We’re nearing New Year’s so it’s time to look back and hope forward.

What this year wasn’t:

• Expected
• Prosperous
• Compassionate
• Fair
• Humble

What this year was:

• Challenging
• Educational
• Reflective
• Preparatory
• Connective

“The good ol’ days may not return” -Tom Petty

I keep thinking of that one line, that single lyric of a greater song. It truly fits. To some it will seem sad or negative, but I think of what we’ve all been through and hope that if the “good ol days” don’t return, we make brighter futures.

This year has been a financial fiasco for those of us who aren’t rich.

Writers work for peanuts and lately we’re lucky to get a shell.

Thankfully my grandfather, and even my bastard of a dad, worked to prepare me for this. They taught me to rely on myself and never trust any institutions that pretend to care. I’ve had to work on my backyard farming skills, connect with local farmers, and lean on my neighbors and community more than ever. In return I have helped my neighbors and community as best I can and we are all better for it.

I don’t know what next year will look like. None of us do. We never really know.

What I can say is that despite the hardships that came at us, my writing continued. The publishing industry halted for a while, but it’s still there, and so are many other industries that struggled.

This year I met a serious goal. I wanted to send out 100 submissions. I exceeded that.

I wanted to sign a breakthrough contract, and I got that.

I needed to prove to myself that I am a proficient nonfiction author. The jury’s still out on that because I am terrible at gauging my own work. But I am at least satisfied with the articles, essays, and books I have produced. They are my best work. My best is all I can hope to give.

I happily offered more free fiction for you to read and I plan to keep that going. Not everyone can afford to buy food right now, more less books, so there will always be some free work offered. I grew up poor and I’m damn lucky to just be stable in these times of economic hardship. I will never forget where I came from.

Next year I want to focus less on submissions and more on reaching a wider audience.

I miss the book signings and events. Hopefully those will go on.

I plan to finally have a #1 book release in just my name. (I’ve been a contributor on an amazon bestseller but there were bigger names attached to that)

I’m looking to get another nonfiction book finished, another children’s chapter book done, AND potentially crowd fund my own middle-grade book release to combat all the drab overly political children’s books that have zapped the fun from being a kid.

Best of all, instead of just offering free short stories once a month, I hope to offer a full novel in once-a-week chapters, completely FREE. If you like my writing, let me know and if you don’t then give me some well rounded constructive criticism.

We could all use some encouragement moving ahead.

If you have anything you’d like me to read or need help editing, don’t be afraid to get in touch. I prefer to work in trade instead of boring corruptive money. haha

Cheers