October 2025 (First Round) Scare: Tomorrow Action: Updating Character: A Doorman Time Constraint: 48 hours Length: 400 words
The emergency sirens split the scream-ridden air as we race toward the shelter. The alarms have been going off for hours now, and at this point, I doubt there’s anyone left to turn them off. Shattering glass and gunshots pepper the panicked streets as the clock ticks toward midnight, the uncanny lights hovering above the city. Sophie clings to me as I run while tugging Liam along with one hand and updating my voicemail with our destination for the friends and family I couldn’t reach.
“What about Daddy?” Liam shrieks as we dodge around a raving drunk.
“He’ll meet us there.” The lie is sour on my tongue, but I wasted so much time trying to contact my shifty ex-husband with the tomorrow ultimatum breathing down our necks. I gave him as many minutes as I could, but nightmares require sacrifices.
We turn the corner, and finally the solid concrete building of town hall comes into view with four minutes left.
A tall man in a bullet-proof vest with a rifle slung over his shoulder stands in front of the door. Chest heaving, I stagger up to him and flash the email on my phone. “We’re assigned to this shelter.”
A baseball cap obscures his eyes, and a neck gaiter is pulled up over his nose, muffling his voice. “We’re full.”
I freeze, blood roaring in my ears as Sophie whimpers into my shoulder. “But they said we’d be safe here,” I say. “Where else are we supposed to go?”
“Go home,” the doorman says.
I shove my phone in his face, only two minutes left and sweat running down my nose. “We’ll never make it.”
“Andrea.” The doorman squeezes my arms, and I finally recognize my ex, his gaze fervent. “It’s full.”
The siren falls silent and with it, the city, as if the world collectively holds its breath.
“But, Matt, they’re feeding…” Tears trickle down my cheeks, and my gaze darts to the threatening lights now blotting out the darkness. I tried to protect my babies. I swear, God, I tried.
The hungry lights pinpoint the building, and a massive, inhuman shadow drops from the sky onto the roof. I gasp, my body going rigid. They’re coming for us.
Matt folds us in his arms, hiding Liam’s face. “Don’t look.”
And when the screams start, and blood sprays the windows from the inside—I remember.
Nightmares require sacrifices.
This one came in third place in my group and advanced me to round 2. The feedback is below!
WHAT THE JUDGES LIKED ABOUT YOUR STORY
{2549} The setting is super interesting and creatively sci-fi creepy. I loved it! The story’s urgency is evident through word choices (nouns and verbs) such as emergency sirens, split, shrieks, roaring, and the world collectively holds its breath. The twist in the end, where Matt seems to allow the people IN the shelter to become the sacrifice, is quite unexpected. Nice job.
{2144} I really like the set up of the story and the way you drop us right in the middle of the action. The sounds of the chaos around the narrator and her children, them having to run to the shelter with just minutes to spare, and the blaring sirens all really provide a lot of tension and urgency to the story from the very get-go. I also really love the silence that happens the minute it actually turns to midnight. The sudden change in atmosphere really gives a quick glimpse of the scale of things to come.
{2573} That last line sent a proper shiver down my spine! This was such a complex story to fit into such a small word count and I really liked the sci-fi aspect of it. The shifty ex-husband that turns out to be protecting her was a nice touch. Updating the voicemail with a location was a brilliant way to include the prompt – really original! I liked the twist too – that the safe zone she’d been assigned to was in fact a kill shelter of sorts. The whole piece had very WWII vibes to it, with the sirens and gunfire feeling reminiscent of the blitz, and the town hall feeling like a gas chamber. Add a little War of the Worlds and you’re right there. I don’t know if that was intentional, but it brought to mind a very vivid picture for me.
WHAT THE JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK
{2549} A craft issue of clarity happens here: “I wasted so much time trying to contact my shifty ex-husband with the tomorrow ultimatum breathing down our necks. I gave him as many minutes as I could, but nightmares require sacrifices.” Specifically, what is the tomorrow ultimatum, why does it matter, and how come it’s not mentioned again? Does it have a connection to the story’s ending? Clarity is perhaps the most important writing element to master in flash fiction because we get so few words to get the meaning across. You can fix the issue in a couple of ways. 1. Cut the reference. (I realize that also takes out “tomorrow,” but the revision is still valid. 2. Clarify what the narrator means by “tomorrow.” Again, does it foreshadow the ending? If so, help the reader understand that better. All the best to you!
{2144} I think the set up is so great and provides instant momentum to the story, but I’m not quite sure if I follow why Matt doesn’t let the narrator and his kids into the shelter. Is the shelter actually full? Or is Matt just being a jerk? If he also had access to the shelter, why did he not tell the protagonist and her children? I just think that the series of events as Matt denies them entry need to be a little more cohesive so we can understand why the narrator and her children are left to danger. I also think in general it would be helpful to have a line or two more about the ultimatum. I don’t quite understand what the advantage is of staying home versus being in the shelters, and more information about that would help us understand the importance of these final seconds and why it all comes down to that to try to get to a new location.
{2573} It’s a small thing, but I would have liked to know a bit more about the Tomorrow Ultimatum, because I didn’t really have a sense of what was happening right up until the end. I appreciate that the word count is tight, but you could take out the sentence about the alarms having been going off for hours, which would give you a few words to build the threat round the ultimatum.
