New Year, New Dreams
Happy New Year, dear Reader!
I’m actually getting my New Year’s blog post up on time this year! And by “on time” of course I’m being seriously subjective, because blog posts, like wizards, are never late, nor are they early.
But I don’t know how much more “on time” you can get with a New Year’s post going up on New Year’s day!
It is time for my annual looking back/looking forward post, in which we look back at last year’s dreams and look forward to continuing those dreams or making new ones for the coming year!
You can glance back at LAST YEAR’S POST to keep me honest, if you’d like!
2025’s Adventures
Writing
The Plan:
Publish The Prisoner and the Pirate
Publish Towers of Might and Memory
Publish “Monsters” my short story in the DOSA Files Vol. 3
Work on Jana of Sea and Summer
Write more NEW words than in 2024 (48,382)
The Reality:
I published The Prisoner and the Pirate right on schedule. I also saw “Monsters” published in the next DOSA Files anthology.
However, Towers of Might and Memory took more work and time and effort than I had foreseen, so that one did not get published in the 2025 calendar year. However, I did finish the final round of edits last night well before the clock struck midnight, so I am happy with how much we got done.
I did not manage to write MORE new words this year, but I did manage to add 47,830 words to my various projects, and that makes me very happy. Some of that number is approximate, as I did a LOT of writing by hand this past year, so I won’t know exactly how many words I wrote until I put them in the computer… and I’ve got an estimated 20,000 words still to transfer over. But I’m feeling very satisfied about how much work I got done on Jana of Sea and Summer, even if I didn’t quite get the story finished the way I hoped. I am probably 2/3rds of the way through that story, and hope to have it finished up soon!
I edited a bit less this year, as well, only clocking in 674,296 words (21,000 of which were me editing papers for my students).
Blogging/Social Media
My goal was to blog at least 1-2 times per month, and I definitely didn’t manage that. But between my blog and my newsletter, I definitely got something out each month.
My other goal was to low-key step back from other social media platforms, and I effectively did that pretty well. I did not see any detrimental effects of this step-back in terms of book sales or pages read, and so I am planning to step even further back from IG and FB in the coming year.
Reading
I set myself a goal of reading 50 books this past year and I read… 80 titles. So that kind of exploded on me. But I read a good many wonderful stories, so I’m not sorry. I did not manage to re-read the entire Anne of Green Gables series… didn’t even read the first book… I actually kind of forgot that was one of my goals. Oops.
Life
I wanted to continue working to be present in my life last year, and stepping away from social media truly helped a lot with that goal. I also had a few specific goals, as you’ll remember, I wanted to:
make exercise a more regular part of my daily routine
compete in my first 5K and finish with a time under 30 minutes
attend Realm Makers again
read my Bible every day
I did really well with most of these. I did make exercise much more of a priority and got seriously into running with my kids. I did compete in my first 5K and finished in 30:28…. so close!!! I am hoping to participate in more 5Ks this year!
I attended Realm Makers and had a blast! I really enjoyed having more of my family there with me and I really enjoyed being a mentor!
I’m not sure I read my Bible every day, but Derek and I always read at least one verse together before bed, which often leads us into further Bible study and discussion, which is cool. I still want to make this a priority next year.
Overall, I think last year’s dreams were fairly reasonable.
It was a good year. Without the health scares in my family that 2023 held, I really accomplished a ton and did a lot of things that weren’t on my list!
I took vaulting lessons with my daughter and managed to stand on the back of a moving horse!
I took on the co-Athletic Director position for our homeschool track and cross country teams.
I began teaching a Shakespeare class
My brother and I hosted a podcast together and recently began releasing episodes for season 2!
Adventuring into 2026
What dreams does the New Year hold?
Writing
The highest priority on my list right now is to publish Towers of Might and Memory as soon as possible! I am getting so close, and I can’t wait to put this book in the hands of my waiting readers!
I also plan to finish the rough draft of Jana of Sea and Summer. I don’t have a specific goal date for this, but low-key I’d like it to be in the first quarter of the year.
I have another Christmas picture book in the works, almost completely ready to go, that I would like to publish this year.
I have a children’s fantasy book I’ve been contemplating for years that I’d like to actually write and get illustrated… but I don’t know if that is a “this year” project, or something for 2027.
Once I’m done drafting Jana, I’m not entirely certain what I plan/hope to work on next. I have several ideas in the works… but I’m not going to actively choose one just yet.
Blogging/Social Media
I want to continue blogging, though it will probably look a lot like last year.
My big plans revolve around stepping completely away from IG and FB this year. I am planning a post over there to let everyone know and then I am planning to be completely absent from both platforms in 2026. I won’t be deleting my accounts completely, as I think it’s good to have that presence I’ve established, but I won’t be posting anything new or scrolling endlessly through a bunch of posts by people and organizations I have no interest in following that the algorithm curates for me instead of showing me what my friends and family are up to.
Reading
I intend to read. I intend to read a lot of books I already own. My main goal this year is to make a dent in reading books I own that I haven’t read yet. I don’t have a number goal or a list, but I do know that if I were to read 80 books that are on my shelves this year, I could probably read ALL the books I own that I haven’t read and re-read a few as well… or knock out a few of my Kindle titles I haven’t gotten to yet!
Life
I liked last year’s goals. I think I’ll stick with them. I still need to run a 5K in less than 30 minutes, after all.
Bible
Exercise
Realm Makers (yep, as of this moment, I am planning to attend again and have already signed up to be a mentor again as well).
Being Present in my everyday life.
A Word for 2026
I almost said I didn’t have a word for this year. And then, as I was sitting here, contemplating last year’s words of “All In” and the previous year’s need for “Courage” I felt the Holy Spirit whisper “Expectant” into my heart. And it is fitting. I don’t know what the coming year brings. I know that I reached for the moon last year and I didn’t even come close to lassoing it… at least, not in the ways I was hoping for.
But I will continue to be expectant. To wait on God for His plans and His guidance and His timing for my writing career.
I was chatting on the phone with a friend the other day and I said something along the lines of, “I need to stop getting side-tracked by these little short story projects so I can focus on the bigger novels.”
And she said, “But… do you like writing those short stories?”
And I replied, “Well… yes.”
To which she said, “Then why not keep writing them? It’s not like you write to support your family.”
And that… was a really, really good and timely reminder. Yeah, I’d love to be an author with a huge audience and a movie deal in the works. I’d love to actually make more than enough to buy myself the occasional chai latte. But… that’s not why I’m doing it. And I don’t need to. I am blessed to be a stay-at-home wife and homeschooling mom who also happens to write. And I am grateful.
So… this year, I will write and publish and live with an expectant heart… waiting to see what the Lord will do!