Well, it’s Day Four of 2021. Don’t see much change in the world yet. There are 361 days left for that. Keeping my fingers crossed.

There was a week and a weekend to finish out the old and start the new. I basically took off last week and vegged out. I probably shouldn’t have because now I must jump-start my gumption to get back to work. 2021 got the first laugh when we woke up to record-setting snow on January 1. It was pretty and serene and we didn’t have to be anywhere so we could just admire it out the windows. It did cancel Saturday’s plans due to melting snow freezing overnight on the streets and roadways. All plans are moved to the second Saturday, which is fine. I listened to books, I watched some college football (not much because I forgot the bowl games were on but my OSU Cowboys and the OU Sooners both won so big YAY!), I made slow-cooker rump roast au jus for New Year’s Day eating. Yummers!

So now it’s a new week and a new year. I don’t do resolutions. As a rule. This year, my stated resolution is: Write more and read more. I plan to keep it. I also have some plans. Or goals. Call it what you wish. Will I succeed with all of them? Who knows? But by writing them down, I have something of a road map and it settles them in my head. So…here we go.

Marketing: I totally suck at this. Selling “myself” is hard for me and I dislike social media. That said, I hope to revise my newsletter (though I don’t plan on flooding inboxes with it!) and putting something out maybe once a month. Of course, that means having news to report that often. 🙄 I need to Instagram more–both posting and responding. And MeWe. Facebook? Well, I do stay current with my author page but I’m not real good about checking news feeds because I find a lot to depress me there. Twitter is the bane of my existence and the trolls over there give me nightmares. Still…I have to maintain some presence there. Anyway, I’m shooting for more “interaction.” We’ll see.

Writing: Soooo many ideas. So little motivation. Ha! Gotta get over that for sure!!! Here’s what I’m planning, and in no particular order of execution:

Red Dirt Royalty: At least Dillon’s book, and maybe one of the remaining brothers: Boone or Bridger. Hunter’s book is the last in the series.

Nightriders: Not sure who will be next but at least one of the brothers, and/or maybe a one-volume anthology of shorter novellas covering several brothers and events in other books that need their threads snipped off.

Moonstruck Wolves: I’m leaning toward this project first–a duology starring my two Cajun Cop Wolves. The stories will be intertwined so I want them both written and then released within a short time of each other.

Penumbra Papers: I really gotta look at the hot mess that is a Sade/Sinjen/Nikos book. It’s…bad! But there’s a germ of a story there, in the 20-or-so thousand words already written, that I want to salvage. Maybe on my off days when everyone else is pouting.

Moonstruck Genesis: Secrets, Lies, and Betrayal are out there. Time for Retribution. That means rereading and plotting new material in the middle.

Hard Target: I haven’t forgotten them. They’re just all lying low and have been for ages. Hopefully, one of them will pipe up this year.

Moonstruck Mafia: That project is still hanging around too. I can’t decide how to execute it. Each of the three “packs” have stories, but not all of them are “big” enough for a full book for that individual Wolf. I’m still leaning toward the serial format. I’m a long way from this one, but it’s still on the stove.

Other authors’ worlds: I’d really like to write another book in Elle James’s Brotherhood Protector world. I have a Crow cop character that might work, and I might do something in Susan Stoker’s world. Just depends.

Other projects: I have what I think is a standalone romantic suspence/thriller. I have the protagonist and one scene, working title THE WIDOW. I also have another set of characters who aren’t fully formed yet, though he might be a Wolf. He’s a hit man, she gets in his path.

Anyway, those are the stuffs hanging out there. Will I realistically accomplish all of this? No way. But I do plan on treating at least every other month like it’s NaNoWriMo. 50K words as a goal. Doable. So maybe six projects. We’ll see what happens.

I also need to get more active. Jake loves to walk so I’m going to make time to get out of my chair and stroll with him around the neighborhood. Right now, my exercise consists of zooming through Walmart on grocery days and walking from my office to the bathroom because I drink that much coffee. I gotta get better about getting out and about. I used to do all sorts of stuff athletic-wise. Now, I couldn’t pass a cop’s field sobriety test completely sober! I can claim bad knees, but still! Gotta work on that. Lazy is as lazy does.

Well, all righty then. I think that’s enough for today, class. I have an outline. I have good intentions. Now, to follow through on them. What about y’all? What’s the one thing you really want to accomplish in 2021?