Onward Into 2023

Onward In 2023

After one hell of a year full of changes in 2021, this last year was comparatively stable (lingering pandemic notwithstanding). However, I've come to realize that stability and harmony aren't necessarily the same thing. Last year, I made a giant-sized whiteboard list, and even did some of it. This coming year, I'd like to blend the practical and possible, so I'm moving onward into 2023.

I like harmony and hope, and lists make me happy. Mind you, I don't always follow them, but they help me keep on track toward longer-term executive goals when my lizard brain derails me for short-term fun.

Writing and Such

Righting my personal ship and getting it back on an even keel took the biggest toll on my writing. (See what I did there?)

Very little of the process I used to write my first dozen books has worked for the last few. So my “onward into 2023” goal is to figure out what my new process needs to be to move forward. I took Becca Syme's “Write Better Faster 101” course (which I highly recommend!) to give me tools and better insight into how to get what I want. As she wrote in one of her newsletters, “Change is hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it.” 

No promises or schedules here, but here's what's on deck. Whether they'll all get done in 2023 is another matter entirely:

• Release audiobooks for my Ice Age Shifters® paranormal romance series. Shifter Mate Magic and Shift of Destiny came out in December 2022 (see this audiobook page). With luck, books 3 through 5 will be available by March 2023.
• Publish an expanded version of An Entanglement of Griffins, my space opera novella from Pets in Space 7. The story directly follows Escape from Nova Nine, so I might release a box set, too.
• Start releasing audiobooks for my Central Galactic Concordance space opera series, starting with the novellas.
• As I've done for the past 2 years, organize, edit, and publish the next Pets in Space® science fiction romance anthology. I love the concept and its charity mission to support the Hero Dogs charity.
• Write a novella to appear in Pets in Space 8 (see above).
• Finish and release Spark Transform, the very long-awaited next book in my space opera series.
• Write the next book in my paranormal romance series. Yes, it has a title, but it's my little secret for now. 💞

Traveling

I've been planning a trip to Australia for several years now, and it's finally taking shape. In spring, I'll be at a romance reader convention in Melbourne for the first week. After that, my traveling companion and I will be playing tourist in Cairns (near the Great Barrier Reef) and Uluru (a.k.a. Ayer's Rock). We will see all the things, eat all the things, and buy all—or at least a few of—the things. It's the trip of a lifetime, and I can hardly wait!

Other possible adventures on my bucket list, though not necessarily in 2023, are trips to Iceland, South America, and the International Space Station. A person can dream, can't she? 

Home Front

After 20+ years of deferred maintenance in my house, the catch-up construction work is 98% done. I love the design of the completely rebuilt basement (which my sister refers to as my “she-shed”) and the bright paint colors on the main floor. And I splurged on a few high-quality pieces of furniture, which I've never had before. 

Unfortunately, I also have 20+ years' worth of clutter (some inherited) packed in tubs and boxes instead of sorted and stored/donated/trashed. I know you will be surprised to learn that the household cats are No Help At All in improving the situation. From experience, I know I can only tackle this a bit at a time, or the decider portion of my brain goes on strike. I'm hoping that making category-based lists will help me make progress.

Meanwhile, I will enjoy my native-plant garden, my delightful neighborhood, and my various schemes to keep me off the streets and out of the karaoke bars. Unless it's Broadway Favorites at karaoke night, in which case, all bets are off.

Onward to 2023, and may it be your best year yet!