Change can be awful.

I’ve been through some bad changes.

But we have to change with the times.

So what changes will I make in 2018?

Tell me what kind of stuff you’d want to see.

We’ll still do the contests a few times a year. I think that’s staying. It’s fun and it’s very rewarding to help new authors get discovered.

I’ll be doing more reader-targeted stuff on my newsletter and NOT repeating it here

so you won’t be seeing stuff twice. And I won’t automatically have my blog post on my Facebook author page, I think.

And there’ll be other stuff.

There’ll be fewer blog posts – one a week, probably – and more novel writing.

In 2017, I put out Poggibonsi, An Angel On Her Shoulder, The Zombunny, Stinky Toe… The Box Under The Bed… and who knows, maybe one more before the year is out.

But… I’m a fraud.

Because you might think I wrote all that in 2017. I didn’t.  2017 was supposed to be a year for learning marketing again, and then writing – because who needs 22 books if none of them are selling? Well, they sell now, but the market has changed and keeps changing – and I need to run to catch up.

So in 2018 I’ll be growing a newsletter like I did my blog.

It’ll be for readers, not writers.

My newsletter has just under 500 subscribers today. My goal is to grow my newsletter following to 10,000 subscribers by the end of 2018. What, did you just pick a big number at random? Nope. Dream big. I think it’s doable if I push hard.

My other goal is to clear my backlog and write and publish three new novels, possibly a new series, but definitely a sequel or two to some existing books like The Navigators.

I love you guys, and it might feel like I’m stepping back or saying goodbye, but I’m not. I’d miss everything too much for that.

• My blog will get 60,000 views in calendar 2017. I’m very proud of that.

• My three Word Weaver Writing Contests helped inspire people to publish their books. I’m super proud of that. They will be the cornerstone of the blog in 2018

• Our anthology The Box Under The Bed was an amazing experience that taught me a lot, and I want more. Ideas abound.

• I was a presenter at the 2017 Florida Writers Association. I’m extremely proud of that!

• I was nominated and elected as a board member of FWA! How cool is that! So I’m proud of that, too.

• and I made lots of new friends who I helped and who help me. I’m proud of that most of all.

So proud that I’ll be doing a some Top 10 lists for year end 2017 naming them.

But changes are coming.

I need to write.

Novels.

My characters are speaking, and they need to be heard. Their stories need to be told.

I spent an hour in a rental car with my two sisters talking about the planned sequel for The Navigators and The Water Castle and Only Ever You and…

…and they were hanging on every word!

AND SO WAS I!

And I was like, I better get to writing this stuff.

So I will.

I might begin by posting chapters of the revised draft of TheWaterCastle to run alongside its original crappy 1st draft starting January 1, with the novel to be completed and published in an April-June 2018 window.

But look for other two new novels and a bunch of short stories, too, because

WE

ARE

WRITING

IN

2018

Can’t wait.