Looking Back on 2025

It's New Year's Eve and as I have almost every year, I'm taking some time to reflect on my Looking Ahead post from this past January. 

The biggest question mark a year ago was the status of books 3 and 4 in the Honeywell series.


As you likely know, both have recently been released with tomorrow being the "official" release date of No Stone Left Unturned in print. After the shaky start, I'm especially happy to have these two out in the world. 

I had a relatively full schedule of appearances all year, despite not having anything new out.  


Malice Domestic was especially fun because it was announced that I will be their 2026 Guest of Honor! More on that in tomorrow's Looking Ahead post. 


I succeeded in turning in the standalone, however, my agent sent it back with lots of notes. I'm still working on it. 

I also succeeded in completing Honeywell #5. At least the first draft. I submitted it by my deadline and now have it back, also with notes, these from my editor. Such is the writer's life.

One thing that didn't happen was my hoped for trip to New Mexico. With no books coming out, I was on an extremely tight budget. My travel was limited to Malice, Pennwriters, and my annual Sisters in Crime writing retreat.

I also failed on the housecleaning and exercise goals. So far, the killer dust bunnies haven't attacked anyone, but I do need to get back on the healthy eating and exercise routine now that all the big food holidays are behind us.

My dear sweet fur baby, Kensi, is still with us.


We had a bit of a health scare this fall when she had several weeks of tummy issues. Thankfully, she shook whatever it was and continues to do well with her heart condition. 

And that pretty much covers 2025. Stay tuned for tomorrow's "Looking Ahead to 2026" post.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Zucchini Takes Over the World

Image
When I was a kid, our farm gardens were massive. We had acres of potatoes. My grandmother's "kitchen garden" had to be at least a thousand square feet. Corn, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, kohlrabi, onions, peppers, and so much more. Rhubarb, horseradish, and dill grew along its borders. We had an apple orchard as well as pear and peach trees.  Now, we have a ten-acre chunk of that 150-acre farm, and our little garden has grown progressively smaller over the decades. This year we have onions, cucumbers, a few sad tomato plants, peppers, and one plant each of yellow squash and zucchini. Those last two are threatening to take over the world alongside the cucumbers. We've given bushels of the things away. People see my husband coming and run. They can't escape. He drives by when folks aren't home and leaves squash on their doorstep.  I've been cooking and eating squash and cukes for lunch and supper every single day. Yes, I'm sick of them. And...
Read more

Mom Update

Image
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about my mom. If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed a number of posts recently about long nights in the ER with her. I appreciate the kind concerns and prayers from friends and family. But while I know they’re well intended, the “hope she gets well soon” sentiments cut like a finely honed blade. Mom isn’t going to get well. She has good days and bad. More and more of the latter. Today’s “good days” are about the same as the bad ones a couple months ago. She has vascular dementia. In addition to her mental slippage, her legs have grown weak and uncooperative, adding to her pre-existing balance issues. We plead with her to call for assistance to get out of bed. Unfortunately, she can’t remember that she’s had numerable falls lately, so she continues to try to get up and around on her own, resulting in more falls. And in more trips to the ER. She has dislocated her right hip twice now. She’s hit her head more times ...
Read more

A New Face

Image
I've been hearing over and over lately that I need to get new headshots done. People who only know me from my online presence complain when they meet me that I don't look anything like my picture. Hmmm. Is that good or bad? I'm still not sure. However, the fact that I now wear my hair a lot longer than I used to is a fact I can't deny. The problem with new photos is...well, I'm older than I was when I had those last ones done. If I could get away with posting a picture of me when I was 25, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Seriously, inside my head, that's still what I look like. Outside? Not so much. But I caved in this weekend. After shooting over 60 frames, I came up with four that I like. So I'm posting them here and asking for a vote. Which ONE photo should be my new "face" for my online persona? Choice #1 Choice #2 Choice #3 Choice #4 Leave a comment with your favorite. Okay, I get to make the final decision, so this...
Read more