Guess Whose Back?

Hey...so it's me again.

In 2025 I finished my first-ever book series! Finishing the Lavender Falls series was a mixture of exhaustion, relief, and sadness.

Writing A Siren’s Summer For Love took a lot out of me emotionally. And in case you didn’t know, I went through a month of technological hell to get the book published. From Google Docs crashing for two weeks to losing five chapters of revisions, I thought the book wouldn’t get published.

And when it did, I was…over it.

Did I celebrate finishing a book series? No. Was I creatively burnt out? Yes.

And now it’s 2026! I’ll be 29 for less than two months before entering my 30s. Which is scary to think about. Not about being 30, but celebrating it.

Do I have any resolutions for the new year? Not really. I don’t want to focus on resolutions that I’ll forget about in a month but more on a few short things that I know I can try to accomplish.

1. Finish the rough draft for Ms. King Arthur. Which guess what? I did!

2. Better writing schedule. I’m still working on that along with a proper bedtime.

3. Celebrate the little wins. Whether it’s having a skincare routine, drinking water, or writing a chapter in my mafia book. Every little accomplishment matters.

4. Take care of my health better. I have already made certain doctor appointments, and I’ve been drinking two bottles of water a day for at least 8 days straight. Hooray!

Now I do have some mottos that I am adopting in 2026.

1. I’m going to the cottage.

I am a BIG Heated Rivalry fan, and when I heard Ilya say, “I’m coming to the cottage,” at the end of episode 5, I was a big ball of emotions. Ilya decided in that moment that the future he began envisioning for himself could be a reality. He saw hope. And so, for me, the phrase “I’m coming to the cottage” means that I am going after what I want.

2. Rejection is just redirection.

   I adopted this phrase in 2025, and I’m taking it into 2026. As someone who is naturally pessimistic towards herself (hi, trauma), this mindset really helped me get through 2025. I had decided to test querying last year to get a feel for what it is like, and it resulted in many rejections. If you get rejected for something, whether it’s an agent in my case or a job, you are one step closer to a yes. So as I enter my query era for real this time, I will be thinking of that phrase A LOT.

3. Because why TF not?

No, seriously. Because why TF not? I am an overthinker who lives for other people instead of herself. I am always afraid to go for what I want because I think of how it will affect others. So when I’m on my laptop, wondering if I should apply for an event, write a story, or go to an event, I’m going to think, why not? What’s the big deal?

me @ 2026

2026 is the year I turn 30, do a bunch of side quests, and begin achieving my dreams because I’m tired of thinking, maybe one day. So cheers to the end of my 20s, cheers to my future accomplishments, and cheers to you for making it to the end of this Substack!