So last year about this time I dreamed up a complicated series of resolutions designed to give up one bad thing a year. This year I’m going for something much more simple: balance.

I have no idea what that means for me this year as I’m trying something completely new. I have no idea what my schedule is going to be like, if I’ll have more time to fit things in or if all that extra time I save in quitting my day job will be swallowed up by new chaos of the home variety. It’ll be nice to spread housecleaning chores along the whole week instead of cramming them in on the weekends with everything else I want to do, and I’ll enjoy cooking on a daily basis too.

What I’m hoping for, is to carve out some free time for myself. To re-discover some forgotten hobbies like music, sewing and crafts that I can share with my daughter and to reclaim my evenings as a time to relax and recharge my batteries instead of holed up in my office away from my family, feverishly clacking away at the keys.

Of course, knowing me I’ll end up with a pretty rigid schedule for myself in no time, I like to make lists and schedules. I’ve already decided to set an alarm for myself so I don’t sleep away the productive morning hours. I don’t know that I’ll end up with more books published by the end of the year with this extra time (I’ve been averaging 5 per year while working full time) but I hope to end 2013 with much less stress.

Right now I’m deep in planning for Find Me When the Sun Goes Down and I’ve had a pretty major shift in plot from what I originally envisioned when I finished Meet Me. I’ll still get to those things I originally thought of, but they’ll come in later books. I think I was getting too ambitious with plot and the storylines weren’t as personal for Bishop and Anja as they needed to be. So, I’ve stripped away a lot of elements for another day and that’ll leave me room for more intimate moments between characters. My goal is to start writing next week sometime and have it out by Spring.

I hope the holidays treated you all well and here’s to hoping 2013 brings good things to all!