Happy New Year!

My debut year is finally here and I both can and can’t-quite believe it!

Honestly, I’m not normally one to wish the days away, but when you’re counting down to publication, it can be hard not to want time to hurry up just a little.

I signed my book deal back in autumn 2024, at which point summer 2026 felt like a whole lifetime away, but suddenly here we are! At the start of 2026! And I can finally say, ‘My book comes out this year!’

2025 was a funny year writing wise, as I bounced between multiple rounds of edits on The Honeymoon Suite while trying to make a start on my next novel.

I had a few false starts with Book Two, as I switched back and forth between three different potential ideas, even getting 10k words into one story, before realising there were some fundamental flaws in my plot (d’oh!) But I’m finally making some headway, and I’m currently about half-way through a very rough draft of what will eventually be my second book.

This one will be out in summer 2027, so I really do need to get a move on with it (eek!). Needless to say, that will very much be my focus writing-wise for 2026.

I have an absolutely atrocious track record with New Year’s resolutions, having made almost the exact same resolutions for many many years in a row, until I finally faced up to the pointlessness of it all.

However, this year I’ve decided to unpack the whole ‘resolution’ thing, and instead take it as an opportunity to lay out what I actually WANT from this year, rather than using it as a way to essentially be mean to myself, and/or force myself to do things I don’t really want to do, but feel that I should.

So with that in mind, my resolutions for 2026, are:

Dance More

I used to dance regularly, and while I was never especially good at it, that’s kind of beside the point, which is that I loved it, and miss it terribly.

As an adult, I’ve done burlesque, street dance and ballet and loved them all for different reasons. I never officially ‘stopped’ any of them, I just moved away and couldn’t get to the classes anymore.

I think as a writer, I tend to spend a lot of time in my head, which can lead to a bit of a disconnect with your body (honestly, sometimes I genuinely forget I have one, which is fine, until it starts shouting at you). I know that dancing is a great way to reconnect your mind and body to one another, so this year I want to get back to it, even if it’s just dancing around the house, in my jammies!

Bake More

I love baking, but whenever life is busy (which it often seems to be, these days), it completely drops off my radar. I think it’s because I’m very much a hobby baker, and when you’re juggling deadlines and bringing up teenagers, and walking the dog, and tackling the ever-growing mountain of laundry, a hobby can feel like a frivolous thing that’s not deserving of your - sadly finite - time and attention.

But this year, I’m trying to push back against that, especially now that writing - always my number one hobby - is now kind of my job. It feels extra important that not everything I do is tied up in my career or needs to be profitable in some way.

Enjoy Everything My Debut Year Has to Offer

Being a debut author is exciting and nerve-wracking and so much of the process can feel mysterious and unknown. I haven’t yet met with my marketing and publicity team, so I don’t know what the plans are for promoting The Honeymoon Suite, but whatever the year holds, I want to feel able to say yes to every opportunity, keep on pinching myself that this is all really happening, and just soak up every last minute while it lasts!

So those are my New Year’s resolutions (ish) for 2026, and honestly, I’m feeling pretty good about them. Certainly they feel infinitely more do-able than some of the nonsense I’ve set out to do in the past anyway!

Do you set resolutions? Have you ever actually stuck to them? If you’ve got resolutions this year and you’re happy to share, I’d love to know what they are!