Thanks for reading! You can find the rest of my NYC Midnight Challenge entries and feedback here.
January 2025 (Second Round) Genre: Romantic Comedy Action: Measuring Height Word: Memo Time Constraint: 48 hours Length: 250 words
When I agreed to cat-sit for Grandma, I wasn’t expecting a life-or-death situation, but there I was, brandishing tuna beneath a tree as I tried to talk my feline nemesis down from a slow suicide.
Thankfully, thirty hours after my online cry for help, a pickup rolled into Grandma’s drive. But when Adonis himself stepped out of the truck, my brain officially broke. His biceps flexed as he swept a hand through his dark hair, long lashes framing stunning blue eyes.
Only then did I realize I hadn’t put a bra on or even looked in a mirror in the last two panic-stricken days.
Was this my punishment for secretly putting Meowchiavelli on a diet?
Adonis lifted his phone, a measuring app glowing on the screen. “Poor guy’s forty feet up.” He winked. “I’m glad you called.”
“R-right,” I stammered, memorizing the face of my desperation-induced hallucination. In minutes, he’d thrown a rope over a branch and pulled himself skyward—a true hero in action.
But just as he reached for Meowchiavelli, the cat scrambled back and fell off the branch. I screamed as the cat tumbled onto Grandma’s second-story roof, and in a streak of orange lightning, bolted to the porch and through his cat door.
Adonis returned to the ground with pink cheeks. “Uh, sorry about that. Still working on the technique.”
Finally, my brain rebooted. “Maybe we could talk about it over dinner?”
When he nodded with a sheepish grin, I decided I liked Meowchiavelli after all.
Alas, this one didn’t place, but the feedback is below!
WHAT THE JUDGES LIKED ABOUT YOUR STORY
{2415} In “A Meowchiavellian Matchmaker,” the writer does an excellent job pulling the reader into the story with the narrator’s fun, conversational voice. The love-hate dynamic between the narrator and Meowchiavelli also adds some wonderful and hilarious beats as the narrator builds up the courage to ask her Adonis cat savior to dinner.
{1943} This story really made me smile! The premise was cute, and the characters were vividly portrayed. I laughed at the way our poor protagonist realized that she hadn’t put on a bra or even looked in the mirror for two days! The contrast with the gorgeous looking Adonis was stark, creating a delightful tension as we wondered what he thought of her. The cat rescue was entertaining – I laughed as Meowchiavelli shot off the roof, to the porch, and in through his cat door. What a great moment! I loved the invitation to dinner at the end, and I really wanted to see what happened next, after his adorable meet-cute. 🙂
{2376} This is a funny and engaging story driven by a strong character. The way that you introduce us to our main character through a narrative voice that’s in turns vulnerable and acerbic not only hooks the reader in, but also immediately connects us with her. The way that she describes Adonis not only establishes her desire, it also establishes a wonderful sense of suspense. And the way that you reverse that feeling of suspense, revealing Adonis to be a fallible as embarrassed as our MC, makes for an unexpected twist that sets up a romantically satisfying ending.
WHAT THE JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK
{2415} This story is such a delight to read, with a fun narrator and cat hijinks leading to an adorable meet cute. If you were looking to develop this story further, there was only one moment where I wished we could have had closer access to the narrator’s perspective. You do such a fabulous job keeping us in the narrator’s emotional state–such as when she begs Meowchiavelli to come down from the tree and then sees the hot guy exiting his truck–but in this climatic moment as she watches Meowchiavelli’s descent, I felt a little emotionally distanced from the narrator. We see she screams, but after her vivid language and imagery in the story’s opening, I didn’t share the narrator’s tension and fright at this moment. I understand adding more to the story isn’t possible with the limited word count, but I honestly don’t think you need more. Perhaps reframing what you already have and positioning it more firmly through the narrator’s emotional pov (maybe heightening your word choices so they mirror the narrator’s fear more) might help raise the tension of this climactic moment before the narrator dares to ask her cat rescuer to dinner.
{1943} I felt that your story became stronger and stronger as it progressed. I did wonder about the opening paragraph. Could we open with showing her with the tuna under the tree – maybe writing this scene more directly? Then, could you show us in a more subtle way that she was cat sitting for her grandmother? For me, phrases such as “I wasn’t expecting a life-or-death situation” felt a little too much like telling instead of showing, whereas the idea of her trying to talk the cat down from the tree was entertaining and intriguing. Perhaps you could be more specific about the cry for help from Adonis. Could you show us who he was, perhaps with a detail such as a sign on the truck? Again, this felt rather like telling – could you find a way to show us instead?
{2376} There’s a lot already going right in this story, but something to consider in a potential revision would be to tweak the way that Adonis arrives on the scene. The line in the current draft about how Adonis shows up thirty hours after an online cry for help is funny, but also presents the reader with more questions than the story has time to answer–why does it take so long for Adonis to arrive? Is he a stranger from the internet or someone she knows? Perhaps shrinking the time frame or even separating Adonis from the cry for help (having it that she puts out the call only to have this friendly stranger stop as they’re driving by) would simplify his arrival in a way that keeps the reader fully engaged in the story. One other, small, thing would be to rephrase the line “desperation-induced hallucination.” This is another funny line, but it also invites the reader to wonder if our MC is imagining Adonis entirely, which doesn’t seem to be the story’s intent.
