Well, not really a new me, just a commitment to being more focused on myself as an author. Yes, you heard it here – an author! Not that my dream publishing deal has come through or anything, more that I want to expand my ‘brand’ (gosh I am not fond of that terminology but it is what it is). I need to let people know who will read my stories what to expect. And what is that? Number one, I am a historical fiction author – who loves a dash of romance. Second, although I prefer to write in that romantic historical genre, I also like to dabble in other genres – specifically science fiction and crime. Third, I also like the idea of dabbling in non-fiction spaces, specifically science related and women in science, as that is currently my day job! I have increased my hours of working, giving me a little less writing time, which means that I need to plan and organise my writing time a little better than the haphazard scribbling I’ve been doing.

Commitment wise these are my plans:

• Organise my writing time.
• Continue with my small mentorship group with Victoria Purman.
• Continue attending online sprints with other authors (a great way to get words down).
• Plan and execute my story in our next historical anthology (yes Clare, Sarah, Ava and I are going down that path again! Something a little different this time!)
• Sending one of my completed manuscripts for a structural development analysis with a professional editor (slated and booked for this March).
• Write a scifi short story.
• Plan for another manuscript (that may or may not be written this year but the ideas are flowing!)
• Submit, submit, submit!
• I’ve also made an ongoing commitment to limit submissions to competitions – and speaking of which…

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

That should be Finalist Finalist!

I have made the second round of the Sapphire with ‘Girls of the USO’ – but it was a last-minute entry and I wasn’t really happy with the final sub. But it’s out there and the feedback will help with the next edit I’m sure!

I came equal second in the Spicy Bites competition with my saucy WW2 Historical short ‘Khaki and Silk’ – it will be published and launched at the next RWA conference in Sydney, which I am looking forward to attending in August.

So that’s a wrap for the beginning of the year! My year of wonder is about to begin!