I kinda hate January. I’m not sure why. False. I know exactly why. It’s because I have to wait so long for another Christmas. I do, though, love that January heralds the start of a fresh, promising year. Setting goals, making resolutions, starting a brand new planner/journal/etc. Oh, yes. The Type-A in me thrills at the thought.

I find that setting hardcore goals for my writing is the best approach for me. I’ve always done well under the pressure of deadlines and expectations. Okay, okay. “Well” is relative. Do I often go crazy from stress? Uh…yeah. But do I usually rise to the occasion? I like to think so.

Looking ahead across the vast expanse of days left in 2017, I find great joy and comfort in the promise of all that the year could become. With that in mind, I optimistically took to my (new) planner and (new) journal to set out The Goals for 2017.

Wanna know what they are? Come in extra-close so I can whisper. I mean, like, uncomfortably close. To the point that you’re going to get a breeze in your hair from my breath… Just kidding. You thought about it for a second, there, didn’t you? Okay, for real, though:

Book Two and Three of The Black Wolf Series.

So…to be fair, if you’ve been paying any attention, that’s not news to you. I’ve discussed my future book plans here and here, and all over Twitter, Facebook, Instagram…and, well, anywhere you can find me. But I’m not talking nebulously, like “Oh, two more books out this year would be fancy.”

I’m saying I have dates and checkpoints and marks to hit. Want proof?

Wait…you can’t tell what any of that says? Yeah, that’s sneaky of me. Not only is this not my full write-up of goals. It’s also impossible to tell when any of those things are going to happen. This is just the little reminder I keep tucked in my planner. It tells me, “Yay, deadlines! Keep going!”

You didn’t really think I would spill all the juicy secrets, did you? I can tell you that Book Two will be out sooner rather than later and Book Three will be out before the last day of 2017. Probably a bit earlier than that. Covers, titles, synopses, and release dates will all be revealed when it’s time–I promise to do my best to make it all worth your wait!

I love that all of 2017 is stretched out before us! A few other things I’d love to do this year:

• Book signing–This was actually offered to me back in November, but I couldn’t make it happen. I’d already sold out of my entire first run of paperbacks and had no way to get more in by the date the bookstore wanted to host me. I’m hoping we can work this out at some point in 2017–maybe after Book Two has arrived.
• Writing/book convention–This is something I’d been interested in attending anyway. When I was in college, the members of the theatre department attended a theatre conference every year and I loved it! When I checked out the schedules and details for the writing and book conferences I’m interested in, I found that several are taking place in locations I’d love to visit. My husband and I have talked briefly about which one(s) we might pick so we can plan a vacation around it. I’m not in planning mode for any yet, but it’s definitely on my radar!
• Meet more authors/readers online–I’ve been having a great time in the two months I’ve been truly active on all my various social media accounts. But I want to do more!
• Read more–I’ll be the first to admit that my reading dropped significantly when I started work on Black Wolf. I would normally go through two to three books per week, at least. In 2016, I barely finished 12 books total. I felt like someone should scold me and take away my Kindle and my library card. So, I’ve joined the 2017 reading challenge on Goodreads and have another little cheat sheet in my planner/journal about my reading goals for 2017. I’ve set my number at 12 (since that’s what I did last year) but I totally intend to crush it by getting in at least 24. Maybe more. We’ll have to see. Life has gotten extremely busy!

Those are the main ones. I make goals and resolutions all year long, so those are bound to morph and change as 2017 moves along. I’m optimistic and excited.

What are your plans, goals, and dreams for 2017?