2017 can only be better, right?

We're on the cusp of a new year and looking back, 2016 had its ups and downs, though it frequently seemed that there were more downs than ups. That means, though, that next year will be better. And I'm going to do the best I can to make it better.

I've talked about New Year's Resolutions before and if you're anything like me, they barely make it into the second week of January before something happens to throw them off. For example, I sat down at the computer tonight intending to transcribe some writing I had done in my notebook, and instead I've written two blog posts and played on Canva for an hour. 

At any rate, I do have some writing goals for this year. I hesitate to give timelines because I feel awful if I miss something, but here they are:

1. Finish and submit Losing It Two At A Time (Losing It #4).
2. Write a submission for Evernight's next anthology, Owned By the Alpha.
3. Finally finish that damn werewolf biker book I've had sitting on my computer for years! 

Of course, if I can get more writing done that would be fantastic, but I'm trying to be realistic. And positive. I'm my own worst critic and that never helps anything.

Have you got any resolutions for 2017? How do you stay positive when you struggle? I'd love to hear from you!

And Happy New Year!

Productive Procrastination

Image from chibird.com

So right now, I have an important thing to do for the EDJ. And instead, I'm feeling the urgent need to catch up on Facebook and Twitter, check out new types of swag to giveaway, and blog. In short, I'm procrastinating.

The lovely cartoon above sums me up perfectly. I start with the best intentions, but somewhere along the way my plans get derailed.

I've always known I was a procrastinator, but I still struggle to understand why. With this particular report I have to do, I'm pretty sure it's because I'm overwhelmed and feeling like I don't know jack. A bit of perfectionism is thrown in there because I hate not being perfect. Don't we all?

But procrastination in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. I needed to catch up on FB and Twitter. I need to find swag. I need to do more blog posts. Never mind that they're not the most important thing I have to do - they still needed doing.

I think that's the key. If you have to procrastinate, make it productive. I know so many people who procrastinate by cleaning the house (I think they're weird, but hey), or taking the dog out for a walk, or going grocery shopping. All of those things need to be done.

I'll get to the report after this blog post after supper before bed eventually. It will get done. But in the meantime, I'm going to go colour.

What's your go-to procrastinating job? How do you get yourself back to what you're supposed to be doing? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Revitalization

When an urban area becomes old and run down, nobody wants to go there. Residents and businesses leave, and shadier characters begin to move in. Buildings fall into disrepair from neglect. Kind of like my writing career.

But if some enterprising souls come along and begin to work on the area again -- slowly, one project at a time -- it breathes new life into the community. As more improvements are made, more people return to the area and soon it's a vibrant destination rather than something to be avoided.

The process is called revitalization and it has some lessons that I've been able to apply to myself. How is this happening for me?

I had two stories published this year: one in the Dark Captive: Manlove Edition anthology, and another Romance On The Go title, Losing It In the Closet. Considering my last published work was 2 years ago, I was thrilled to have gotten those titles out. I've been writing more this year and it makes me so happy to be able to do that. I just have to work on time management so I can find more time to devote to something I love so much.

Both of those books were recently nominated for the Evernight Readers' Choice Awards, to my surprise and delight. It appeared that there were people coming to visit my writing after all.

A good friend, Kacey Hammell, invited me to blog with her and an amazing group of Canadian authors over at Romance Eh? Canadian Style. I gladly accepted the invitation as one more step in my revitalization process but realized that my own blog had suffered from neglect.

Yesterday I spent several hours developing new branding; I designed a new logo and updated the design of my blog and other social media. I cleaned up some of the content here and fixed broken links as well as adding my latest releases. I'm pleased with the results and the new look made me feel a lot better.

Then this morning I discovered that Losing It In the Closet had won the award for Best Romance On The Go!

Things are looking up for sure. But revitalization isn't a solitary process. This wouldn't have been possible without the love and support of some amazing people along the way: my family, who have been learning to survive on cereal and take-out while I get stuff done; the amazing staff at Evernight Publishing who have been with me through the publishing process; writing friends that I had the pleasure of meeting this fall at an Evernight retreat; Kacey and the ladies at Romance Eh?

And of course, my readers. Without you there would be no purpose to what I do. Thank you for being with me along this journey.