business decision for any publisher--I get that, and I'm not trying to place the blame on anyone. It just is what it is.

But what does this mean for my alter-ego? She's done. Finished. I will never write another book under this name. (Unless I want to self-publish, which I don't want to do. But more on that below.) On the surface, that probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but when I step back and look at the fact that I've spent the last THREE YEARS building this persona... I feel like I've wasted all of that time. I feel like I could've been doing something else, something more productive, something with a higher pay-off.

I have officially hit rock bottom. I'm numb. I'm sad. I'm angry. I'm confused. I feel like a complete failure. And now, more than ever, I want to delete every trace of social media, set my laptop on fire, crawl into a deep hole and hide forever.


via GIPHY

You're probably wondering why I chose to share this long, depressing, embarrassing story of failure with the world. Well, because there aren't enough of these types of stories out there. Day after day after day we hear about six-figure deals, movie options, awards, best sellers lists.... And day after day after day, we wonder, why not me?

It can be hard to see all those success stories while you're struggling every day to open your WIP or write a single word or send a single query. I want you to know:

YOU'RE NOT ALONE! 

If you take nothing else away from this blog post, please take that. You are not alone. I'm struggling, too, and I'd bet there are dozens if not hundreds of other authors out there who're questioning if they should keep going. And you know what?

IT'S OKAY!

It's okay to feel unsure, to wonder if you're cut out for this business, to question the things you write. Don't get angry for doubting yourself. Embrace those feelings. Because it's not the feelings that are bad--It's what you choose to do with them that makes the difference. You can let them beat you down, or you can use them as fuel to come back swinging.

I honestly don't know where to go from here. But I do know I'm re-evaluating everything about my writing career, right down to what genre and age category I want to write from this point forward. I have made a few decisions, though...

1. I will no longer be writing adult romance, as Kara or as anyone else. As a result of this decision, I have split with my agent. She reps romance, and if I'm not writing romance... You get the point. I have no ill feelings toward my now former agent. I wish her and the agency all the best.
2. Above all else, I'm going to take some time for me. I'm taking the rest of the year off from writing. I'm going to start going back to the gym. I'm going to finally make a dent in my TBR pile. I'm going to enjoy the upcoming holidays with my family without looming deadlines or guilt for not writing any words on a given day. 
3. When I do come back to writing--and I will--I'm planning to focus on YA. I've written quite a few young adult stories, and I have ideas for a lot more, and it's about time I did something with all of them. 

As a very close friend said to me recently: "We can't have talent and passion and get no where with it. I refuse to believe that."

I refuse to believe that, too!