Review of 2025

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

This is my yearly round up of my writing life in 2025. I always rather look forward to this bit as I can see what I have achieved (or not) and think about setting goals for the following year. Make a cuppa or read this over your lunch hour. This is a long post, but I hope you will get something out of it.

In terms of submissions, it's been a rather lean year, but that is mainly due to producing two books and all the marketing and setting up a book launch for one. In terms of goals, those were my two goals, and  I achieved them.Tinsel Street in particular took off far beyond my expectations. I've heard from my friend, who works in the bookshop in Switzerland, that they are going to order more of my books for next year! I also found out that the bookshop is the largest in Switzerland and what I thought was an English table is a whole floor dedicated to English books, and is one of them.

With all the push to get my Christmas book out there, the book I call my Lawnmower book, a collection of flash stories, became rather overshadowed, which is a shame. My publisher loved it, his words were 'I was hooked'. So as ABBA once said, Take A Chance on Me and try another of my books. This one will really appeal to those of you who like quirky stories of various genres, some humour and some serious subjects. It really is a mix. And as a reminder, most of the stories have previously been published in places such as Visual Verse, Paragraph Planet, Goldust and others. However, there are some new stories in there.

So, on to submissions for 2025. As I said, there were less of them, Here is a rundown:

Poetry - 16 submissions, three of which were published

Flash - 11 submissions, three of which were published

Short stories - 1 submission

Novellas - 2, both published

I am still waiting on three replies - 1 flash, 1 short story and 4 poems submitted together.

So, a lean year, but I am still hitting above the 10% published mark, which is around what is reckoned to be the average acceptance rate of work.

Events:

During the year I attended various events either in person or online. These don't include writing group meet-ups, which tend to be monthly.

Open mic night in London

Webinar series in self-publishing - 6 weeks in all (January-February)

Line Endings correspondence course with Live Canon (poetry) which was incomplete. I don't know what has happened to them. I only received feedback on one poem, and the last tutorial never arrived. I also had no reply from them when I emailed. Disappointing as they are usually very good.

Zoom with three poets - Cafe Lit

Troubador Self-Publishing Conference in Leicester

Making Your Scenes Cinematic - Readsy Webinar

Organising Chaos - Self-Editing Your Manuscript with Writers Online

Outspoken - Live event with poetry and music at the Purcell Room, Southbank, London

Booker Prize Readings - Live event at The Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London

Poetry Society, poets reading - live link which broke down several times, so I'm afraid I gave up

Other stuff:

This year I finally upgraded to Windows 11, firstly backing up all my files just in case. My little laptop copes well, though I still have the problem with the screen blacking out for a few seconds now and then, though I am still able to keep typing and hear whatever playlist I am listening to! The cost is too much to have it repaired. as it needs to be sent away abroad and I'd be without it for months. My son will build me a desktop, but maybe not for a year as the cost of parts has gone through the roof. He did tell me why, but I've forgotten. In the meantime, I may just have to buy a cheap laptop if things worsen, or my laptop completely crashes one day, God forbid. This laptop was built to specification and has an enormous amount of saving capacity and still runs quickly.

My new way of recording things has worked. Over the years I've tried different year planners, yet they never seem to work for me. This year I bought a book with some tabs, which I labelled Deadlines for submissions, Goals, Mini Projects and Events. This has worked for me, and I can continue to use it in the coming years as it's not dated, and I'm not wasting pages I don't use. It was also a lot cheaper than a Year Planner. Like everything else, its a case of what works for you.

I began writing on Substack this year. The content is usually different to what I write here, but sometimes there is a crossover. I have a few followers, though this blog is well established, and I don't intend to move on from Blogger as we understand each other (mostly!). I did some work on the blog to bring it up to date, and that will probably continue. 

Speaking about my writing life, I hope, helps others to see the positives and the lows of writing. Many people (non writers) have no idea about what goes on behind the scenes. I had some friends who thought my book was available in supermarkets or on Audible. Er..no. Audio is a whole new ball game, and an expensive one. I'm not saying never (I never say never), but not at the moment. There are only so many learning curves I can deal with at one time! I hope I continue to write content that is interesting, but if there is anything you are burning to ask me, you can. Just leave a comment and I will answer.

