As I was sorting through my yearly data, I noticed a few trends. Some good. Some bad. But I really wanted to focus on the one that made me proud. The biggest one being the consistency in my writing and publishing over the last four years.

When I thought about what to include in this post, I considered going back to my first year as a self- published author (2015), but then I realized that milestone of ten years is next year. So I’ll save that analysis for 2025. What really stood out to me were the last four years. Let’s review my writing and publishing from 2020 to 2023.

I learned a LOT about myself and my capabilities over these last four years…including the ability to recognize burnout. But what really stuck with me is the knowledge that I could crush any goal I set (reasonable goals, mind you.)

The starting point: In 2020, I was living in Italy…and we got locked down hard. To where the kids and I couldn’t leave our property for three months. So what did I do with my newfound free time and obvious frustration? I poured it into a new writing project, something I’d neglected while we were living in Italy.

See, up to that point, I’d been writing one, maybe two books a year. Only publishing sporadically, without any true direction or goals. But 2020 changed all that.

It all began with A Lockdown Love Affair, my first contemporary romance. I poured all my irritation and impatience into that story as I sat in lockdown. But it took on a life of its own as did Ben and Penelope. They became a way for me to refocus my attention and be creative again. Then I wrote A Holiday Love Affair, as well as Mistletoe and Mistakes and a short story featuring the two main characters from A Lockdown Love Affair titled Christmas Tease and Kylo Ben. These stories were a catalyst. They showed me how much I could write and publish….not to mention how quickly I could do it while keeping the quality on point with my brand.

Suddenly, I had a new direction. A new goal. And in 2021, I was determined to get my writing back on track and build my backlist by writing all the books I had been putting off. I made a plan. Write one book every two months, and hot damn, I stuck to it.

That first year in 2020, I didn’t use a word count tracker. But in 2021, I did. I was determined to keep myself on track.

Six books in twelve months. I was pretty fucking proud of myself. And what’s better? I published five books that year in the middle of an overseas move back to the US. This set the standard. After 2021, I knew I could do it again.

So I set my goals for 2022 and crushed them.

Five books written in twelve months, and I published seven that year. Why slow down now?

When 2023 hit, I knew I had found my stride. I could do it again. This time my goal was six books written in twelve months and publish five.

Last year I came up a little short, but that’s because I picked up a new job in September at Barnes and Noble. As a new store, we had a lot to do, and it rolled right into the holiday season. So I had limited time to get the writing done, but I finished strong with my five publications going off with no problems.

But I knew I couldn’t keep up that pace and work without hitting burnout levels. So this year, I’ve readjusted my goals to fit my needs.

In 2024, I’ll continue to write. Here’s the list:

• The Fangirl Confessions Series (Five Novellas focusing on five secondary characters we met in Confessions of a Fangirl when Jen attended the Philly Comic Convention.) Each of these should be around 25k words. Rom Com. Low Angst. Fun, sexy, steamy reads. Titles listed below.
  • The Cosplayer
  • The Artist
  • The Bodyguard
  • The Director
  • The Author
• The Huntsman’s Oath, Book 3 in The Huntsmen Series. This is Garoth’s story. Word Count Goal: 60k words. Fantasy/Fairy Tale. Shifters. Older MCs. Darker. Spicy.
• A Pirate’s Pawn, Book 2 in Pirates and Persuasion. This is Mr. Smee and Madame Tink’s story. Word Count Goal: 50k words. Historical Fantasy-ish. Pirates. More Steam/Spice. Kinky.

On the publishing side, I’ll only be releasing two books in 2024.

• Queen Takes Hook, Book 1 in Pirates and Persuasion (April 23)
• Death and Desire, Love in Cairo (October 29)

These last four years have not only increased my backlist, but they’ve helped me grow as an indie author. I’ve expanded my marketing strategies, but more importantly, I’ve actively engaged with readers who want to read the stories I write.

I’m always searching for readers like me who adore the romance genre above all others, but we’re mood readers and love to bounce from one subgenre to another. One day we indulge in a contemporary rom com, the next, a spicy romantasy or a dark paranormal romance. I still treasure my historical romances, but there are so many wonderful books, I can’t possibly cling to one small corner of a HUGE sparkling tapestry! I love all subgenres of romance and support those authors I read in any way I can. We’re a community, not competition.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my process for planning. Maybe it will help you set some new goals this year. Who knows, the possibilities are endless. 😍

Sending you all the love and positivity! If I can do it, you can too. xoxo