As a Virgo, I religiously set my goals for the new year. Checking things off a to-do list is a drug to me. The more goals, the better. This year, I have… a lot. Some of them are more ambitious than others, but I have high hopes for a lot of them. So, without further ado, here is my list of goals for the new year:

FINISH AND SUBMIT MY THESIS
EARN MY MFA

The Serpent and The Daughter is inching closer and closer to being finished, and this is one of the nonnegotiable goals on my list. If I don’t finish and submit this on time, I will not graduate, and that terrifies me. I’ve been in this MFA program since August of 2022, and this thesis is not only the culmination of everything I’ve learned in this program, but also all of the classes I took to earn my bachelor’s, and all of the experience I’ve gained on my own time since I started writing at 13. To me, successfully submitting my thesis and graduating symbolizes success. It is an objective higher opinion that says, “Hey, this girl can actually write!” It’s incredibly important to me and is not something I’m willing to sacrifice this year.

PUBLISH THE SERPENT AND THE DAUGHTER

This one is also a given. I have no choice but to finish and revise TSATD. Therefore, I have no choice but to publish it. So, YES. That means you will be getting another book from me in 2026! I do not have an exact date yet, but it will likely be sometime in the fall.

FINISH DRAFTING FORGED BY FATE AND GET THROUGH AT LEAST ONE ROUND OF REVISIONS
PUBLISH FORGED BY FATE

Okay, okay. These are very ambitious goals. Possibly the most ambitious on the list. I initially wanted to publish Forged by Fate in 2026, and even stated that I would on Instagram, but the truth of the matter is that this book is slowly killing me. I waver between wanting to split it up and wanting to allow it to be a massive doorstopper. I don’t even know where I would split it if I did decide to go that route. If I were a better author, I would split Forged by Fate into four separate books and fully flesh out the adventures on each continent (This is a lie. That is an insane idea that would not actually work). It’s currently sitting at nearly 100k, and the Bitch Brigade has only been to two of the five continents. It will truly be a miracle if I finish the first draft this year, let alone publish the damn thing. It is on this list regardless because I am a glutton for pain.

FINISH CURATING AND PUBLISH BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS

This is actually another given for the year! Bite the Hand that Feeds is coming along nicely and is on track to be published on International Women’s Day! I’ll be posting more about this in the new year, so keep your eyes peeled.

START DRAFTING BOOK THREE OF HEROES OF THE TERRAIN

I have actually already started outlining book three. I have a solid idea of the direction I want it to take, as well. It will have six POV’s, and half of them will be new characters. You’ll be meeting two of those three new characters briefly during the Bitch Brigade’s travels during Forged by Fate (because I love a good easter egg). The familiar POV’s will be Orvyc, Alester, and Ilde. I’m very excited to start drafting this book, and I am hopeful that I’ll finish the first draft of Forged by Fate in time to give book three a little bit of attention in 2026.

FINISH AND PUBLISH THE HARDCOVER SPECIAL EDITION OF TEMPERED IN ASH

Yes, this is still a goal I’d like to accomplish. The thing about self-publishing is that it’s hard, and things have a tendency to fall apart. That happened this year with the hardcover special edition, unfortunately. This is definitely one of those backburner projects that I’m really only able to work on when I have free time and my whims take me in that direction. I’m reevaluating the direction I want to go with this, however, and once I come to a decision, y’all will be the first to know.

HIT 35K KENP PAGES READ FOR TEMPERED IN ASH

Now that Tempered in Ash is back on KU and I am more active on TikTok, TiA has been steadily gaining readers. I don’t think 35k KENP pages is particularly ambitious, especially if I continue to promote and gain traction the way I have been. I could be entirely wrong, though. Who knows!

HIT 50 SUBSCRIBERS FOR MY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

This one might be a little ambitious, I’m not going to lie. Getting people to join an email newsletter is like trying to pull teeth. We all already have so many things in our inboxes; no one ever wants to sign up because it’s just one more thing to get lost in the sea of Gmail. And you know what? That’s completely fair. I know what my inboxes look like, and if yours are anything like mine… I get it. But my newsletter is probably my favorite place to connect with readers. It is a very personal space for me. I am a pretty honest person, overall, but doubly so in my newsletter. I not only talk about my publishing progress and WIPs, but I also often talk about my life and spirituality. If you are the kind of follower/reader who likes to really get to know an author, you can do that with my newsletter, if you feel so inclined.

HIT 600 FOLLOWERS ON TIKTOK

This is a very achievable goal, considering I am about to hit 500. Rookie numbers, I know. But I’m excited about the growth I’m seeing over there, especially after growing so disenchanted with Instagram. Dare I say, I may be able to surpass this goal by a significant amount? We’ll see.

FIND A HEALTHY BALANCE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

This is, perhaps, the most ambitious goal on this list. My relationship with social media this year took a bad turn. I thought I had cracked some sort of code by posting regularly on a schedule. I put in an exorbitant amount of effort into making sure everything was perfect. And my engagement plummeted, regardless. I use the term screaming into the void a lot, and that’s because that’s exactly what social media feels like these days. I have over 600 followers on Instagram (rookie numbers, I know). I follow nearly the same amount back. Yet no matter what I post, it gets minimal attention, and when I scroll through my own feed, it’s nothing but ads and accounts I don’t even follow. Instagram completely ruined social media for me, which is unfortunate, because it used to be my favorite platform. I have since transitioned to focusing on long-form content, between this website and my newsletter, and the vibes are much better. Maybe I’m burnt out. Maybe I can’t beat the algorithm. Maybe my posts were garbage. Whatever the case may be, I know it’s important to use social media as a tool when marketing, and I know that when it comes time to publish The Serpent and The Daughter, I’ll have to go crawling back. In the meantime, though, I’ll be sticking with my long-form content and semi-regular content on TikTok. No more pre-scheduled posts. No more die-hard schedule.

READ 25 BOOKS

I actually beat my Goodreads challenge this year and have high hopes that I can do it again next year! I read 22 books this year, so I think bumping it up to 25 is a reasonable goal. We’ll see if I have time to make it happen with all the publishing plans I’ve set out to achieve. Wish me luck!