Thanks for reading! You can find the rest of my NYC Midnight Challenge entries and feedback here.
March 2025 (First Round) Genre: Sci-fi Action: Gambling Word: Grade Time Constraint: 24 hours Length: 100 words
No matter what technical wonders humans contrive or the lightyears we travel, we’ll always carry our vices along. One to dull senses, one to shorten lives into sharp little peaks, and one to trade creds for the dream of riches. Certainly, I never miss a poker night. With my cybernetic upgrade, I read players like a book and calculate odds in a blink, but as long as I laugh along with the spacefarers, as long as I let them win just enough, they’ll keep coming back. Even on the far side of the ’verse, money always runs out before hope.
Unfortunately, this one didn’t place. The feedback is below!
WHAT THE JUDGES LIKED ABOUT YOUR STORY
{2548} “The Lengths We Go For Hope” is an interesting take on the prompt that outlines how human persistence always prevails. I like how you related simple human habits to a futuristic existence, showing that no matter how inhuman one may become, their old human habits will die hard–very creative!
{2551} The opening idea, that humans will always have vices regardless of how much we achieve, is an interesting idea that also solves as a strong entry point to the character and what he spends his time doing and exploiting.
{1937} The first-person narration was wonderfully conceived and executed, the cybernetically-enhanced protagonist offering a guru-like perspective on what is ostensibly a 21st century redux of the Wild West.
WHAT THE JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK
{2548} I feel like the line “One to dull senses, one to shorten lives into sharp little peaks, and one to trade creds for the dream of riches” is not necessary if you’re not going to reference those specific vices. Going straight from “[…] we’ll always carry our vices along” to “Certainly, /I/ never miss a poker night” is much stronger. You could use the words you save by eliminating that line to maybe explain the setting more. I found myself asking, “Is this a gambling-specific planet or something they concocted as a pastime while traveling?” I’d love to know more!
{2551} Right now, this piece is more of the set up of a story than a story all on its own. (Or it may be a conclusion to a story about how the character ended up with this life.) We have a good sense of the narrator’s current life and views, but a full story needs a change, whether it’s to a person’s character, beliefs, life, relationships, or the character changing something outside of themselves. Right now, the story doesn’t have that change and as a result doesn’t have a plot.
{1937} The protagonist seems to have a good head on his shoulders; fully aware of the myriad dangers and pitfalls of the interplanetary poker scene. Might there be a moment or two in which that assuredness falls by the wayside (in turn: turbocharging the story stakes)?
Thanks for reading! You can find the rest of my NYC Midnight Challenge entries and feedback here.
December 2025 (First Round) Genre: Historical Fiction Action: Quenching Word: Other Time Constraint: 48 hours Length: 250 words
I smelled the fire before I saw it. But even with my lips chapped by drought, I paid the wind’s taint no mind. The evening chill required our hearths to warm our stews and our bones.
But the screams from the railroad were undeniable—the glow on the horizon much too late for sunset. The flames leapt from tree to tree with wicked speed, like demons racing from hell to claim us.
Peshtigo came alive with panicked shrieks. Adrenaline blotting out all else, I raced for Beth’s house. Though we had yet to speak our vows, if the reaper was to find us, I wanted to be at her side. We crashed together on main street, the flames already licking at the roofs around us—the tears on her face glowing in the inferno.
Smoke clogged our lungs and embers peppered our skin. Elizabeth’s skirt caught flame, and in desperation, I dragged her to the well. She sobbed as I lowered her down, praying she’d survive the fall. She dropped with a splash and a hiss, the icy, knee-high water quenching her smoldering dress. I clambered after her, and we clutched one another through the night. The cold nearly killing us in hateful irony.
But perhaps the greatest irony of all was that the headlines would only remember Chicago’s flames on that same October day.
I suppose because Chicago still had people to grieve her losses.
In the mass graves of Peshtigo, there weren’t enough left of us to mourn.
Unfortunately, this one didn’t place, but the feedback is below!
WHAT THE JUDGES LIKED ABOUT YOUR STORY
{2501} The description throughout this story is so vivid and creates powerful images of these devastating events, allowing for a strong emotional impact. You do a great job describing feelings of fear and the terrifying sensation of running through a burning town. Elizabeth’s skirt catching fire is a particularly effective moment of building tension before it’s revealed that the narrator saves her by getting her into the well. I also thought the comparison at the end of how Chicago’s fire is remembered more even with less deaths was a powerful ending to further showcase just how tragic this event was. Overall, some of my favorite lines throughout the story include “The flames leapt from tree to tree with wicked speed, like demons racing from hell to claim us” and “Smoke clogged our lungs and embers peppered our skin.”
