For the first time in at least three years, I don’t have a book, a project that I’m currently working on or have touched in over a year.

Last month, I published the grammar book that everyone was asking, “When are you going to publish it?” Interesting how my royalty report isn’t reflecting the desired demand. At least, not yet. That was a book I’d been working on in between other projects for the last half decade.

But, hey, at least Freida McFadden told me that “You’re my new grammar expert!” and gave me permission to use her comment made in public in her readers’ fan group. Even if this book doesn’t turn out to be a best seller, that comment alone—in my mind and seeing it on my first hardcover book—made me a best-seller.

And, an hour ago, I uploaded the last of the three formats (hardcover, paperback, and eBook) for the November 18, 2025 publication of Harbor House: Deadly Intentions, my first psychological thriller. A book whose origins began in summer 2023, and which I thought had been ready for publication October 2024. Boy, was I wrong! To read the origin story, click here.

Why I never pursued romance instead of thrillers in the beginning is beyond me. No, actually, I do know why. There were and are no nearby thriller writing groups—at least not that I’ve found. At the time I began writing books, Romance Writers of America was huge, and there was an area chapter starting up, which I joined.

I learned a lot and have a pile of best-selling writer friends and just as many like me—not best-selling-authors-yet writer friends. The support is incredible.

Two days ago, I participated in my first author get-together through a Potluck Book Sale. In getting ready for my hour of hosting, I learned a few tricks to combining Canva with PowerPoint in creating reusable, promotional graphics. YAY!

I had fun chatting with some of the readers and ended up giving away seven books and sharing three recipes. I’ll definitely do another potluck party in the future.

So, what other significant changes have I made this year? Surprisingly, the theme has been about cutting back or letting go. Less is more mentality. Without providing all the details, the endgame is that I’ll be writing more books, using my time more effectively.

Once I clean some files, clear off my desk, and restock the printer, my plan for 2026 is to:

• Rewrite the optioned script, Miss Mississippi, and publish it.
• Plot out the 180-year-old story based on a true event and write it as a book. I always thought it should be a screenplay. I still believe it, but…I think it can gain legs as a novella first. A project I’ve been considering for 30 years.
• Add another book or two to my Finding Your Fire series.
• Plot out a story I’ve been mulling for about 20 years that reminds me of Nicholas Sparks’ books and the movie Somewhere in Time.
• Plot out two thriller ideas that were solidified in a write-in weekend two summers ago.
• Consider writing Harbor House and the true event story as screenplays.
• And finally, plot out a 10-second idea that raced past me from start to finish with a shocking ending that came out of the blue while I was playing a game a few days ago. I heard the character talking and could see many of the events. Yup, all in 10 seconds. (I wrote it all down quickly, so I wouldn’t forget.)

All of these projects are nagging at me—as all projects do—with this last one close behind me and whispering in my ear, “You know it’s gotta be me, don’t you?