Word of the Year, Author Interviews, Wanderlust, a bit of Moxie.

January — the wonderful beginning of a new year, when all things are bright and shiny (and not just because they’re covered in ice!) How’s it going for you? I hope well.

If you’ve landed here as a new subscriber, welcome! Through this publication I share author and book news that is fun for readers, and I also ‘use my powers for good’ creating a supportive and educational environment for authors navigating the crazy (and every-changing) publishing world. Occasionally, I do a summary post like this, so you get the most recent posts in one email.

In addition to being an avid reader / reviewer and helping other authors with book promo and marketing, I also write books of my own. Most recently a middle-grade contemporary, Haven, and a mystery suspense novel, Beyond the Cemetery Gate. Now, I’m in the thick of writing book 4 in my Circle of Nine series—fantasy stories based on Celtic Mythology and Irish Legend! My notes are ridiculous. I’ve spread them out on the carpet in my office to get this picture. (You can’t really tell, but that file folder is about two inches thick.) Most recently, I finally created a spreadsheet with all the character names so far in this series. Phew! I know I should have done this much sooner! So that crazy family-tree looking piece of paper you see in this image has now been digitized. I’m making progress on the book, but I don’t have a title yet. I may wait until I’m done to choose a name. The best part so far is that I’m making friends with this cast of characters again—I’d forgotten how much I love them. Has that ever happened to you as a writer?

Another fun thing has happened. Author Amanda Zieba featured Haven in one of her popular First Chapter Friday videos along with a short interview with me. I’ve known Amanda for a long while now and appreciate her books and the online community she’s created! Check out the video below:

I love to celebrate great writing and wonderful authors! Please click through to read this fun interview with Author Christine DeSmet. We’re talking about her Mischief in Moonstone series—plus, I ask a bunch of nosy questions that she was gracious enough to answer!

And — after much consternation — I picked a word of the year. What is it?? Click through to the post below to find out.

If you missed how I embraced the word Moxie for 2024—here’s that recap in all its glory. ha ha!

Finally, as a member of the Blackbird Writers, I wrote sort of a throwback post for that publication …. had to dig deep into the photo albums for this one. Here’s one of the photos I included as I departed from O’Hare for my semester abroad. Click the article below the pic to read the full essay.

That’s a lot of ‘stuff’ for January — and it’s only the first full week! Holy Cow!

Thanks again for joining me joining me here! – Valerie