{2373} There’s a truly haunting story here. The author brings the horrors of the Peshtigo fire and this narrator’s plight to life through active, sharp prose. The second paragraph alone is truly horrific and paints great images of the conflagration, namely the “screams from the railroad” and the flames leaping “like demons racing from hell to claim us.” I also like how in addition to the immediate and broader external stakes for the community, the author’s woven in the personal and emotional ones with the narrator’s desperate efforts to save Elizabeth. The description of her in the well yet again highlights the author’s powerful prose (along with the irony of the cold being an antagonist): “She dropped with a splash and a hiss, the icy-knee high water quenching her smoldering dress.” Lastly, the coda works well on several levels: It both highlights the narrator’s understandable anger, while also deftly reminding us about the more famous fire that’s consumed Chicago.
{2458} Wow—your story gripped me from beginning to end with its visceral sensory imagery, use of suspense, and final note of historical irony by contextualizing the tragedy in global awareness (or the lack thereof). I especially enjoyed how you transitioned to this larger historical context with the clever parallel use of irony; just as Beth and the narrator leap from the flames to the water, you leap seamlessly from Peshtigo to the media.
WHAT THE JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK
{2501} The story could be even stronger with more personal resolution for Elizabeth and the narrator’s experience. Typically, we think of wells as being relatively deep, so I wondered if they were able to get out on their own come morning or if they had to be rescued by the few other survivors. If they needed help getting out, I think there could be power in the emotions of not knowing if there was anyone left to come help them. I also wondered if they suffered any personal losses in the fire, like family members or close friends. If so much of the population perished, it would make sense if they did, and I think seeing some of that grief at that end could be effective. To make room for these details in the word count, consider removing the first few sentences to start the story with “The screams from the railroad…”
{2373} To heighten the emotional stakes, I think it might be good to get more of a sense of why the narrator loves Beth. Given that this is a time of significant duress, that will help us see what the narrator could potentially lose in this conflagration. I also think it might be good to slow down and try to describe the increasing cold a tad more, so that we can feel that dark tension; I get that the word count limits make that tough, but I do think an additional line could heighten the terror of the cold on the page. On a micro level, I’d suggest a number of trims throughout. For example, in the second paragraph, I think the author could omit “wicked speed;” that’s clear from the emphasis on the flames leaping and in that great comparison to “demons racing from hell to claim us.” In the third paragraph, I would omit “panicked;” the shrieks strongly imply the sense of panic, given the situation. In the fourth paragraph, we also don’t need to be told that the narrator drags Elizabeth to the well “in desperation;” again, we can infer that because of her skirt’s on fire. I also think the author could omit “hateful irony” when describing how the narrator and Elizabeth almost perished. We can see that irony for ourselves; the story’s far more powerful if the author doesn’t point it out, along with directly telling us how ironic it was that Chicago burned on the same day; just mentioning Chicago alone shows us that irony, especially juxtaposed against the aftermath of Peshtigo (but that coda, again, otherwise works quite well). But I wish the author well! This piece has so much potential!
{2458} The primary feedback for improvement I have about your story regards this sentence: “Though we had yet to speak our vows, if the reaper was to find us, I wanted to be at her side.” Because the vows are never mentioned again, they felt a little ambiguous and a narrative thread left somewhat uncontextualized, and thus I think you should clarify that (I think) Beth and the narrator are engaged, to prevent any excess confusion; for me personally I only realized this after multiple reads. To make room for this relationship clarification, I recommend you cut down on some of the setup description on the fire, such as the demons comparison, which isn’t absolutely necessary to conveying the utter terror of the fire.
Thanks for reading! You can find the rest of my NYC Midnight Challenge entries and feedback here.
So this year, I DNF’d early and often, and I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better reading year. If a book wasn’t absolutely HOOKING me by the 20%, I left it behind. I’m sure I probably missed some 4-stars books, but my percentage of 5-star reads was so much higher. There were some books I stayed up late reading, and this was the first year in many I’ve done that. It was so hard to come up with a Top Ten, but I tried my best. Ordering them 1-10 is a step too far, but the first five went onto my “all-time favs” Goodreads shelf, which has a grand total of 29 books, so yeah, like I said… it was a good reading year. Without further ado:
1. Best Fiction that resonated in my bones
Fredrik Backman officially takes a place as one of my favorite authors, handling heavy topics with humor and packed with so much truth, you can feel the words vibrate through you. Literally recommend this one to everyone.
2. Favorite Cozy Mystery
Cozy, heartfelt, and unique. A book that melts you and puts you back together again, bringing a hint of mystery and all the warm fuzzies. Also recommended to everyone, and I will absolutely be on the lookout for Shelby Van Pelt’s next book.
3. Most Addictive Thriller Series
Possibly the best surprise of 2025 for me. I picked them up because it was available on Libby when I needed an audiobook in the middle of a roadtrip, and then I could NOT put it back down. Dexter + Count of Monte Cristo + A splash of spicy romance. If that sounds like your thing, this cathartic breakneck series is for you.
4. Most Addictive Paranormal Series
Ilona Andrews’ The Innkeeper Chronicles is one of my favorite series of all time, so I’m so glad I checked into her other paranormal series, The Hidden Legacy. This one had me staying up late to read, and I absolutely adored it. If you’re looking for fast-paced action, fun banter, loveable characters, an X-men vibe, and a little spicy romance, this one’s for you.
5. Best Cozy Paranormal
The found family in this one, soft magic, emotional growth, and slowburn romance was absolutely pitch perfect. It felt like a nice hot bath of a novel with a few fun twists, and I’d recommend this one to anyone looking for a cozy read they can sink into.
