writing goals

Well, thank God that’s over! 2012 was one of the most difficult years I’ve had in my life and in truth, I’m surprised I was able to accomplish anything with all of the chaos that surrounded me for most of the year. But, with God’s help, I finished a degree in Religion and my sixth book in the Rona Shively Stories series. So, there was some productivity tucked in there, though it was often difficult to discern from the outside. In any case, I’m looking forward to 2013 and I’ve already got several ideas for projects I’d like to finish by this time next year. With the release of Thy Will Be Done just around the corner, I’m already working on the next Rona book and I’m loving this storyline already. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Rona has some exciting things happening in Thy Will Be Done and the fun won’t stop there. I’m also working on a couple of other writing projects that I’m not yet ready to talk about, but will share soon.

One thing I’m going to concentrate more on next year is having more speaking events. I’ve got a great new workshop planned that I’m hoping to launch after the first of the year. I’ll be approaching libraries to see who would like to host a workshop, so keep watching for upcoming events! Aside from that, I still want to find more ways to help women overcome barriers to personal growth. I’ll be looking for opportunities to work with women to help them achieve success and all proceeds from the Rona Shively books go toward Higher Ground Ministries efforts to promote women’s empowerment. More information about the activities planned for Higher Ground will be posted on the Higher Ground website later this week.

I sincerely appreciate those of you who support me in these efforts and those who actually enjoy reading the Rona Shively series. She’s still got a few adventures to experience and I’m hoping you enjoy every one of them. If you’re out tonight, please be safe and have a Happy New Year. May 2013 bring you many blessings and a spirit of peace and abundance. God bless!

Until next time…

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It’s that time of year when I start looking at my writing goals and try to determine what to tackle next. So far, I think I’ve stayed on task as much as humanly possible given the year I’ve had. In spite of injuries and other issues, I managed to finish Keeping the Faith and begin working on a couple of new projects. This year hasn’t been easy, but it has been full of wonderful new experiences and I’d like to take a moment to mention a few of these.

Although this publisher did not survive the year, I was glad to have been included in the From the Shadows Horror Anthology. I met some really nice people and was able to have my short horror story, Eleven published alongside some very talented horror writers.

I had the good fortune of being included in another anthology this year with the winning entries for the Writer’s Digest Short Shorts. My short story, The End placed (although not in the top ten)and was included as one of the top twenty five entries in the contest. I was very happy to be recognized by this publication.

Another wonderful thing that has happened this year has been my Tea & Mystery Tour. I’ve been to several libraries in Ohio and one in New York state. These discussions have been a great way to get out and meet mystery readers and talk about the two of the things I most enjoy, reading and writing. I look forward to doing more of these discussion next year.

The most rewarding thing that has happened this year in terms of writing has been that I finally finished my first novel-length Rona Shively story. Anyone who knows me, knows that this was especially difficult for me since I have a tendency toward brevity. It’s not that I don’t have alot to say, it’s just that I generally say it very efficiently. So, writing nearly three hundred pages was challenging to say the least. I still haven’t figured out what this means to me as a writer, but it wasn’t scary enough to stop me from starting my fourth Rona Shively Story shortly after finishing KTF. I’m just anxious to see where this one takes me.

In short, I have lots to be thankful for this year. As usual, things are pretty much as good as can be expected. This is my favorite time of year and I’m hoping that the next couple of months will bring more good news and lots to do for the coming year. Hopefully, the next time I blog, I’ll have some news about the status of Keeping the Faith.

Until next time…

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