Hey there! Here we are! Another new year, another new beginning! And January is off to a great start for me! How you doin’?

As the first week of January 2022 came to a close, I gave my two weeks notice at my current job. After almost 18 years there, I decided to take a leap and find a better opportunity. More about that in another post! I’ve got just one week left to go there and then I start my new job (working from home) on January 24th.

I’ve got a new book due out this year! The release date is April 12th. It’s called THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK and is being published by Dreamspinner Press. It’s a small town murder mystery loosely based on a real unsolved crime that took place in my hometown several years ago.

I’ve been spending a lot of time the last few months doing extensive edits and proofreading with their editing team. Now, I’m just awaiting the final galley proof. That hasn’t left much room to focus on writing something new, but I’m always working on something. I even made a checklist on a post it and hung it above my desk to keep me focused on my projects. It says this.

2022

• Write a new book
• Edit and finish the “Ghost” book
• Revamp the “Piano” book
• Market “Answers”

I’ve got several new ideas on the table that I’ve started. It would be great to get a brand new first draft of something done by the end of the year. The “Ghost” book is a manuscript I started in late 2018. I wrote 60K in words and then didn’t know where to go from there. I’ve slowly been trying to revamp it and would love to finish it this year since I’ve already written so much.

The “Piano” book is finished and I spent a lot of time in 2020 and 2021 trying to find an agent for it. After I got an offer on “Answers” I decided to take a break from it. I’ve been thinking about how to revamp it to make it more marketable. We’ll see how it goes.

And lastly, with a new book coming out I’ll definitely have to spend some time marketing it and finding readers! I’m always a little over-zealous when it comes to goals, but I’d be totally content with just being able to check even two of these off the list by the end of the year. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

Lastly, I’ve got two new short stories already up over at Vocal. “The Harbinger of Death” is a fable about a barn owl and was entered in a short story contest. “Mississippi” is an old story I wrote for an anthology years ago. I recently came across it and decided to revamp it a bit and share the new version. Click below to go to Vocal and read them and show them some love!

So, that’s me. I’ll ask again… How you doin’?