Burning Midnight Oil & Chasing Dreams

The winter sunsets continue to astound me. It's the one time of day I drop everything and run outside! 

Can you believe we are halfway through January already? 

I've been doing very little besides write since the ball dropped on New Years Eve. The time has slipped away from me.  This is because I'd started a standalone novel in a new-to-me genre before signing with Storm last fall—a slightly more literary project that I've been meaning to write for over two years. It kept getting pushed to the back burner but never went cold. It kept bubbling there, tempting me.

My thinking when I made plans for 2026, was that I would be writing and querying this book in Q1, then working on some shorter stories in the Natural Magic world. But the universe, and Storm Books, (happily!) had other plans for me.

I've been burning the midnight oil since the holidays, and I'm delighted to report that I'm done drafting that back-burner book and happy with it. It's come together in a way that brings me so much satisfaction, which will allow me to send it out into the world, shift gears and mover back into Primrose Court, early next month.

In Personal News... My Celebration Season Pass

I've bought myself a season pass to celebrate all these recent wins and my hard work chasing them down. Can you guess what I got a pass to?

It's... wait for it... a pass for my favorite whale watching tour company!

Yep, that's right. Some people in SoCal buy Disneyland passes (I used to too), but for me, at the moment, there's nothing more inspirational and magical than being out on the water. I treated myself, and I can't wait to cruise around in search of dolphins and migrating whales with some of my favorite fellow CA naturalists. It's gray whale season right now, and I especially love seeing the moms and calves. I might even bring my laptop and write some of my next books out on the water.

Some writers celebrate finishing manuscripts with champagne. I celebrate with cetaceans. And honestly? Watching a gray whale mother guide her calf along the coast feels just as thrilling to me as any bubbly could.