A few photos from 2015. The cover for The Stranger, the stage at the Ringo Starr concert, the Space Shuttle Discovery, and a civil-war cannonball, lodged in the wall of a mansion at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Once again the time has come for us to bid farewell to another year. Wasn’t it only yesterday we welcomed 2015? I have to agree with my friend Staci—the older we get, the faster time goes. (And I’m much older than her!)
It’s been a good year overall. I was able to fulfill a long time dream of seeing one of the Beatles when my husband and I attended a Ringo Starr concert on February 14.
In June, we took a vacation to Virginia, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. Being history enthusiasts, we enjoyed visiting the museums in and around DC. Among the highlights for me was seeing the space shuttle Discovery and the Apollo 11 command module. A trip to the National Archives enabled us to see the original Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution.
In Pennsylvania, we visited Gettysburg National Military Park. Later in the year, we took an overnight trip to Vicksburg, Mississippi where we toured another battlefield and spent the night in a pre-civil war mansion that survived the siege. The front parlor has a cannonball that remains lodged in the wall.
On the writing front, I can call 2015 a somewhat successful year. I completed and published (for my email subscribers) a novella. With the exception of one month, I continued my Friday Fiction stories. I finished a full-length novel in April.
I didn’t blog as often as I intended this year, but I had fun with a series of trivia about each month in the calendar year.
So what’s in store for 2016? I’ll continue my First Friday Fiction posts. As far as other blog posts, I plan do character interviews, some book reviews, and feature some interviews with other authors.
I’m in the process of editing the novel that I finished last April with plans to self-publish it in the spring. It is part one of a three-part series, and I’m in the process of brainstorming the second story.
I also plan to write another novel featuring my characters Lauren and Hannah from my Summer Adventure series of First Friday Fiction. I have an idea for another novella/novel that is more in the cozy mystery genre as well as a few other ideas.
Overall 2016 is shaping up to be a busy writing year for me. And that’s where you come in. I’ll need all the encouragement I can get. I will be sending out a call for beta readers and when the time comes, asking for honest reviews for my work.
I want to connect with you all more in 2016, so I plan to resume my quarterly newsletter. I also plan to send out a reader’s survey, asking you what type of content you’d like to see here on my blog. In addition, if you’d like to be a part of my private Facebook group where you can get the latest news about upcoming releases, book cover reveals, and more, just click here to join.
“New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach
What are your plans and goals for the upcoming year? I’d love to hear from you, so be sure to leave a comment!
4 Responses
Joan, I do believe 2015 was a successful year for you! Congratulations on all you’ve accomplished. You have a busy year ahead, and I’m here to support you in whatever ways I can as a writer and a friend. I’m looking back at 2015 in anticipation of seeing what 2016 holds for me. I often set my goals a bit too lofty and then have to leave them in a state of flux at the end of one year and beginning of the next. Ah, such is life sometimes. Wishing you the best in 2016!
Thank you, Sherrey! It’s friends like you that encourage me and keep me motivated. Wishing you a wonderful 2016!
Congrats on a great 2015, Joan!
Thank you, Sue!