Blimey, it’s 2015 already! And that means that I have not one, but two books coming out this year – Arsenic for Tea in just 28 days(!), and First Class Murder in August. Madness.
It also means that it’s time for me to write my resolutions for the year ahead, and have a look back at my 2014 plans. In January 2014 I wrote this – so, did I do everything I wanted to back then? Well…
– I did finish Arsenic for Tea! I also very much hope that I made it better. You will be able to tell me whether I did at the end of this month…
– I did rework the Secret Project, but in such a hurry that I’m not sure whether it was much improved by my efforts. My resolution for this year is to not put too much writing stress on my plate – I still would love to turn SP into a real, finished book one day, but Daisy and Hazel have to come first.
– I did my first school visits! And I think they went fairly well. I’ve discovered that I love to do them, anyway. This year, I’m going to do lots more. I also need to remember to be active about getting them – so bookshops, schools and festivals, if you’re reading this now and you need an author to talk about amazing girl detectives, I’m your woman!
– I did write a short story set in the world of Murder Most Unladylike! It is called ‘The Case of Lavinia’s Missing School Tie’ and you can read it here. This year I’d like to write more – I’ve already got some ideas!
– I read a lot. I met my 100 book Goodreads challenge, and more. Here’s my 2014 on Goodreads (and before you wonder why I love everything I read, I only put my favourites up there – it doesn’t seem fair otherwise). I’m going to be doing another 100 book challenge in 2015, and I want to make sure that some of those are adult books, and non-fiction – as I said last year, it’s good for me to keep reading outside the children’s book market as well as in it.
– I did do some rereading. I read old favourites by authors like Noel Streatfeild and Eva Ibbotson – and they were just as wonderful this time around as I remembered. I’ll be doing more of that this year!
– I hope I helped other authors last year. I tried to! And I also hope that my babbling helped spread the word about my favourite children’s books. I’m going to the same in 2015 – actually, you couldn’t stop me talking about YA and MG books if you tried.
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And now, with that sorted, what new resolutions do I have for this year?
– Very practically, I need to finish work on First Class Murder. So I’m putting that down as my first resolution. Wish me luck!
– Once it’s done, I want to work on a new project. I’m not sure what that will look like yet – whether it will be another Daisy and Hazel, or something quite different – but I certainly don’t want to stop writing. I love it!
– I also don’t want to stop reading, and even more importantly I want to remind myself not to ever be ashamed of either reading a book or not reading a book. There are so many good books out there that I don’t want to limit myself in any way – but I also know that it’s absolutely impossible to read everything that’s recommended to me! And that’s fine.
– I want to be proud of all of the nice things that happen to me and my books, without getting carried away by it – I know that fortunes change quickly in publishing, and that I’m currently very lucky!
– I want to keep being a member of SCBWI and other writers’ circles, and keep on supporting other writers. It’s a weird business, and it’s important to stick together!
– I also want to keep showing how very grateful I am to the people who support my books. I can’t ever say it enough, but I really want to try.
– Finally, and slightly differently, I want to make sure to be more than just an author. Writing is fun, and being part of the writing world is amazing, but it can also send you a bit nuts. It’s good to have non-writing friends, and do things that aren’t anything to do with books. I also happen to be moving house this year, so I need to give myself time off writing to do exciting things like paint walls and mow lawns and build IKEA furniture.
So, here’s to 2015. I hope it’ll be busy, and exciting, and very, very interesting.
