Looking Ahead to 2025

There’s a lot up in the air for the coming year. I have two books (#3 and #4 in the Detective Honeywell series) coming out, but I have no titles, no covers, no release dates. I blogged last week on Writers Who Kill about how the only thing we authors have control over is writing the next book. While I will be writing #5 in the series this year, it’s not due to my editor until December, which leaves me with some wiggle room. As I teased in yesterday’s post, I have a plan. I’ve been outlining and starting to draft a standalone novel. I’m calling it a domestic suspense wrapped up in a police procedural. My intention is to have opening chapters and a synopsis ready to hand over to my agent in March, so she can start shopping it around. Then, in April, I can jump back into Matthias and Emma’s world for the rest of the year.

I don’t have a lot on my “events” schedule yet. In February, I’m doing a reading with my friend Bill Gormley in Pittsburgh, but I don’t have any real details yet. In April, there’s Malice Domestic and in May there’s the Pennwriters Conference. So far, that’s about all I know for certain. I hope to fly out to New Mexico again later this summer or early fall.

On a personal note, I’ve been slacking on the exercise routine, especially yoga, and I’m feeling it. With the husband now retired, finding and keeping a routine has been a challenge. I will get that worked out this year. Another personal goal is getting my house in order on many levels. With fewer books to write, I intend to use a little of that time to round up the Killer Dust Bunnies.

One of my past goals that I finally accomplished and continue to maintain is keeping ahead of my accounting. There’s a reason I’m a writer and not an accountant. I don’t math well. But I’ve scheduled time twice a month to record all the income/expenses stuff, so tax time no longer sends me into a panic. Yay me!

Happy New Year, everyone!