New Year New You? Try saying that 5 times fast! haha

I never subscribed to the idea of writing up new year resolutions because I'm always looking at ways to improve myself. Not only that, but unless they're engraved on a plaque, and hung on a visible wall in my house, I'll likely forget about them. There's nothing like the realization of another failed set of resolutions within the first few months of the new year.

This year, as with every year, life is passing by in a whirling blur. My children are growing up faster than ever and my hair is growing more grey. My mind is busting at the seams with inspiration. I might've hinted at this in the past, but I think I'm finally coming out of a long fog. It feels like waking up from hibernating after a long winter.

If I were to reflect on the previous year, one of my most favourite creative moments was participating in MerMay. It helped expand my story and think about it in ways I didn't originally plan. My characters grew and puzzle pieces fell into place. It's safe to say, as long as I remember, I'm going to look into MerMay again for this year.

There are already things happening behind-the-scenes I'm looking forward to. My work is finally reaching the right people. When I moved to Montreal over a decade ago I started this creative journey. I began to hone my skills and make connections. I started trying different challenges to help me grow. I met fellow creators that I still talk to today. There were many times I wanted to give up but my spirit (and creative buddies) kept pushing me forward. The path to success is never easy but keep pick yourself up because you never know when the right opportunity will come along.

Reading goals!!

Last year I never really set up any reading goals, or the year previous, but this year I want to read at least 50 books. A book a week, maybe. I have so many books in my personal inventory and I want to read them and spread them throughout the book boxes in our area. Maybe I'll even make bookmarks for the books I leave behind.

What I'm reading:

1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

When the book first published in 2007 I was just graduating from high school. The internet wasn't really a big part of my life yet. Heck, I had a measly little phone meant only for phone calls and the odd text. The computer I did have was mainly for writing or playing The Sims.

Cell phones were just starting to become popular when I was in high school. Mine was a Pay-As-You-Go type phone. It had a tiny screen that would light up orange and number buttons you had to press multiple times in order to write out a message. Essentially, it looked like a small calculator that could fit in the palm of you hand. Since it wasn't a phone that was connected to a monthly payment plan, I had to watch my minutes while using it. No unnecessary phones calls or texts. It was purely for emergencies. Internet was out of the question. It would chew through my minutes just waiting for a page to load.

Getting news about new books wasn't really available to me, and I got my books second hand. The books that I read at the time were mostly in the thriller/horror section. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Tami Hoag, and Tess Gerritsen were a few of the authors my mother handed down to me. I hardly ventured into bookstores, but when I did I must've made a mental note to read this. Let's be honest. The initial cover sells it. I remember staring at the cover and marvelling over the metallic background. The story sounded interesting enough, but funds were limited.

Years later, I remember seeing this on sale. Not just the first book but the whole series in a box set. I scooped them up in a heartbeat thinking I'd read them straightaway. Instead, they sat hidden and forgotten in a trunk stashed away in our basement. It wasn't until I binged the Netflix series, Shadowhunters that I remembered I had them! I went on the hunt to find them because I read a review of the TV series that the series butchered the books. Well, I'll be the judge of that! Finally, I'm going to read the series even though I'm forty years old! Gosh, time flies!

It's strange that after all of these years I'm going back to read the books I've always wanted to read. It's fun to go back to those memories of when I first bought the book or put it on my wishlist. It feels like a time capsule of my life. Small snippets of my youth are trapped within the pages of books from my past. As I read through City of Bones I'm reminiscing about what it was like at the age of the characters. I think 19 year old me would be happy to read this series because so I'm enjoying it.

2. A Writer's Workbook by Caroline Sharp

This book, like all of the other books in my collection, has been sitting in my stash for years. I figured I'd read at least one craft book every month and what better book to start the new year with than this one?

A Writer's Workbook is an exercise book to help nurture a daily writing routine or get you out of a writing slump. It's fairly easy to consume and you're not pressured to read it all in one go, and you're certainly not pressured to do all of the exercises. If anything, it helps you buff up your writing muscles.

