I talked about making goals and resolutions in my last blog when I welcomed 2023. Now I want to share with all of you my goals for 2023. I say goals, since these are more specific than resolutions. But you can have either or. And please, in the comments, share a few of yours. And if you need to, contact me. I can help keep you on course to finish your resolutions or goals. I want to help any way I can. Leave me a message in the comments, or contact me, and let’s help each other out. This will be more than one blog because I am also going to explain my goals. Not just for you, but for me, too. Just to get it all in my head.
My Goals- Part 1
- Get Backlash Edited- Backlash is another horror paranormal book I wrote during NaNoWriMo and finished after. It is an apocalyptic book, but it has nothing to do with zombies. The end of days comes at the hand of demons and evil ghosts who wish to take over the living realm, making humans their slaves and snacks. One man has the answer to how to stop them, but even if he and his small group of friends go out to stop the demons from taking over, are they enough? Only way to find out is to wait for this book to be edited and published by Hear Our Voice LLC. I loved writing it and I hope you will love reading it.
- Write more Children’s books- I have so many ideas for children’s books. I have written out the ideas and topics I’d love to write. Plus, I will write more to add to the Storybook Farms series. Book 1, Roodi to the Rescue, will be published soon. Book2 and Book 3 are also ready. I wrote book 2, but my oldest daughter, Kierra, wrote book 3 and plans on writing more for the series. My youngest daughter, Cara, is also thinking of writing, or I decipher and write, a few books for the series. I say I decipher and write because she is only 4 and is only beginning to learn how to write. But she did “write” a unicorn book I hope will be published this year. Not a children’s book you would expect from a 4-year-old, but I don’t care. I am still very proud of my two girls.
- Write more children’s books for Reading Gate.- I love working with Reading Gate and the people I am in contact with. They are both amazing people and I really hope that Reading Gate and I can sign another contract together this year. Writing for them, besides writing for myself, makes me feel like I’m needed, like my books are needed, and I love that feeling. Plus, I want to help young children learning English to enjoy learning through reading fun, adventurous books.
- Write my first nonfiction children’s books with Ryan about Hugo. Will target Preschool through 8th grade.- These books will be about my husband, Ryan’s service dog, Hugo. While out and about, I have noticed too many times how people just try to pet him or talk to him when he has his vest on and he is working. Too many people think they can do whatever they want when around service dogs and they can’t. I hope that if we target the younger generation, they can stop these inappropriate behaviors and teach their parents and future generations who to behave around service animals. I am going to be writing these with my husband and we will write a few books for each age group starting in Preschool. We might start out in Pre-K, actually.
- Work out details with Ryan for a fictional series starring Hugo.- We, of course, want children to learn about the dos and don’ts around service dogs, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, too. So Ryan and I are also planning on writing a series starting Hugo, giving him tasks to help his human who needs it. Some dangerous, some not. Just something fun. Most ages from Pre-K and up are what we plan to target again. We need more fun fictional books about service animals, so since we have an amazing service dog, why not have him as the main character? We may add other animals in the mix, too, but like I said, this is all in just the idea stage. So Ryan and I will plan this out. We are excited about this series though.
- Edit the nonfiction children’s book and pitch it to Hear Our Voice LLC.- This one is pretty explanatory. I actually have discussed it with my publisher and she thinks it’s a wonderful idea. So now Ryan and I just have to write the book in all age formats, and pitch them to her.
- Edit Azriel High. – This is a young adult paranormal book I had been working on in my 20s. I had lost it, found it, started it over for NaNoWriMo, lost it again, and now in my late 30s, I have found it again. Last year, I typed it all up and now it is the dreaded self-editing process I am stepping into. I don’t mind editing my own books, but I know I am not good at it. So I just do my best, and do a few rounds of self-editing to hopefully remove most of the kinks and fill in any plot holes I might find. It’s a long process, but in the end, it’s totally worth it. And the reason I lost it is because of moving. It happens when married to a Navy guy. But I always find my books I’ve written and my writing journals so I can continue with my writing journey.
- Pitch Azriel High to Hear Our Voice LLC.- Again, another one that explains itself. I hope they like this one. If it gets published, it will be my first young adult book. It is a bout a high school hidden in plain sight that isn’t your typical high school. It is a high school that trains demon hunters. We always read or watch movies with demon hunters in them, but we hardly ever see where they learn their skills from. So I created Azriel High, the demon hunters high school where the teenagers of demon hunters enroll to learn the basic high school lessons. But they also learn the history of demons, how to fight, how to make poisons, and other useful information regarding their lives as demon hunters. And of course, the teenagers have a choice. If they want to be demon hunters, they will continue on after high school as hunters, learning and saving humans along the way. Or if they choose not to, then their minds will be erased. They will forget there are demons, all their skills will be gone, and they will live life with the other nonhunter humans, not knowing there are demons. The book was a fun one to write, especially… well, I won’t give anymore away. Let’s just hope it gets published so you can find out.
- Finish typing up Paranormal Gone Wrong.- This is, yes, you guessed it, another horror paranormal book. I just can’t help myself. But this book came to life in mind because I love watching those shows like Ghost Adventures and TAPS- Ghost Hunters. I wrote it a few years ago, again for NaNoWriMo and after, and I like it. Do I love it? No, not right now because it is still raw and needs help, but I do like it. It’s about a group of three investigators, Stalk the Night, and their director and producer friends putting on their 13th fan investigation at an old wool factory in a small town in South Carolina. The fans are from all over the United States, and will spend two weeks investigating the factory. They will spend the nights in the factory, but they also have a hotel not too far where they can stay a few nights, take showers, and, of course, eat at. But when things go wrong, will the team be able to escape the factory, it’s past, and it’s ghosts? Or is it even the ghosts at all? Only way to find out is to wait.
- Edit Paranormal Gone Wrong- I want to get this book self-edited this year. Maybe two rounds of editing will do, it not then I will push this one back to 2024, but I would love to see if I can get it edited this year. I have other writing projects to edit this year, so I won’t be rushing editing this one, but I will do my best.