6. Best Nonfiction
So John Green was one of my favorite authors as a teenager, so I guess it should surprise me not at all that I love his nonfiction as an adult. I’m extremely picky about nonfiction, but I first read Everything is Tuberculosis which I enjoyed, and then was doubly surprised to enjoy this one even more. The voice, honesty, emotion, and humor just hit on every poignant level, and even my 9-year-old enjoyed listening in on our way to basketball practice. At one point, my eyes got all glassy and let me tell you, that is *not* an easy thing to do. I literally cannot remember the last time I actually spilled a tear for a book, and this one brought me close. So yeah, this is another one I would recommend to everyone.
7. Best Middle Grade
Excellent middle-grade is criminally underrated, I read some quite a few incredible ones this year, and discovered that Gary D. Schmidt is friggin’ brilliant. The subtlety he brings to the hardest subjects to both destroy and put you back together is just incredible. I would *love* to talk about this one with my middle-grade book-dragon club, and I definitely recommend it to everyone.
8. Best YA Fantasy
This genre is near and dear to my heart, and I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve gotten my hands on one I could really sink my teeth into, but this was such a fabulous surprise. The world building was absolutely on point, I was intrigued throughout, and I’m very much looking forward to diving into the sequel. Recommended for anyone looking for a YA Fantasy with complex characters and a unique world.
9. Best holiday romance
Holiday romances usually aren’t my thing, so this was a great surprise (courtesy of book club.) The premise was fantastic and executed brilliantly, with lovable characters, and great banter. Like honestly, bring me the movie already. (And the sequel!)
10. Best Fantasy Romance
This was another book-club-responsible find, though not the pick of the month, which was a crying shame because this was a delightfully strange reimagination of You’ve Got Mail. Unique magical world, quirky characters, excellent banter, and simmering romance – I’d definitely recommend this to people looking for something a little off the beaten path with equal parts quirky fantasy and romance.
And that’s a wrap on 2025!
And that’s a wrap on my reading year! I’ve got 13 reviews from 2025 reads that’ll be posting in January to catch up, but if you ever have any specific reader-y, or writer-y topics you’d like me to jump into, just let me know!
Get ready, because we’re about to get real in this one.
Welcome to my end-of-the-year writing review! This is where I try to take a bird’s eye view of the year and my writing year in general to sum up the big wins, the losses, areas I’m doing well in, and others I could improve. This is where I see if I hit my 2025 goals and make new goals and predictions for 2026.
Last year, I said 2025 could very well be the year that would make or break me. But naturally, there is very little that’s so black and white. My writing career took some big steps forward this year, and I had some fun surprises, but there were also some warning signs that have me trepidatious about 2026.
So, going into this post, I obviously have some big mixed feelings, and honestly, writing this post is going to be a little bit of a self-discovery adventure for me because at this moment, I really don’t know what the big rock takeaways from this year are.
The hope is, by the time I finish writing this, I’ll have a better idea—so let’s jump in and see!
first, the numbers
Words written: 70,000 (House of the Chosen, finished drafting) + 28,000 (A Witch’s Game of Moonlight & Mischief, finished drafting with E.P. Stavs) + 88,000 (Paranormal Mystery Title TBA) + 400 (Chase vs The Doom Spiral picture book) + 64,000 (So He Burned Down the World For You) = 250,400 words (-12% from last year)
Words revised: 90,000 (House of the Chosen) + 75,000 (A Witch’s Game of Moonlight & Mischief) + 86,000 (Paranormal Mystery Title TBA) + 400 (Chase vs The Doom Spiral picture book) = 251,000 (-14% from last year)
Words published: 83,000 (Into the Abyss) + 41,000 (A Churn in the Dark) = 124,000 (-2% from last year)
Words on sub: 67,000 (Exit Seats) + 75,000 (Codename: CNDRLA) = 142,000 words (-11% from last year)
2025 Total Words Worked: 767,400 (-11% from last year)
Sales Numbers: ~535 self-published books sold (-9% from last year, includes audiobooks but not my titles with Whimsical Publishing.). Another 10,487 downloaded for free. (+10% last year’s count)
And the Goodreads numbers.
Odriel’s Heirs: 290 ratings (+12%) / 4.23 stars
Burning Shadows: 48 ratings (+20%) / 4.62 stars
Idriel’s Children: 91 ratings (+11%) / 4.40 stars
Night of Ash: 31 ratings (+11%) / 4.65 stars
Time’s Orphan: 98 ratings (+8%) / 4.60 stars
The Gatekeeper of Pericael: 115 ratings (+12%) / 4.10 stars
Into the Churn: 467 ratings (+38%) / 4.23 stars
Into the Fire: 112 ratings (+56%) / 4.50 stars
A Churn in the Dark: 53 ratings (+253%) / 4.58 stars
Into the Abyss: 47 (+1075%) / 4.72 stars
A Churn in the (Virtual) Society: 16 / 4.81 stars
My Goodreads total: 1372 ratings (+32%) / 4.34 stars
If you want to compare the totals to last year more directly, my 2024 summary is here.
