Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Do you have any Christmas and New Year traditions? My family has always celebrated Christmas Eve with a big Swedish dinner to celebrate our heritage. We enjoy the Swedish meatballs, potatoes, oyster and fruit soups, rice pudding, and more. It's always one of my favorite meals of the year.

Last year we had to cancel last minute, as my daughter decided that she wanted to be born on Christmas Eve. (And I tried so hard to avoid that birthday for her...) So I was really really looking forward to this year's celebration.

This year has really been just a whirlwind for me. I've struggled to keep up with everything and prioritize everything and, while I feel like I’ve failed in large part, I have managed to get a bit of writing done.

Anyway, this is what else I've been doing with my time lately:

- Writing like mad on my fairy tale inspired series (rewritten the first book, with plans for a Feb 2019 release--contact me if you want an advanced reader copy in exchange for a review! Or if you want to be a part of my "street team.")

- Self-edited the first book in my fairy tale series (Fog & Mist) in order to send to the copy editor.

- "Won" NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) by writing 75000/50000 words in 30 days.

- Started a copy editing certification course through Writer’s Digest to brush up on my copy editing skills.

- Hired a babysitter 1-2 mornings a week so I can write, write, write!

- Got overwhelmed with edits and keeping up with life.

Reflecting on 2018.

Honestly, I was hoping for a slightly more productive 2018. I knew I was going to have an infant throughout the year, but I really had hoped that I’d be able to publish at least one book. Sadly, it didn’t happen. In addition to two deaths in our family this year, following two in 2017 as well, it’s just been a rough couple of years.

Even outside of those life events, things just got a little overwhelming at times and I really didn’t get fully into writing again until the fall when I hired a babysitter two mornings a week and my son started preschool. But since then, it’s been crazy and busy and just...yeah. Some tough times and some great times this year.

Goals for 2019.

I have a lot of big goals for 2019. I hope to publish at least 3 if not 4 of my fairy tale series novels next year, starting in February. I already have the covers, and it’s so cool to be able to see them with my titles... I’m super excited. In fact, getting those covers has given me inspiration for novellas and short stories to accompany the series. *rubs hands gleefully* It’s gonna be a fun year.

Personally, I want to get back into running and exercising regularly. Every time I have gotten consistent, I get sick, or the baby stops sleeping well, and then it’s so difficult to resume after recovering. Coupled with lots of writing deadlines, it’s been something that’s slid by the wayside for much of this year. But 2019 I need to change that around. I have to take care of myself first, and write second. (Hmm. Perhaps I should be on the treadmill right now then...)

In terms of other goals, I already have a few editing projects booked for the year, and I’m really excited to spend some more time editing this year. I’ve always done it on the side, but it’s not something I actively promote, especially with the past year having an infant. My time has been more spent raising my kids and writing on my fairy tale series this year than anything else. But I don’t regret that decision--not for a moment. :-)