I’m somewhat “meh” about 2024. I can’t say that there was a lot of amazing stuff that happened in my life this year. If anything, it seemed like there were a lot of hills to climb and scrambling to get nowhere. Honestly, in a lot of ways, the best thing I had going this year was the new horse, and unfolding where the two of us are going as horse and rider.
Oh, it wasn’t all that bad. There was the aurora in May which was pretty spectacular, even if I couldn’t find a way to make my camera capture it properly. A number of other small joys. Completing a carefully-plotted trilogy to wrap up my Martiniere saga. Encountering a den of young foxes on the route to the horses’ summer pasture and watching their antics before they ran and hid. Observing other wildlife around the house and town. Having visitors who enjoyed our lovely natural setting.
But 2024 has also been the era of coming to terms with certain parts of my life. Much as I love writing and telling stories, I have reached the point where I realize that I am never going to be a big name. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep writing and putting stuff out for people to read. However, any aspirations toward winning awards or anything beyond the occasional good review are seriously tabled. I’m just not the sort of writer who wins awards. It’s not a lack of quality (judging by the majority of my feedback) but that I seek to blend the contemporary and historical Western elements of the Pacific Northwest with science fiction and fantasy while also including relationships that continue beyond the happily-ever-after. Maybe I haven’t found my market yet, but I’m not holding my breath.
Along those lines, I’ve also reassessed some of my volunteer activities. I left one organization because I realized that yes, I was contributing a significant amount of time doing stuff for them. However, not only was the organization developing and transitioning into a new level, it was changing in ways that didn’t fit where I am in my writing life. Happily, I’m seeing other people step up to fill those positions that I left and I wish them the best. The fact that I’m feeling relief at leaving with only mild regrets is telling–those who I want to remain in contact with are already integrated into my social media.
All the same, I’m spending a lot of time thinking about what I want to do in 2025, in writing, in community life, and with the horses. In past years I’ve overplanned and overcommitted, leading to feeling overwhelmed and not getting anywhere. This year I’m leaving things flexible–which I suppose is my word for 2025. Flexible.
The fantasy novel stubbornly resists being poked into life, though I think once I get some other projects out of the way I’ll be able to give it the time that it needs. I’ve committed to updating my entire backlist. In some cases that doesn’t just mean new back matter, it means going through and cleaning up typos or–in the case of the Netwalk books–adding in new formatting because my formatting program now has a tool that makes the layout look better. The Goddess’s Honor covers don’t work so I’m redoing them–again. A couple of books still need to be converted from a previous format and recopyedited.
But. I will work on the fantasy. I also plan to write a horse memoir something along the lines of Will James’s Horses I’ve Known. I grew up in an era of horsemanship that is fading for various reasons, so I want to chronicle it. Just today I realized that maybe I might want to try my hand at Gothic horror, and that one of my worlds might work if I make it Gothic, so…that research is going to be happening.
Horse-wise, I’m wondering if this is Mocha’s last winter. I’m glad it’s been relatively mild here, because it’s easier on the old lady. Meanwhile, Marker is making progress. It’s been nice to have a horse who comes when called (and I’m not rattling a grain bucket to make it happen). The vet thought he was seven years old and that would match a lot of his behavior. I have training goals in mind–get him solid in canter leads, maybe take him to the local show if the heat isn’t too horrible this summer. Otherwise, I’m enjoying having a gaited horse. He has his quirks but…he’s steady under saddle.
Community-wise, I’m continuing to be active in a local service club and probably will be putting in some in-person hours in the coming year.
I’m also thinking of ways to do something with the craft materials I have around here. I can make quilts for a local group, as well as devise some artsy stuff that I hope to sell eventually.
More than that? Probably not. Spouse and I are aging, and while we’re active, that can change quickly. We’re slowly working on simplifying our lives and reducing what we have. I’ve done pretty well with clothing because I’m still using a lot of older clothing from work days. I’m trying to figure out a way to get rid of my back stock of books I’ve written that don’t fit current editions, without spending a lot of money sending them out to people. A lot of the back stock is copies I ordered planning to sell in-person before the pandemic hit. I’m not doing in-person events anymore, and in any case some of those books are not as nicely formatted as my current editions are. Between the ongoing Covid stuff and our health, as well as expense in energy and money, I just don’t see in-person happening for me these days.
So I would say that my attitude is that of a quiet walk into the next year. Taking a deep breath. Continuing to be flexible because things change.
