Best wishes to everyone for 2023. Well this year has been a doozy. I’ve been busily editing and proofreading my debut novel – complete with a rename – to ‘Crossing the Bridge’. It comes out tomorrow and everything else has fallen away with the reality that I have a published novel coming out! I also have a launch coming January 21 at my local library with Victoria Purman in conversation with me about the book – can’t wait for that!

Writerly speaking I have been very busy and have written the 1st draft to the follow up to ‘Crossing the Bridge’ – it will take place post world war 2 and will concentrate on Ronnie’s story (you’re going to love her!) In addition to that I have been working on my manuscript for ‘Girls of the USO’ which won this years Romance Writers of New Zealand Pacific Hearts contest (a definite highlight of the year), I’m polishing for submission and I hope an editor will love it as much as the final RWNZ judge did!

For those that missed it – I spoke with the wonderful Pamela Cook on her podcast ‘Writes4women’ (you can listen here) and with the delightfully supportive Sonia Bellhouse on her chatting with authors blog (you can read the q and a here).

As the competition year heated up post RWA conference I made an active decision to limit my entry to competitions this year or next. I have recently been given more responsibility at work and I need all my free time to write more!

I also have a secret project in the works and I am hoping to have more time devoted to that!

Writerly wish list for 2024

• Edit sequel to Crossing the Bridge
• Finish Girls of the USO draft and submit
• Begin secret project!
• Write a Christmas Novella set in Goyders Creek (Crossing the Bridge setting)
• Begin redrafting my WW2 nurse story
• Go on another writing retreat
• Catch up more with writer friends
• Go to the Adelaide RWA conference

General wish list

• Spend more time in nature with my family
• Learn how to bind books
• Exercise more
• Cook more creatively
• Spend less time scrolling
• Read more

In the shadow of Crossing the Bridge launch I am struggling to find what else I did this year, but I am hoping that 2024 will be awesome.

Best wishes to you, your family and your writing life for the coming year!

Nancy xx