As far as words go, I’m not surprised I had less words this year. At the end of last year, I was questioning why I was pushing myself to move so fast, and that mentality continued through this year. With multiple books on sub, 6 books scheduled to release in the next 3 years, and the pervasive feeling that I was out of balance, I intentionally took a step back from writing intensity this year.
While I snagged two BookBub deals this year, they weren’t quite as successful as sales I’ve run in years past. That could be due to the fact that I’m getting farther away from release, so I’m seeing diminishing returns from the BookBub audience, or potentially just that with each passing year, my books are competing with more book releases as well as books currently on the market. (I’ll touch more on this later.)
Looking forward to 2026, I wouldn’t be surprised if my words-worked number goes down again, and I fully expect my self-published numbers to go down as I pivot to promoting my newer books (such as the completed Into the Churn series and my 2026 releases.)
the highlights
Through the work of our amazing agent, Kristen Terrette from Martin Literary, E.P. Stavs and I had two offers on our Quirky YA Paranormal, Midnight Falls, and we scored a 2-book deal with Charlesbridge Publishing for release in Fall 2027 & 2028. I cannot understate what a HUGE deal this was for us. I knew if I was going to continue moving forward, I needed to sign a deal with publisher through my agent this year, so this was truly a dream come true. It’s hard to wait, but Erin and I are SO excited for to see Midnight Falls launch in 2027.
What Book 2 will be is still up in the air. Erin and I are hoping it’ll be the second stand-alone book in our “Magical Tourism” series, but the publisher could ask for a direct sequel to Midnight Falls, so hopefully we’ll find out in 2026!
Whimsical Publishing acquired my NA Paranormal Mystery (title TBA) and book 1 of the planned trilogy is set to release on May 26th! This was also a huge deal for me. I didn’t have any releases planned after Into the Churn completed in September 2025, so I knew I had to successfully pitch to Whimsical if I wanted to have a 2026 release. Great news: they LOVED it 🥹, and I’m so excited to see what readers think of this new adventure!
With the release of Into the Abyss (book 3) and A Churn in the Virtual Society (book 3.5), the Into the Churn series was completed! This was a hugely satisfying moment, I’m so glad we were able to complete the series for the readers, and it’s so much more fun to be able to promote a completed series!
Codename: CNDRLA and Exit Seats went on submission, and The Ninth Circle went out to another round of editors! Being on submission is emotionally tough, but I think I finally got the hang of weathering it this year. (more on this later.) I’m beyond grateful to my amazing agent and her unending encouragement and commitment to getting these books out in the world.
I wrote and illustrated a picture book to help my 7-year-old with his anxiety meltdowns, and it WORKED. (Trust me, no one is more shocked here, then me.) Then, my friend with an anxious 5-year-old asked for a proof copy, and it helped them as well. Writing a book purely from the heart with no regard for market other than this one goal to help my son and kids like him was such a rewarding experience. I’m so proud of it, and I’m SO looking forward to self-publishing it February. There will be no fanfare and very little promotion; just a quiet satisfaction that it exists for kids and parents who need it.
I had three interesting opportunities pop up that I can’t actually talk about yet. While (being the pessimist that I am) I don’t expect them to transform my writing career in a significant way, I was so honored to be considered for these chances, and with some tremendous luck, maybe I’ll have an announcement or two to make next year.
I joined the WriteHive team for my second year as a writing mentor, and I’ve loved being able to pay forward my writing knowledge to the writing community.
In a huge surprise to me this year, I went to *8* in-person author signing events in my community at 4 different local book shops and my local library. And now my books are stocked in all 4 shops. 🥹 My local library surprised me by putting my photo on a BILLBOARD in our town, and The Hidden Lantern in Rosemary Beach recommended my books on the LOCAL NEWS! Not only that, but I established great relationships with The Book Rack in Fort Walton Beach and the Salt & Story in Niceville, and they have reached out TO ME multiple times asking if I would come do book events. I totally didn’t have any of this on my 2025 Bingo Card, but they made me feel so valued, and I’m so grateful our local book shops for their support.
What I learned
I have three lessons learned from last year I still feel in my bones this year and I feel like I’m still absorbing them, so I’ll list them again:
My promotional budget and energy is limited. Therefore, I need to pivot harder away from promoting my backlist to focus on upcoming releases. (Picture me yelling this at myself because it is easy to say but harder to execute, because, dang it, I love my backlist and I’m proud of it.) However, I only have so much time and money and I *have* to look forward and make smart business decisions. *insert Friends gif here of Ross Gellar yelling PIVOT!!!*
I have found balance and peace with my online presence as an author. While I will never be a viral sensation, I have found a style of content on each of 5 different platforms (Threads, TikTok, Instagram, WordPress, and Mailchimp) that I can be consistent with and that makes me smile. (Not as much as writing… but I’ll take what I can get.) Though my social media numbers aren’t going to knock a publisher’s socks off by any means, I’m consistent, I work hard, and I’m authentic, and honestly, I’m proud of that.
Sequel releases are still hard on me mentally. It’s been 2 solid years of sequel releases, so I’m SO ready for new series starts in 2026 and 2027. I really have no desire to ever write a series longer than a trilogy, and while I’ll allow for novellas as a neat little marketing tool to tide passionate readers over until the next release, novella releases are perhaps my least favorite type of release. Too many readers accidentally or intentionally skip over them, missing key components to the series flow, and it pains my author heart.
