It's been a funny old year, as they say. Looking back at 2015, there's been some ups and downs. But it's a new year and I've made plans whereby I want to focus on more of the positive things in my life, my work, to rekindle relationships and sometimes just take a moment for me. So here I'd like to focus on the good stuff of 2015 and my plans for 2016.
Releases and writing:
At the very start of the year, Just Jack was released. I grew up reading fairy tales and fantasy stories, watching Disney movies so it was great fun to play in a world of magic and make believe.
The first half of the year was a bit of a struggle on the writing front, but with support I will be forever grateful for I managed to edit and add a few scenes for the rerelease of Sex and Cocktails with Pride Publishing in July, along with completing Fallout, the fourth book in the HA1710 series written with a group of awesome authors, and also Forever in the Sun, the last in the Sapphire Cay series with RJ Scott (both books released in August). So a little quiet on the release front but to be honest I'm so happy to have been able to write anything the way things have been at times.
Last January, Dead Things 2 had just crept past the 10K mark. In November, I finally felt ready to pick it back up again. The story currently stands at 40K and I'm looking forward to getting stuck back in this coming week.
So my projects for 2016 are first to complete Dead Things 2, then work on the second book in my Knowles Brook series, I'd like to write a second book to make Just Jack into a series of Jack Frost stories, and continue with a shifter series idea I've started plotting out. Also this year, with RJ Scott, I'm writing books in the Providence PD series which will be all about cops and bad guys. I'd also like to look at stories to send to Pride Publishing, possibly a series and then completing my Lone Wolf Trilogy that is with Extasy Books. I'd hoped to write the book last year but like Dead Things, the plot involved darker themes than I could really handle at the time. I already felt on the edge so didn't feel able to put myself in my characters shoes. But, 2016 is new and shiny so hopefully this year I can look to make a start on the third book.
Art:
Cover art has kept me sane (well as sane as I usually am lol) through 2015. It was great to get back to my desk and be able to lose myself in something creative. There's only so many TV Box sets a girl can go through while laid up. I will do an update on my art blog later this month looking at some of my favourite pieces from last year, but a heartfelt thank you to all the authors I worked with last year :) I look forward to seeing what you have for me this year.
Life:
I will say it's been hard to be positive sometimes but I appreciate the people in my life and their support. A few nice things from the year include being hired as a maths tutor after my friend put in a word for me. It's been great and already we've seen some good progress between mock exam papers with her marks. I'm so proud of her and I really needed that to show me I'm not completely useless to everyone at the moment. Also, my sister went back to work after her maternity time for her second child so I am now back babysitting once a week and despite a patchy start with lots of tears, my niece's not mine, she's now one of the favourite parts of my week. She's a funny little thing and she makes me smile constantly.
I had a few lovely weeks away with my husband, two of those were in different parts of Wales. My granddad was Welsh and going there makes me kind of feel like going home, though the sheep give zero fucks about road safety lol. Also we painted a couple of walls in the house and tidied the garden... well hubby did, mine was more a supervising kind of position lol.
For 2016 my goals are mostly to focus more, move more, eat better, be brave - especially where driving and leaving the house is concerned, de-clutter my life (I've already done my clothes and shoes) and the house and set up my office properly, laugh more, get out and see my friends, take some time for me and actually do something with that time - TV watching sure, but also find other ways to relax or be creative. Don't hide behind my problems. I want to get some control back in my life.
So, come Monday I'll be ready to say - Happy New Year!
