January 2, 2024
Another year has passed. My grandmother used to say that the older you get, the faster time goes. I didn't understand it as a girl, but I sure get it now.
Some days I feel like I'm in a holding pattern, or worse, traveling in circles. The changing of the seasons, the repeating calendar, and the mundane nature of daily living, while reassuring, are hardly exciting. And yet we continue on.
The Year of our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Three didn't hold many surprises for me. I settled more deeply into the phase of existence we call retirement. It wasn't without its perils but none couldn't be overcome. In truth, they were minor.
January 2023
I decided to update the covers for the Southern Cross series. They were pretty good, but I wanted to add a banner to each cover and create a cover collage for the overview page. I took another look at Patreon and I don't think it's for me. An old Rayne Forrest book, Step Into Tomorrow, got a new cover and a new launch since it had been off the list for a few years.
February 2023
March 2023
March was a "down" month on the writing front and a busy month on the home and garden front. Seeds were planted and sprouted, cookies were baked, and time was spent watching it rain. A writing project I long wanted to do was begun - Sumner's Garden.
April 2023
April brought the closing of Saturday Evening Romance. I started that blog over ten years ago as an open promo blog for writers but it never really took off. Too many authors abused it by "spam" posting day in and day out. Blogger censored a post about Between the Moon and the Deep Blue Sea, which made no sense at all. They restored it without any hassle.
May 2023
The garden was planted in May and immediately began to thrive. Time to work on Sumner's Garden became limited as the outdoor chores took over. Tending several acres of trees is a never-ending task and the winter clean-up was massive this year.
June 2023
I began to hear more and more about AI (artificial intelligence) and its impact on writing. It feels fake to me and I decided it wasn't for me. I don't care if it takes me several months to complete a manuscript. I want the words to be my own. I looked into resurrecting a newsletter but June was not the time. The Lord of the Manor put his rusty mechanic skills to good use by swapping out the old motor on the log splitter to one that starts with a key. I am grateful. The tomatoes produced blossoms.
July 2023
Work on Sumner's Garden went well. I got the cover made which boosted my determination to find time to get it finished. The debate about AI heated up over AI apparently mining data from every book online with or without the author's permission. Canada was inundated with wildfires and the smoke reached some of the US's southern states. We had weeks of hazy days and could smell the smoke. There were days we only went outside to see to Deuce's needs.
August 2023
August is harvest time. I was pleased with my garden. I put together a limited edition of Shining Victory and No One But You, the story of Levi and Stacy. It was only available until December 31, 2023, and it will be a long time until the limited edition is available again, if ever.
September 2023
Sometimes you make a choice you don't like and so it was in September. I pulled the plug on my .com website. It started out on Yahoo, which I liked, then transferred to a different company, got transferred again and again and again until Verizon ended up with it, and that I hated. The software became unworkable, so I let it go. I still own the domain, though. I also passed a milestone at Between the Keys with blog number 1200. The garden finished and I moved on to wood-cutting season.
October 2023
The tree trimmers came and took down a huge leaning maple leaving tree carnage in the west forty in their wake. The Lord of the Manor had doctor appointments which took precedence. I ended up going back to work for eight weeks while my protégée was on maternity leave - and then she got Covid. I'd only planned for a six-week stint, but it all worked out. She's fine.
November 2023
Finally! After struggling with the cover blurb for Sumner's Garden, I got it worked out. I pushed the button on Sumner's Garden and it went live on the nineteenth. We enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal for two. It's amazing that after almost thirty years we still like each other.
December 2023
A new story is in the works and I have an idea for the one after that. Maybe two. Time will tell. I surprised myself and got the cover finished, so that's one less thing to worry about down the road. The lack of a .com website still concerns me, and I may have to resort to hiring someone to set up a generic site and explaining it to me. It used to be so simple and I think it's been made more difficult so we do need to hire help. We'll have to see where that goes.
_*_*_
There you have it - my 2023 retrospective. I didn't meet all my goals in 2023, and that doesn't bother me. The main thing is I stayed on a path that was true to myself. I don't think I can do much better than that.
I have a list of things I'd like to see happen in 2024, and creating more videos about my rural living tops the list. Lack of focus is the enemy. I allow myself to waste time sitting in the garden and talking to the plants, or talking to the dog. Retirement should not equate to becoming lazy. Success will be structuring my time better, although I admit the pace I choose will give me time to simply smell the roses.
Here's to 2024! May we all stay healthy and prosper!
KC/Rayne
The 2017 Retrospective
The 2016 Retrospective
The 2015 Retrospective
The 2014 Retrospective
The 2013 Retrospective
The 2012 Retrospective
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