An Open Book

Photo: Michelle Dean

My house is quiet. Everyone else has returned to their regularly scheduled activities. My husband is at work. My daughter is at school -- and best of all, she has one more week of late starts before the next semester begins, so we both got to sleep in, even though it's a school day.

I am alone with my list. No more excuses. Possibilities beckon.

Yesterday, I read my friend Barb Szyszkiewicz's blog and I had to laugh. Her vacation sounded so much like mine. Clearing her work space (she beat me to that -- mine is still a work-in-progress, but definite progress has been made). Setting goals. Getting ready to dig in again.

A little more than a week ago, at a celebration for my book, Chasing a Second Chance, friends and readers nudged me toward one of the things I want to dig into: finally blowing the dust off a novel I finished more than five years ago and seeing what's there. They did this with a simple question: "So, are you working on something new?"

Others have asked if I'm working on Book 3 of what I've come to think of as the Marita/Angel/Charli story, which is funny, because those characters were only supposed to get one book, yet they've made it clear they have more to say. I haven't ruled out a third book -- perhaps one in which my friend Missy gets her wish and one of my subordinate characters gets a storyline of her own. I've even written a rough first chapter -- but right now, it's time for someone else's story.

Photo: Pixabay

Whose story will you tell this year? Will you focus on your own? Who will inspire you, and how will you stay motivated when inspiration is in short supply?

Brand new year, brand new list, brand new story.

What will yours be?