January 2024 Monthly Musings/Newsletter

January 2024 Musings
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Happy New Year

​Happy New Year, friends! I hope your holidays were happy and full of the fun and traditions you enjoy the most. Now that January is upon us, it’s time to rest up a little, then take a deep breath and look ahead to what this new year holds for us. I wish you all a joyful, healthy, blessed 2024!

I’m excited about my monthly musings/newsletter this year, and I plan to niche down from general writing advice to a more specific twelve month series of posts. I am also looking forward to keeping you posted on all of my publishing news as well! For instance, with the ushering in of the new year, I’m thrilled to be able to say that my debut YA Contemporary/sweet romance FREE SINGS THE SEA will be out in the world THIS September! And my fun MG fantasy adventure MONSTER MOUNTAIN opens up a magical portal for kids in only a year!

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Aside from exciting bookish news, this year I am going to focus each month on the hardships and blessings of being a single mom and a writer. I hope that some of you may find value in the monthly musings, and hopefully a few tips to help you on your writing journey. If you are not a single mom, much of the content this year will still apply to those of you who are creating new worlds from your imagination while caring for people in this one!
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I plan to look at the issue of being a single mom and a writer through an optimistic lens, partly because I tend to look on the bright side by nature, but mostly because I have learned to count my blessings and live in the moment as much as possible. But I will not lie— being a single mom is hard. It’s simple math. Everything is double for the single mom—all of the hardships, the physical exhaustion, the emotional and financial struggles— all of it. 

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But there is great joy as well, and we will talk about it in the months to come. I hope to help in some small way by providing a practical solution to an issue, or by giving encouragement just when it might be needed the most.

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I plan to start next month with some easy ideas to help simplify meal planning and preparation for the busy mom who is also trying to find time to write, then look in the months ahead at other useful ideas to help you throughout the creative process of planning, writing, editing, querying, and hopefully publishing a book!

Thank you all for being with me on this journey, and I count you among my most special blessings in this new year! Happy 2024!

       Love,
       ​Stac