New Year's Wishes

I had a happy surprise waiting for me when I arrived at my sister's on Christmas Eve -- she had purchased a copy of You, Me and a Bit of We from Chuffed Buff Books. Exciting! It was the first time I saw the book and could hold it in my hands.

Just before Christmas, the publishers posted excerpts from each of the stories on their website to celebrate National Short Story Day on December 21. What a great idea. Please take a few minutes to peruse the 42 excerpts (mine is number 7).

As an added bonus, my sister asked me to sign her copy as well as a copy for our aunt. So I had the pleasure of signing my first two books. Quite possibly my writing high note for 2013.

Now I turn my attention to the new year, and what I hope will be a very productive and successful writing year. I'm not really one for resolutions, but I do set a writing goal each year...not that I always manage to reach that goal. But it provides momentum, especially when I've been working on the same project for a number of consecutive years.

So here is my writing goal for 2014. I want to rewrite the ending of my book Plastic. That means re-imagining the last three stories in the book of linked short stories. I've been playing around with an idea for the last story, which may or may not pan out. As this story will act as more or less the denouement, the major work will be on the climax in the preceding story and the lead-up to that penultimate story.

A busy mind does not easily permit inspiration. I am hoping to take six weeks' leave from work in the spring or fall in order to open up the mind and stoke my creativity. Wish me luck! It has been incredibly busy in the office the last two months, so much so that I've been putting in overtime. I look forward to a break at the end of my current project, and I hope to have more time to write again very soon.

To a happy, healthy and productive 2014 for all!

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