Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Before I get to a year-end wrap-up and optimisms for the new year, just let me say thanks to y’all for hanging around for another year. You’re more important to me than you know.

I started this blog in 2007 when I had no idea what I’d do with a blog other than write about my first two books. (out of print) What I do now is nothing like I did in 2007, and I’ve deleted most of those random posts. I also turned this into my website.

My headline is kind of deceiving. For the most part, 2016 wasn’t too bad. It was up and down like a sled on a snowy hill, but I think most of it was like sledding down…the fun part.

The last two months have been like walking back up the hill.

Before starting this post, I looked at my last years New Years wrap-up post. Here’s a short list from the end of last year. I basically have the same plan for 2017 with some additions.

Plan from Last Year:

• Stay healthy. This isn’t starting out very well already.
• Love and hug my fur baby while I can. ❤  Some of you might remember that nearly two years ago, she was tentatively diagnosed with a brain tumor, and the veterinary neurologist said my son and I probably wouldn’t have a year with her. This coming March will be two years.
• Publish! CHECK. Christmas at Love House
• Publish!! CHECK. Whispers of Forever
• Publish!!! I didn’t get three published, but I started writing a new book in 2016, while finishing Christmas at Love House and Whispers of Forever.
• Write whatever new idea comes to my muse during the year. CHECK. I have two new book ideas.
• Begin a new series in 2016. CHECK…done and published.
• Try to stick to a blogging schedule. Semi-schedule? A couple posts a week? At least one? LOL HALF-ASS DONE.

 NOTE: Part way through I decided not to post Short Snippet Saturday and Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse posts on a weekly basis. I did start my Meet Our Heroines mini-blog series, though. All I need now are more heroines! Beth is up next.  😉

In addition, this year I will add:

• Read more books. I hate to admit my Goodreads number of “Books Read This Year,” sucked.
• Publish! Publish! And, I’ll try to publish a surprise third book. One of the books to be published in 2017 is a real challenge to write.
• Publish Lassoing the Last Dance in the first quarter.
• Write more blog posts (Here we go again.)
• Maybe give Pinterest a try.
• Exercise & make better food choices. I know, I know…
• Work on getting my books in print.

I haven’t put much thought into what else I’d add to my plan this year because I never planned on writing a wrap-up post this year. So far it looks like I’m going out on a limb, but I have a year, right?

Not-So-Goods of 2016

My blood boils when I think of some of these.

• With no warning, I had to scramble to find a new editor when I was on deadline. This trickled down to rescheduling my book formatter three times.
• Vertigo. Yes, I have vertigo and I had to take a break from writing when I SHOULD have been writing. This was my first trip to the ER this year. My son thought I was having a stroke when he came over to take the dog out. Scary for both of us.
• Hip and back pain. Lot’s of it.
• One and two star reviews. Ugh, my stomach is still sick over them.

Happy Days

At least the not-so-goods list is shorter than the happy days list. I’m sure I’ve missed some of the happy days. Honestly, being a full time writer is my dream come true, which will always be on the happy list.

• A Wedding! My youngest son got married! I still haven’t seen the professional wedding pictures.

• I have a terrific new editor. This was a very wise decision.
• Blood pressure went down without meds.
• Holiday shopping. Fun dot com shopping! ALEXA, what is…
• Whispers of Forever reached #1 in Hot New Releases in Contemporary Western Fiction in UK and U.S. and stayed there for quite some time. As far as I know, it reached #3 in the same category in Best Selling Contemporary Western Fiction in UK and U.S. I don’t know if it went to #1.
• Christmas Eve. Oh, oh. I’m not sure where this fits. My son came to pick me up for dinner and gift opening.  Mmm, dinner was delicious! Their house looked so pretty dressed for Christmas.

Then…

• I spent three and a half hours in the ER Christmas Eve. This means my son and daughter-in-law also spent three and a half hours in the ER Christmas Eve. My finger was crushed and split open from a knuckle to the nail. Do not sit on chairs that are already broken. Do not do this. They eventually collapse. It’s possible that your hand will be between the floor and the chair when this happens. I’ll spare you seeing the front side of the finger unwrapped.

On top of all this, I wrote this whole post with stitches and a splint on my pinky finger! Do you know how many keys are used by the pinky finger? Including using the shift key for each new sentence and then some?  Oh, well.

Here we go into another brand new year, which brings me to the same quote I shared last year. But, hey, it still fits, huh? Have a fabulous new year!

How about you? Do you have a plan for the new year? How’d last years plan work out for you?

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”