If your dreams do not scare you...

We had our first real snow of the season Friday morning. While regions to our south got hammered, our accumulation was minimal--an inch locally--just enough to be pretty. It is January, after all. This is Pennsylvania. We're supposed to get snow!

I busied myself with writing and self-care this first week of 2022, so I didn't have time to fuss over a little white stuff outside anyway. 

After a talk with my agent, we decided to set The Hit List aside. This was the second of two new series proposals we'd had out on submission last year. I'd already gone back to the first of the proposals anyway. That was the project I completed for NaNoWriMo. ("Completed" meaning very rough first draft.) I spent much of last week giving the first three chapters another polish and the entire manuscript a new title. I also updated the synopsis and sent the entire package back to my agent. She'll be sending Rule of Thirds out on its second round of submissions next week.

While it's being shopped around, I'm working on its second draft. This is the one that's set in Erie, PA. I'm excited about it and hoping to find a publisher who is equally excited. 

Also, I'm outlining the next Zoe Chambers mystery (the one that's scheduled for release in spring 2023). I'm not going to say much about it yet except to tell you I'm excited and terrified. It's going to challenge my writing skills in a big way. I keep thinking of Sidney Poitier, who passed away this week. He's credited with the quote, "If your dreams do not scare you, they aren't big enough." I need to print that out and post it above my computer because this book scares the heck out of me. 

I mentioned self-care. I've been exercising, doing yoga and weight training, and practicing restorative yoga. Every day this last week. Not all of them every day. But at least one of them. It's helping my sanity. And believe me, my sanity needs all the help it can get.