New Year; new ambitions and the best of intentions.

As I sit here belting out the Hamilton soundtrack and going through manuscripts, I have many updates! First up, I’d like to thank those who reached out to me on social media, even when my response time was turtle slow. To be truthful with you, I suffered a serious concussion in June, and then, in October, had an accidental trip down a staircase (picture a log rolling, and that’s about what it looked like). I did not come out unscathed; my right wrist was injured and it  took months to heal. Additionally, it was very difficult to concentrate on anything, sadly including writing which I was trying and mostly failing to do with speech-to-text  tech.

Now that I am healed from the trip down the staircase (I just need some minor oral surgery to be fully back to normal), and my concussion has improved, I am finally ready to return to writing! I find myself with a few problems: one is a lucky overabundance of ideas, and having so many manuscripts started that I find myself wondering which one to continue with first.

As this post has become a bit of a confessional, I will admit that I have uncovered a major problem with my story set in Sweden. Sometimes, these things happen–you’ll have a third of a book written and then realize that you just can’t go forward without making significant changes. In my case, it involves a main character of a different race than myself and despite years of studying Japanese culture and language in University, I am not an expert and I don’t like the way I think I may have relied on stereotypes or appropriation in crafting this story. I will not put out a book I can’t stand 100% behind and say I’ve done my absolute  best, including due diligence when it comes to BIPOC characters.

Another story I have is set in Canada, because it is what I know (I’m Canadian!) and involves discussions which are a hot button topic at the moment in the United States, such as abortion. It may raise a bit of controversy, but I am keen to write a book involving pregnancy loss as I have experienced a miscarriage and I think writing the story will  be a bit of catharsis for me.

Finally, another book on my agenda is a tale of a boy from the wrong side of the tracks (literally) and the struggles and triumphs he faces in a very small area (too small to be called a village, even) and would span his childhood until he meets the love of his life. This is the book I am most excited by, and while it is far from a romantic comedy, there is romance of different kinds in the tale. 

My New Year’s resolution was to get two of these written this year. If I put work into it every day, I should be able. The other exciting news I have is that I have gotten engaged! If you look into the dedications of my two existing books, I dedicated them to a “Pat.” Well, in early October Pat asked me to be his partner for life, and I gladly accepted. We marry in the early summer of 2024. To further spill some tea, my Alpha/Beta reader is my Maid of Honour.  🙂

Okay, that’s enough for now. I just wanted to add that I am going to be a signing author at The Steamy Lit Con (formerly Rom Con) in Anaheim, California, from August 18-19. Pat will be in attendance with me, likely in his lumbersexual look of plaid shirt, red beard and mustache (and yes, he is a twin. I didn’t seek out a Winston brother, but here we are, lol).

As this post has gotten quite long, I’ll stop here. Thanks for coming by! If you made it this far in the post, I am sending you an imagination cookie. <3