When it comes to craft books, I sometimes find it difficult to read them. They can be sooooooooo dry!! Most of the time I have to read them with the aid of audiobooks. It's rare for me to read a physical copy of a writing book from front to back, but I have so many. I might still go to audiobooks to help me read through my collection. I don't know if I'll add these books to a book box in the future. I might just keep them for my children.

Looking back at old work!!

Apart from my reading goals I want to work hard on my own story. Recently I found an old sketchbook from Camp NaNoWriMo July 2019!! I think that was the first year I attempted Inktober. I still have that sketchbook too!

To end this post I'll leave you with an excerpt from my 2019 project. The story has grown since with other art challenges adding to the world. It's now become the story I've always wanted to tell. It's quite amazing to see how much it's grown. In a world of AI and instant gratification people are losing touch with the creative process. It's hard to fail, but it's even more satisfying to succeed.

This excerpt was the birth of The Spider and the Wizard. I just didn't realize it until about 2 or 3 years later. It took place in a world that was filled with zombies, and there was a desperate need for the great rains to fall. Hector and his elderly mother set out to find an ancient power to restore the world, but time is not on their side. If you don't mind the errors, I think it's not bad for the baby writer I was! haha

Chapter 1

Across the dusty horizon Hector gave one last look behind him. The sun was setting and death would soon lurk in the shadows. He slept most of the day away hiding himself in the brush of a fallen tree. His night sensitive eyes welcomed the darkness as the sun disappeared with silent decent and he would soon be free,

"Mama, " he nudged at the older woman lying in a heap of dried leaves. She was gaunt and sickly and her bony figure couldn't hide under her dark cloak. "Mama, it's night. We have only a few days before-"

"Yes, I know..."

The woman, stirring from the leaves, lifted the cloak's hood to cover her head and looked Hector in the eye.

"Don't pity me. We're going to make it."

"If you say so."

Hector grabbed the bow and quiver from the ground and put his hand to the soft earth feeling it.

"The earth needs the great rains more than ever, but if we get caught in it-"

"We'll drown."

"Mama, are you sure Tritos can help us?"

"No, but if we don't try... It's going to be more than just my life lost. Our whole village... we worked too hard already."

Hector watched as the shadows grew and the light faded. The night was lit by a full moon and billions upon billions of stars dancing to a silent song. When the sun faded away to darkness the night invited new life to the land.

The stars seemed to lend their light to the plants and creatures and one by one small specks of light began glowing in the valley in front of Hector and his mother. Hector's eye wandered the glowing valley searching for a luscious plant that would sustain them for their night's journey, and then he spotted it.

"Mama, look!" He let his voice fall to a whisper and when he caught her full attention. He pointed to a dune that rested near the rock side of a mountain. Nestled in the crevices of the rock a small glowing plant with bell-like buds swayed in the gentle breeze.

"Those bulbs aren't much but we can still use the medicine. Do you still have the water?" His mother asked.

"I used the last of it yesterday to clean your sores." Hector said. His eyes held the plant in sight.

"We still need the plant. Let's go."

Hector raised a hand stopping his mother from moving. They waited in silence for minutes before a large beast emerged.

The shadowy beast stalked out of the dried out bushes and moved toward the plant Hector had his eye on. Disappointment furrowed his brow as he looked at this creature of the old world. So rare they had become that it was almost like looking at a spirit. The bear sniffed around first the air and then the ground before finding the juicy plant and biting down on the glowing bulbs. Juice squirted from the plant and Hector looked away. His mother sighed.

"There will be more plants," she said, "Better ones."

Hector could only muster a slow nod as frustration burned his cheeks. Strapping the bow and quiver of arrows to his back. He helped his mother out of the bush. Keeping silent so as not to disturb the bear they made their way down a slippery slope and began following a path that a creek left behind. The pebbles crunched beneath every step, the only noise that echoed in the narrow valley until it wasn't. Hector stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. His mother pausing long enough to look with a questioning gaze.

"Bear?"

"I don't think so, "Hector armed himself bringing the bow up in front of him.

All sounds ceased. The hum of insects died. The bear was out of sight and something was following them. Hector crouched signalling for his mother to do the same but she stood tall, face to face with something sinister.