It has been a super busy year, especially the past two or three months, so I am enjoying a quiet New Year's Eve at home this year. I always feel quite reflective as the old year passes and the new one is about to begin. This liminal space is a gentle nudge into new hopes and dreams, new plans and prospects. For me, December 31st has always felt like an exciting time.
I have had a lovely Yuletide, with lots of festive outings - so many in fact, that by the time Boxing Day rolled around, I was exhausted! Mum and I had booked a table at a nice restaurant for our Christmas dinner this year, as neither of us wanted to cook, so we let the professionals handle all the culinary preparation, cooking and washing up! We just sat down and enjoyed a lovely festive roast dinner, with all the trimmings and a couple of glasses of bubbly. It was very enjoyable and took all the stress out of it, so I think it might become an annual tradition to just go out for our Christmas lunch from now on. Its so much easier.
I was lucky enough to receive lots of lovely gifts, from books and films, to music, clothing, and perfume. I'm really looking forward to reading my new books. I try to put my feet up and read whenever I can throughout the festive season, but I also have books of my own to write and deliver in the first week of January, so I've been working all Christmas. The dark season is always my busiest time, as I have a bunch of commissions and new books to write. It's a fun way to spend the season, working at my dream job, but I've worked every Christmas and New Year for the past seven years now, so I've decided I'm going to take next year off! My publishers close down their offices for the full two weeks anyway, so I might as well take the time off next year.
I am learning to pace myself more and requesting extra time when I need it. My New Year goal is to stop working weekends and bank holidays. Normally, I just keep working until a book is finished, without any breaks at all, but then I crash out at the end of it and I'm exhausted. So I'm going to make sure I have days off at the weekends, if I can. It isn't always possible however, as the deadlines are so very tight. We'll see how it goes. It is always nice to have lots of writing work on, and I am loving working on the current project as it is so suited to winter writing. I specifically requested that we swap the deadline for this project, with that of another book, so that I could write it in the depths of winter, as I think that seasonal writing will add to the magic and enchantment of the book. So far, it seems to be a good plan that is working out well. I'm very happy with how the book is shaping up. I have to finish and deliver this book by the start of January and I have another one to write by mid-February, then I can take a little break while my editor sorts out the next lot of contracts and commissions.
I've worked hard again this year, producing well over 200,000 commissioned words for publication, excluding blog posts and book reviews. As the year winds down, I begin to see the finish line of that final deadline in February, just before my rest period. Its a good thing I'm naturally more productive during the dark season, as I work flat out during autumn and winter when the world hibernates, and then I have a little rest in spring. Then when the world starts to wake up again and the first breath of spring is in the air, that's when I curl up and catch up on the winter rest I've missed out on! I love it though and I wouldn't want any other career. By late spring, the new contracts should start to come in, with projects to write for 2024.
It's partly my own fault that I'm so tired as 2023 draws to a close, because I've had so many outings and events booked in since October. It was my mothers 70th and my 50th birthdays this year, so we did a lot of celebrating. I mean, a lot! We seemed to roll from one event to another, and the time in between, I was writing my mythology books, so its unsurprising that I'm coming to the end of my energy reserves. We only have one more event booked and that's not until later in January, so for now, all I have to do is settle down in my cosy home and write. This will be the quiet, productive time that I'm more used to, as I'm really not a party girl. I kind of have been this year though!
I've promised myself that next autumn and winter will be much more about hibernating, than going out to the theatre, ballet and pop concerts etc. In winter 2024, I plan to stay cosy at home where its warm and just work on writing my books. That's a much gentler approach to the cold season and one that I intend to implement for the remainder of this winter too. It will be nice to hibernate for the rest of the dark season. It will allow me the soft, creative time that I need to finish writing the last two projects of 2023.
I need to conserve some energy because I'm going back to university next year too! This is something I have been planning for a while. I do tend to start planning the next year during late summer, rather than leaving it until mid-December, or worse, New Year's Eve! So I applied back in August and was accepted in September for 2024. It's a different university than the one I went to for my Masters Degree, and its a shorter course too, as I need to work it around writing for my publisher, but I'm still very excited about it. I wanted to do something shorter to keep up with my academic training, as I am still not sure if I want to do the PhD yet, which would be a minimum five year commitment. Doing a PhD is a big decision and I am not going to rush myself to make up my mind about five years of my life. Even applying for a PhD is a job in itself, as you have to have research proposals, personal statements and written work in place, plus professional letters of recommendation, before they will even consider you, so I'm still working on those tasks to get a good application package put together and give myself the best possible chance of a place, should I decide to go for it at some stage.
In the meantime, I will be starting a shorter university course in 2024. I'll do another blog post about that soon, but suffice to say, I am incredibly excited about it and a little bit nervous too. It will be a great test of my abilities and intelligence, and if I pass the course, it should stand me in good stead in the future, whatever I decide to do next.
So this New Year's Eve, I'm feeling rather tired but very grateful for all that 2023 has brought my way, including the chance to help a friend's partner by giving him some free bereavement counselling when the waiting lists were so long. I've enjoyed lovely events and celebrations with my mother, fantastic holidays to Scotland, horse riding, and piano lessons which means I can now play some Christmas carols on my piano-harpsichord. There have been afternoon teas, including one with my publishers, lots of new book contracts and the assurance that my place with the House is valued and will continue.
My editor even wrote in my Christmas card that it is "a privilege to publish you" and as I have always said how privileged I feel to be published, I think this shows why we get on so well. We are both so appreciative of the opportunity to work together again and we are definitely on the same wavelength! We first worked together over twenty ago, when she was editor of the magazines I wrote for, so I was thrilled to learn that she was the commissioning editor of the publishing house I'd just submitted to back in 2020. At the time of making my submission, I didn't even know she worked there! Now that's serendipity for you!
And to top it all off, I'm heading back into higher education at university next year too! It all feels a little surreal, which is a sure sign that good magic is at work in your life. I feel very blessed and I'm looking forward to 2024 and seeing what wonderful things she brings. I'm going to write out my goals, update my planner for next year and then curl up with a glass of buck's fizz and enjoy another festive writing session, working on the new mythology book. It has been another successful and productive year, and I am proud of what I have achieved in the past twelve months and of the books I have written and released.
So while most people will be raising a glass at midnight to toast the unknown of 2024, I'm already moving into the future I put in place in 2023! Because to get ahead, you need to plan ahead. Whatever you are doing later this evening as midnight rolls round, however you tend to celebrate, know that you are in my thoughts and I wish you all that you deserve in the coming year.
Serene Blessings
Marie x
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