Somewhere above I mentioned that I figured out how to handle being on submission, and fair warning, there’s a lot of you who aren’t going to like this strategy, but it’s honestly the only thing I’ve found that works. For me, being on submission is tough because it feels like every day you fail a little more… even though you legit have no control (once the book is on sub) whether an editor will fall in love with your book or not. For me, it is a slow, repeated destruction of hope under the weight of an empty, silent inbox.
I know that sounds dramatic and like, incredibly pessimistic, but I’m just being honest.
So, in order to handle that, I had to shift my thinking. Essentially now, when a book goes on sub, inwardly, I already consider it dead. I even went so far as to rename the folder for those manuscripts “Purgatory.” (Also, because it makes me smile. I survive through dark humor.)
That allows me to shift all of my mental energy to areas I can control: notably, my current works in progress and my next releases.
Furthermore, there was a time in my life where I was writing not *for* market, but with market in mind… and honestly, I’m past that now. For the record, it didn’t seem to do me a lot of good on any front. My YA books were still “too PG-13” for current trends. The market was “too glutted” for my “on-trend” books, and the market was “too niche” for my more original concepts. In general, any conversation that included “market” was not super helpful.
Once I reset my brain to consider the real possibility that none of my manuscripts might get picked up, regardless of whether they were “on trend,” or not, it made absolutely no sense to write for anyone but me and the people I love most.
Writing the picture book, Chase vs. The Doom Spiral, especially drove this home for me. Objectively, I’m a lackluster illustrator, and that book will go (relatively) nowhere. But I love it. My son loves it. I *know* there are anxious kids out there that this book will make a difference for, and even if I’m only making a difference for 1 or 2 families, that’s still making a difference, and there is immense satisfaction in that.
Continuing in this vein, I just finished drafting a book I imagine will be unmarketable, and you know, I’m fine with that too. Because it was cathartic and I loved writing it, and at the end of the day, that’s why I’m here. To process the world around me and grow as a person through writing.
It’s that mindset that reminds me that numbers are just numbers — an infinite mirage of success that does not and will never define me.
That’s not to say I might not try for a marketable book again if the mood strikes, but I’ve shifted my thinking so that’s no longer the goal. The goal is to make the book I can be proudest of. The book that is THE MOST me. And with that in mind, being on submission just becomes the footnote on my journey, rather than the journey itself.
The bumps
Well, I think the most obvious one here is that I have to concede Inky & Heater IRL (my YA contemporary romance that reads like You’ve Got Mail + esports) is dead on sub, and has been shelved for the time being. It’s a bummer for sure, but one I’ve surprisingly come to terms with this year. I still hold the conviction that it will go out into the world one day, one way or another, so I can take this as an exercise in being patient with a smile still on my face.
This next one though, is going to take some words. I can’t decide if this was a series of small bumps that were all interconnected on the same theme, or just one big bump, so here we go:
I was accused by a trusted Beta reader (who is also an editor) of using A.I. to write one of my manuscripts, and then they confided in me that they use A.I. in all of their writing now. When I explained that from an ethical and personal standpoint, I would never use generative A.I. in my writing, they accused me of lying. It was awful and infuriating and just so sad. I know I’m not the first author to be falsely accused and I posted reels about the situation and my feelings about it on Instagram and TikTok. Needless to say, I will never be recommending or using that editor again, and I highly recommend if you use a beta reader or editor you make sure they have an explicit anti-gen-A.I. statement on their site, because many of them are not being transparent about usage.
But it truly just made so sad for the future of humanity, art, and connection. I also posted about it here. While, in general, I do have hope that we as humans, in the long run, won’t let A.I. degrade our creativity, our art, and our connection to one another — current trends are disturbing, and they are hurting creatives of all stripes: actors, authors, artists, narrators. It has made us question everything we see, hear, and read as authentic.
As such, I can’t help but wonder what the future holds for creatives, and I know I’m not the only one. Even now, A.I. is flooding our authentic spaces with hollow replicas designed to deceive and scam; ultimately stifling the visibility & support of human thought and imagination.
If you think I’m being a ridiculous alarmist, I truly hope you are right, but I feel the shadow hanging over the human writing community all the same, and it’s another reason why I’ve redoubled my efforts to be as authentic and honest in my writing as possible. Both to underline the humanity of my work, but also because, in the near-term, I feel like there is a real possibility that A.I. generated content (and content at large) will effectively blot out what little visibility my works have.
To give you an idea of how the bookish landscape has changed in the past two decades (and this was largely before the added gen A.I. issue), here’s a post by NYT best-selling author, Jacqueline Cary, that also underscored the naturally increasing difficulty of creative visibility:
So yeah. Kind of Dark. I know. Not to mention, that AI-gen content is also flooding social media, which many authors (including myself) rely on to market their books and increase their visibility.
‘Collins asked him about the personal characteristics of prisoners who did not make it out of the camps. “The optimists,” he replied. “Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart … This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”‘
So I guess what I’m saying, and what I’m still coming to terms with, is that the current reality is that this may very well be as “successful” as I get. In the current environment, the odds are very much against the growth of my visibility, sales, and numbers.
