Merry Christmas - and then a new year!

Merry Christmas everybody! This is where I would have loved to put a new story and/or some well thought out and deeply mindful... uh, something. But, alas, this is only real life, and mindfulness is NOT my forte. 
​
However, I do feel like it's been a good year. I've got all of my novels back up for sale, and I've finally tackled a very big writing project of mine which I've been wanting to do for years. It's huge compared to what I usually write, so it's both frightening (because can I really do something like that?) and exhilarating. NaNoWriMo was a big help in getting it started, so now it's only a matter of writing the ending and fleshing it out (it needs A LOT of flesh right now). 

I've also reconnected with my readers, and let me just tell you, people, that you are amazing. Hearing from you always, always makes my day and sometimes my week. You are kind, and generous, and  you have excellent taste in books, of course. 

I also have a couple of good ideas for new books waiting to be written, and that's very nice as well; there's nothing an author fears more than the big, empty "what the heck am I going to write now?" void. 

I might have more time to write them, as well. Not quite voluntarily, but my current job ends soon, and then I'll be going out job hunting - which can be just as exhilarating and scary as writing a new book. That's normally quite an awful situation for me (I like working, dammit), but this time I'm strangely optimistic about it all. It actually feels like 2018 is going to be a good year. 

It does help that I have a couple of freelance projects lined up and more ideas for books than I could write in a decade, of course. I'm not a workaholic for nothing. 

I hope you get an equally challenging and exciting new year. Because, hey, maybe it'll be better than the one you've just been through. Take a couple of days off over Christmas, put up your feet, and take a look at your life. If it sucks right now (sometimes life just does), then 2017 is almost over - and it can only go forwards from here. If it's quite okay, then that's cool, too - "okay" is not bad at all. And if you're one of those fortunate people who always know how to be happy and upbeat, then please write your secret in the comment section;). 

Merry Christmas and a fun, challenging, and upbeat New Year to all of you!