Out with the Old, In with the New

Have things slowed down at your house? They have here . . . a bit. In this lull, my thoughts turn backward then forward. Backward to reflect on 2014, a year that had its low points and high points. I’d rather not have a repeat of the health issues that dominated the first quarter. The high points were so much better. Many small and one huge—our son married a terrific woman and we gained a wonderful new daughter.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Family, of course. Living close to our daughter and her husband, seeing them on a more casual basis than a planned two-hour trip. Playing with the grandkiddies. Visiting son and his wife in Arizona. Seeing extended family at son’s wedding. Most of all an indulgent husband who gives me the space I need to write. Who “forces” me to exercise. And who isn’t buying snack foods anymore because he knows I can’t resist.

Friends near and far. Keeping in touch through Facebook and telephone. Meeting for the occasional lunch or dinner. Getting together with friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve as we’ve done for the past fifteen years.

Readers. I am very grateful that people enjoy my books. Writing is a solitary endeavor. We may share our work-in-progress for critique or brainstorming, but in the end we write alone. How wonderful it is to see that work appreciated by others.

What lies ahead for 2015? Foremost, my son and his wife are expecting their first child in the late spring. I’m over the moon about this. Hubs jokes (as he did when we were expecting our first grandchild) that he’ll have to hide my credit cards. When our children were little (and our money a lot tighter), I was very thrifty. No brand-name clothes. In fact, I sewed their clothes. Now it’s so much fun to buy those cute little outfits. Isn’t that a grandmother’s prerogative?

On the writing front, I plan to release three books this year. The third book in the Outer Rim series. Remember Rissa the tavern owner? She finally gets her own story. Human trafficking, kidnapping, and of course a hunky guy. I’m still agonizing over a title. Then, there will be a second Alex O’Hara mystery. She’s up to her eyeballs in trouble again.

Last year at this time, I planned to expand the short story I wrote for the Roses of Prose blog, “Christmas in Space” and release it as a novella this year. Didn’t happen, obviously. It will in time for Christmas 2015.

Goals give us something to aim for, to focus on. By the end of a year, I don’t always complete the goals I planned. But if I didn’t have some goals I wouldn’t accomplish anything. It is so easy to let time slip away. So I’ll make a list of what I want to achieve. I’ll break each goal down into manageable pieces then check off each item as I finish.

How about you? What lies ahead?