Happy New Year everyone! I’ve been without internet for the past week as we packed up the last of my things in St. Louis and moved them back to South Bend so this is a little later (and longer) than originally planned. We got back last night in time to rest a little, have pizza and ring in 2024.

The new year certainly started off right! Just after midnight, I found out that America’s Forgotten Suffragists won Gold (the highest level) in the non-fiction category of the Historical Fiction Company Awards! I completely forgot I even entered that contest, so it was a very pleasant surprise! You can read their 5-star review of the book here. (I think this bodes well for it winning the Pulitzer on May 8, don’t you?)

Thinking About 2023

I just looked back at what my word of the year was for 2023 and it was “health.” Yeah, not the way the year went at all. If there was a word that describes 2023 accurately it would be” whirlwind.”

On the book side of things, I released five books this year: Raising our Voices: League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis 1960-2022; America’s Forgotten Suffragists: Virginia and Francis Minor; a chapter in Ethics in the Arthurian Legend; Fierce Females on Television: A Cultural History; and Catherine’s Mercy. This was the culmination of two years of really hard work and to be honest, I’m tired and a little crispy. But more on that in a bit.

My personal life was even crazier. In January I had my first date with Chris, the younger brother of a girl I’ve been friends with since I was 15. It was terrible. Normally, I would have written Chris off, but for some reason I gave him a second chance. We did the long distance thing until May, when I moved to South Bend, Indiana, to live with him. He proposed to me in September and we’re getting married next October. It sounds like things moved fast—and they did—but we’re both at a point in life (in our 40s) where we know what we want and when you find it, why wait? I can honestly say I didn’t know I could love someone so much. I can’t imagine going back to my previous life, and God willing, I won’t ever have to.

Moving to another state disrupted my whole life—my job (I had a rough go of it but thank God I got to keep it), every single way I live. Balancing that with all the book releases and my personal life was very, very difficult. I will admit to breaking down several times, crying a lot (sometimes just out of stress, sometimes happiness, and sometimes sadness), and having a tough time adjusting. But now things are getting better, mainly because I’m getting used to my new life, I think I have a good handle on my day job again and that I have so much support from Chris.

Given that nothing in 2023 went the way I expected, let’s take a look at my goals for this year and see how I did:

Writing

Edit Catherine’s Mercy – Done
Do additional marketing for Sex and the City – I think I did this, but I’m honestly not sure.
Market and successfully release: – Done
- Raising Our Voices
- America’s Forgotten Suffragists
- Catherine’s Mercy
- The project I haven’t talked about yet (I’m not sure which one this was)
- The Arthurian Ethics book
- Fierce Females in Television
Write – Did not do any of these, but I had a really good excuse named Chris
- Revolutionary War book (started)
- 1920s book (research started)
- Stretch goal: WWII (halfway done)
Attend the Historical Novel Society Conference in June – Did this and loved it!
Speak as a member of the Missouri Speaker’s Bureau – Done
Learn how to better use TikTok – Oddly enough, I stopped using it for a long time
Continue writing poetry – I wrote some, but I don’t think I shared any

Personal

Enjoy life! – Um, does being caught in a whirlwind count? I think so because it was mostly good.
Lose about 70 lbs – nope
Get into a habit exercise and healthy eating – nope
Pay down debt (I promised my Chicago friends I would move there by the end of 2024) – no, but we are working on the debt and I now live only 2 hours from Chicago, so sort of?
Get reaquatinted with my spiritual side – not really
Celebrate 20 years at my day job and keep it until I can write full time – yes, barely, but I did it!
As for fun: go see more concerts (Placebo in April in Chicago!), theatre (Les Mis and Six this month!), dance, get into gaming again (maybe on Twitch?), etc. – all this and so much more!

Hello 2024!
Because of all of this, I was planning on not doing any writing until after the wedding, but I was approached the other day by a publisher who is interested in a certain type of book. We’re going to talk about a few ideas I have. I have no idea how that is going to go, but I’m hopeful.

I also have a non-fiction that I want to work on because it has basically become my entire personality right now (and ties into a future fiction project) and I got a fun idea on the way back from St. Louis the other day. I’m looking at the new idea as something I write just for me and if it gets published someday, fabulous. If not, I don’t care.

Regardless of what happens with those ideas. I’m going to focus more on marketing the books I have, having a work/life balance and enjoying planning my wedding. I’ve worked my butt off for the last two years with my writing and honestly, I’m not seeing nearly enough return on it to keep going that way. Plus, I have better things to do with my time now.

There are several books I definitely still want to write, but I need to allow myself to deal with the continued transitions in my life in a healthy way. (Which, oddly, brings us back full circle to my word of the year for 2023.)