That doesn’t mean I won’t try to succeed. It doesn’t mean I’ll stop learning how to adapt to this new environment. Doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop showing up every day and giving it my all.
However, it does recage my idea of success. Because I have always viewed an increase in visibility as my litmus test for success. The desire to get my books to as many readers as I can who will love them like I do. To grow my audience.
But that friends, is a number. It is the mirage. And one that may be incompatible with the current reality.
So what do we do? What can we do under the weight of all this heaviness that neither you nor I realized we were going to get into when we started this post?!
Well, let’s talk a path forward. Let’s talk goals.
Because I am nothing if not stubborn as the stars in the sky.
Goals
If you’ve stuck with me this far, I must say, I am impressed. There was a lot more to unpack here than I thought, but *I* for one am feeling so much better. Like, so this what all the deep dark thoughts I was trying so hard to lock away were about? It’s all starting to make sense now. (Why yes, apparently my author recap this year is me processing a year’s worth of repressed brooding in real time. How exciting! This is really what writing is all about. *Self-five*)
Okay, with all of this in mind, let’s talk 2026. As always, I try to keep my goals measurable and attainable solely by own will-power. (Goal small. Dream big.) But as a theme for 2026, I want to focus less on the numbers and more from finding joy in writing and the author life. I want to take joy in reader impact and connection; in writing unapologetically authentic books that I am incredibly proud of not matter what the numbers say. I want to slow down EVEN more, put less pressure on myself to produce and focus on sustainable writing life balance.
Heck, even writing that fills me with warm fuzzies.
But because Goals are supposed to be measurable, let’s talk some specifics too. Last year I’m proud to say I hit solidly hit 2.5/3 of my goals which you can find in my 2024 post. So in 2026, I’m aiming to…
Self-publish my picture book Chase vs. The Doom Spiral in February
Finish my revision of House of the Chosen and send it to my Agent in Jan/Feb timeframe
Send our co-WIP, A Witch’s Game of Mischief & Moonlight, to our agent in the Jan/Feb timeframe (this is the 0.5 goal that didn’t get completed last year, but we’re super close on this one)
Get my Paranormal Mystery (Title TBA on January 6th) coming from Whimsical Publishing out in the world on May 26th!
Finish book 2 of said Paranormal Mystery Series and send it to Whimsical Publishing in April
Revise my Quirky Cozy Dark Fantasy Romance (So He Burned Down the World For You) and send to my agent
Okay, well, there were more goals than I thought, but when you boil it down, it’s: publish 2 (easy), revise 3 (medium-time commitment), and draft 1 (time-consuming.) Honestly, I expect to accomplish all of these by June 1st. As for what the rest of the year will bring, who knows? Maybe it’ll be a lot or a little or somewhere in between, but I’m excited to have fun with it.
The sum up
That was SO MUCH MORE than I expected to cover in this post. Like, geez. While the numbers were less than last year, I’m reframing to see that as a datapoint rather than the goal. There were way more highlights than I thought, the bumps (while not necessarily many) were WAY heavier than I thought, and honestly I have more goals for next year than I thought.
I described the 2023 review as ‘effervescent’, the 2024 review was the one where I was way too honest, and apparently the 2025 one is where I went kind of dark. And it’s definitely making me laugh. I’m already looking forward to the 2026 review only because I have NO IDEA what it’s going to say next.
Prediction: 2026 year was the year I gave up the harsh expectations for myself, the year I don’t really have a lot of notes to write home about, and the year I’ve been the happiest author-wise that I’ve been in a long time.
Not a measurable goal, but joy is always the dream, and I hope you all find lots of it in 2026.
Till then, friends. Cheers, happy New Year, and thanks for reading.
I drank this book in. I love A Man Called Ove and Anxious People, and this will fit right up there with my favorites. The writing and characters just feel so real, they carry the story right along. Funny and poignant, there are so many lines here that absolutely just vibrated in my bones. I’m sure I’ll be carrying this story with me for a long, long time, and now I’ll be recommending it to pretty much everyone I know (and everyone I don’t too.)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My head exploding because Fredrik Backman is a genius and that’s all there is to it.
Really enjoyed this one! I love Liane Moriarty’s writing style, and it’s always so awesome to see her weave so many different point-of-views from super different characters together. Super heartwarming with a mystical flare and poignant themes. I’ll definitely be recommending this one!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I always love a good Liane Moriarty book. what can I say? I’m a fan.
My favorite read of the year so far, and I can say without a doubt this will be on my top ten of 2025 list. This is now my go-to recommendation for any and all readers. The audiobook narration was also fabulous. This is a short review because I really don’t have anything to say but go read it. Six glowing stars, the highest rating I can give..
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
So unbelievably good you all. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next!
A smart, techy sci-fi adventure with big Star Trek & Battlestar Galactica vibes & side of slowburn romance. Skyla was definitely my favorite POV, and I loved the idea of the connection with the ships. (Also, I loved that she had Fenrir – think big, epic doggo!) Definitely recommend for sci-fi fans looking for a space opera with big military & science elements.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We definitely need more sci-fi romance in the world!
Hayley Reese Chow 