We are on the eve of New Year’s Eve. So, perhaps it’s not too early to be looking ahead.

On New Year’s Day, I will kick off the year right, with black-eyed peas, cabbage, and a few friends. And lots of wine.

Having retired for the second time, I am looking forward to focusing on my writing path. I have renewed my participation in the HWH critique group and have reached out to MFWA about being added to another fiction critique group.

I’ve already begun my ‘homework’ for the publication of my first novel (CUE THE MURDER) by Sibylline Press in October 2026. I want to keep on top of that schedule and ensure everything runs smoothly toward the release date.

I’ve submitted my Christian Women’s Lit novel (THE FAMILY YOU CHOOSE) to someone to double-check the medical information and make sure I’m not making blatant mistakes. Need to follow up on that in January and make any needed changes. My goal is to find either an agent or a publisher for this novel in 2026.

I have begun the second novel in my cozy mystery series (tentatively CUE THE COUNTRY SONG). Only about 75 pages in, but want to focus on completing a first draft in the first quarter of 2026.

I wrote a number of interconnected short stories as an idea for a novel over twenty years ago. I plan to brush those off and decide whether to pursue making them into a novel, or to re-edit them and submit to journals and periodical as stand-alone stories.

I’m working with Sibylline to plan a few book events for the Fall, after the book release on October 16th. Need to finish compiling a list of theaters and/or bookstores for these. Hoping to attend a major conference to coincide with the release, but Bouchercon is early and in Canada in 2026; perhaps West Coast Crime or Sisters in Crime?

I want to expand my socials and perhaps start a blog.

This coming spring, I will be working on a project for the Lexington Log Cabins & Heritage Center, interviewing some of our older citizens about what it was like growing up in rural Texas in the first part of the 20th century. We hope to edit, curate, and loop the interviews so visitors to the Heritage Center can watch them, starting at Lexington Homecoming the first weekend in May 2026.

Personally, I really want to customize my 8×12 walk-in closet. Right now, it’s a hodge-podge of shelves and racks with little organization and way too much stuff crammed into it. When I clean my 900 ft farmhouse, this is where ‘stuff’ disappears to; but I need to organize it.

I’m sure I’ll come up with some ‘resolutions’, but these milestones will serve for now.

Happy New Year, everyone!