I’m going to try to go light(er) on the goals for 2024:

Enjoy my time with Chris as much as possible.
1. I think this one will happen because Chris is really sweet about helping me to relax.
2. We travel a lot, which forces me to remove myself from my problems.
3. We have our honeymoon to look forward to! (We’re going to England.)
Lose 70 lbs before my wedding in October.
1. I know I’ve said this for many years, but if this doesn’t motivate me to do it, nothing will.
2. This is going to take a lot of willpower, but it is possible.
3. I’m already working on healthier eating; it’s the exercise that I have a hard time prioritizing.
4. I’m working with a health coach through my day job and my doctor has recommended me to a weight loss clinic in town.
5. Chris is very supportive and is willing to help me as much as I want him to. He is very clear this has nothing to do with my looks; he wants me to be healthy so that we can be together for a long time.
Enjoy wedding planning and all events that come with it.
1. I’ve got a good start on this, so I’m hoping I won’t have a lot of stress as the time gets closer.
2. I’m really enjoying doing the flowers, décor and writing the ceremony.
3. The wedding shower will be in June; the bachelorette party in September.
Redesign my house. You know I love DIY projects.
1. I have solid plans for an overall look (you guys will love it!)
2. I know exactly what I want the bedroom to look like. Just waiting on the money to get what I need to.
3. I have a vision for the kitchen and an idea for the living room.
Write because I have stories to tell and because I enjoy it.
1. I hope money comes along with it, but I’m tired of chasing after it.
2. I need to remember why I started writing in the first place, and money wasn’t it.

Normally this is where I pick a word of the year for 2024, but I’m not going to do that this year. I was thinking something like “balance” or “fun,” but for some reason every time I go to select one, I freeze up. Maybe I’m just burned out on this tradition or maybe its because I forgot to pack my anxiety meds and haven’t had one for a week, but I just can’t get myself to do it. Maybe no word is the new tradition.

Thank you all for your support in 2023 (and always). I wish you a bright, happy new year filled with blessings and abundance.

January 1, 2021Everything else

2021 Word of the Year and Goals

Nicole Evelina2021, goals, new year, word of the year 5 Comments

I feel like in the last six months, and especially in the last two to three weeks, I have popped out of some kind of opaque chrysalis that I didn’t know I was living in into a new life, a new me. I have a new outlook on life, a greater feeling of maturity (I’ve always been a little emotionally behind others my age), and an energizing feeling of direction and purpose.

I know with crystal clarity what kind of life I want to live and am taking steps in all aspects to get what I want.

I feel like there is no limit on what I can do. That’s why I chose the phrase “infinite possibilities,” as my Word of the Year for 2021. I am optimistic that this year will bring me endless possibilities for success, growth, money, and all good things. And I plan to take advantage of every one of them.

To that end, I’ve established both author and personal goals for 2021. I’m fine with sharing both here because I am the same person whether you are talking to me as an author or a regular person and I aim to be authentic in all I do.

Writing Goals:

Get a contract for Minor bio. (Okay, that’s more in my agent’s hands than mine.)
Finish Colonial/Revolutionary War histfic by end of July.
Finish WWII histfic by end of July.
Write female inventor histfic by end of 2021.
Start on modern retelling of a classic (I’ll be working on ideas for this while I am writing the other books) by the end of the year.
Write poetry again. (I did this as a child and teenager, but I’ve lacked the confidence as an adult.)
Attend the Biographer’s International and Historical Novel Society virtual conferences.
Hopefully the Ethics in Arthurian Legend book a I wrote a chapter for will be published. (That is out of my hands.)
Do what I can to get Madame Presidentess and Daughter of Destiny optioned.

Personal Goals:

Lose 40-50 lbs by June 1.
- Walk outside when the weather is nice. Swim if the pools open again.
- Dance, barre, basic cardio, weight lifting indoors.
- Eat a mostly pescatarian/Mediterranean diet.
- Stop eating delivery.
Pay off debt.
- Focus on paying off credit card.
- Every time I have the urge to buy something, put that amount of money in my savings account and use it to pay on credit card that month.
- Continue to pay off loans.
Continue working with the League of Women voters to fund a permanent suffrage memorial of some kind in St. Louis.
Learn to read French.
Teach myself to sew.
There’s another one that I’m not ready to talk about yet, but I will if it ends up working out.

I realize this is an ambitious list, but I always set high goals for myself. That is the way I am happiest. I plan to achieve them all but if I don’t, that is fine too.

What are your 2021 goals?

December 31, 2020Everything else

2020 Year in Review

Nicole Evelina2020, goals, new year 4 Comments

Like everyone else, 2020 was a year unlike any other. My word of the year was Flow, which could not have been more apt, as COVID-19 taught us all to “go with the flow,” more than ever before.

Some of my struggles:

I worked harder at my day job that I ever have.
I transitioned to full-time working from home.
I hid from COVID-19 and worried about the future.
I dealt with burnout in my day job.

But for a crazy year, it had some amazing moments:

I signed with agent Amy Collins.
Daughter of Destiny did extremely well in a book-to-movie contest.
I finished the Minor biography.
I took a big step in the future of my day job, even if it ends up not going anywhere.
I started a new blog – I’ll be telling you all about it in the New Year.
I re-did practically my whole house myself (with a little help from dad).
I found my personal style/brand.
According to Goodreads, I read about 85 books (my goal was 100), not including research, which would have put it closer to 200.

And how did I do on my 2020 goals?

Finish chapter for non-fiction Arthurian book (due March 2020). Nailed it!
Finish and sell/self publish Minor biography. It’s finished and Amy is doing her best to sell it.
Work on WWII historical fiction book. Wow, this one came in under the wire. The main character started talking to me again maybe two weeks ago (after more than a year of silence) and I have not quite 10,000 words written.
Help with human trafficking anthology. Wrote my short story for this, but the anthology never got off the ground. I don’t think it is going to. Hopefully I will be able to share the short story in another way someday. I’m really proud of it. It’s in a contest right now, so we’ll see what others think of it.
Continue working with local League of Women Voters chapter on Centennial Committee. Did this and had SO MUCH fun working with these women, attending events and getting the word out.
Speak locally about the August 2020 centennial of women getting the right to vote. I was honored to be asked to speak about both Virginia Minor and suffrage in the state of Missouri. One of my audiences was the Missouri Chapter of the League of Women Voters, which was amazing!
Adjust to new role of assistant editor for Novelist’s Inc. member newsletter, NINK. This was the worst possible year to take on this role, but I made it. I have to admit, I’m glad that it is over. It is not a hard job, but it is tough to handle when my day job is constantly in crisis mode.
If we end up with a female presidential candidate, promote the heck out of Madame Presidentess. (This is no reflection on my personal political choices. I will, however, use it to my advantage if it becomes a reality.) This didn’t come to pass.
Side projects to be worked on when/if have the time: Hallmark book, devotional, musical based on Kill Hannah songs. I thought about them. Does that count?
Option Madame Presidentess again as well as the Guinevere Trilogy. (I realize this is out of my control, but I can have it on here in an effort to think positively, right?) This did not come to pass, but Daughter of Destiny did very well and is now in a second contest, so who knows what the future will bring?

Finally, I want to say thank you to everyone for your support this past year and always. I couldn’t do what I do without you and some days knowing that you are out there cheering me on is what gets me though. I wish all of you a safe, healthy and happy end to 2020 and a wonderful 2021. I’ll be back tomorrow with some thoughts about the New Year!

January 6, 2014About the Author, Everything else

2014: The Year of Blooming

Nicole Evelina2014, goals, new year 2 Comments

2014 is the year our lives will bloom. Photo by Lee Safar. Used with permission.

They say that what you put out into the Universe becomes your reality. That’s what I’m doing in this post: setting my intentions and goals for the new year, putting them out into the Universe.

My friend Courtney had an interesting idea. She suggesting picking one word for the year, defining it and writing a personal statement about it. I liked that idea because it forces me to distill all the amazing things I’d like to accomplish down to a single concept.

The word of 2014 for me is: Bloom.

I got this idea from a tweet from my dear friend Lee Safar in which she said “2014 feels like the year that flowers will bloom!” The more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized how appropriate it is for where I am in my career and life. I’ve spent the last several years sowing the seeds of success. Last year was definitely one of sprouting seedlings and watching them grow. Now it’s time for them to bloom.

In 2014, I will see my career as an author and various things in my personal life bloom and come into fruition, bringing with them beauty and joy into the world.

Now, I can’t just sit back and wait for it to happen. I have to work at it with all my might. To that end, I have a series of goals for things I want to achieve this year. They include:

Delivering book 3 and another non-related book I’m working on to my agent by the end of June.
Finally being able to announce when Guinevere book 1 will be available to the world.
Researching and beginning writing another Celtic era historical fiction novel.
Attending the Sirens Conference with several of my writer friends in October (and possibly speaking there if I can come up with a topic and get it approved).
Finding balance in my life between my day job, writing and all the other demands of life.
Getting healthier so that I can have more energy to devote to the things I love.
Being more active on Facebook. (I’m already on Twitter all the time.)
Traveling for research (cross your fingers that I’ll have an announcement on this soon) for book 3 and my current non-related book.
Continuing to find new ways to use this blog to reach out to Arthurian/Celtic fans, book lovers and writers. (You may see some new topics from me this year out of this goal.)

That may seem like a lot, but it’s all interrelated. And it’s what I’ll be focusing on over the next year as my life blooms. I hope your year is wonderful in every way possible.

What are your goals for 2014? What is your word for the year?

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