I would like to thank my family, especially my son Stephen, for all his help, not only the endless tech questions and fault solving with my laptop, but for being so great at my book launch. You couldn't tell from the state of his bedroom that he can be so organised. He was my little right-hand man on the night and dealt with my card reader like a pro. My friend Judith deserves a mention for her enthusiasm and organisational skills for the book launch. She kept everything running like a tight ship time-wise, and for her relevant questions on the night. The book launch was in the local Methodist church cafe and she was asked to write a piece for their Spotlight magazine. I had read it previously, but I've just seen it now in the magazine with a few photos. So thanks for that too. Thanks to Chris from Sutton Writers who wrote a lovely piece with photos for their website. And for all my friends who travelled from near and far to be with me on the night. There aren't many friends who will listen to me waffling on about writing without their eyes clouding over (non-writers), but I have a few, and one said to me recently that she looks forward to me waffling on in the coming year!

My friend Diane, who is one of my beta readers and feedbacker, couldn't be at the book launch, but we met another day and spent hours chatting. She reads most of my work (even the stuff not yet published) and keeps all my work in a folder. She's always saying 'when are you going to send me something else?' We all need friends like these, and I appreciate every one of them.

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

Books:

I've been very lax writing book reviews this year (did I write any?). I'm not going to promise to do better next year, but I will try. I am in the process of reading my 70th book of the year. I've half way through it, and it's another LJ Ross one called The Creek. I've read lots of hers this year, but this is a different series  - the Summer Suspense Mysteries, which I also enjoy. Anyway, here are my top reads of fiction and non-fiction this year:

Fiction:

William by Mason Coile. I couldn't put this one down. Having ventured into the horror section in the library, I picked it because it sounded interesting. The main character is an inventor living with his wife. His computer runs the house, and he has built an AI robot. However, the robot begins to want a life of its own. He has thoughts and is getting out of control. He needs shutting down before he kills someone. Can it be done? This is fast paced, on the edge of your seat stuff. Once the robot takes control of the computer and shuts down the house, they are all trapped. Can they get out? Yet everything is not what it seems as a huge twist arrives near the end. I didn't see this coming, and I don't want to spoil it for you. With AI making a big splash right now, this is relevant about what is possible and perhaps we should be afraid...very afraid. Great one.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kid. There are some authors whose books touch you, and I have loved everything this author writes. The book is fiction but based on facts. Classed as a Christian book, it is about a woman who meets Jesus. Ana is related to the wealthy and her brother is Judas. She meets Jesus when he is eighteen years old. They eventually marry and live with his family. But Jesus is always wandering off, leaving Ana with the family. The story follows Ana as her own family is driven out and she longs to see her grandmother again. The facts of Jesus' life (apart from the marriage) are based on the New Testament, and when Ana hears that Jesus has been arrested she goes searching for him. This is an excellent book of what could have been Jesus 'life and the settings and characters are believable for that time period. I loved this, though it is heartbreaking, and passed it on to a friend who is equally enthralled with it.

The Sanctuary by Andrew Hunter is set in the future. A place built on an island for the future of mankind while the rest of the world is falling apart. Ben's fiancée has been living/working on the island for six months and now he wants to find her. Getting there is difficult and dangerous. People are suspicious, and reluctant to take him there. Once he does arrive, he begins to think this is a good place, but Cara, he is told, is working and cannot yet see him. She is off island. As Ben begins to fall into a feeling of acceptance and the way things work, he also finds things don't add up. Once he begins to question and look for clues himself, people want to stop him. Sanctuary isn't what he thought it was, and evil is at play. Can he find Cara and get them off the island before destruction occurs? A great story this. It draws you in and then turns you.

Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss. Picking any Sarah Moss book is hard because I love her writing, and I've read two books of hers this year. This one is set in Victorian times. Two sisters growing up in an unusual household. Their father is an artist and their mother is a do-gooder to the extreme. Her religious evangelical morals turn her children into a life of drudgery. Anything their mother deems unholy is stamped upon and they are given tasks to complete. They are often cold and hungry. This would be child cruelty these days. Their father indulges them when he can, but he never stops what the mother is doing. I guess looking after children was very much down to the mother in those days. While May poses for her father's paintings, Ally devotes herself to becoming a doctor and working with her mother in the slums. She works hard, but her studies are interrupted by her mother's tasks for a wrong doing which are almost unbearable. This was a hard read, with the cruelty and hardship the two girls live through, but there is a happy ending, thank God! 

I have read a number of Japanese books this year. My youngest son is married to a Japanese girl, and he often passes books to me. It seems Japanese books are becoming really popular now. Two of the books were about life in a Japanese convenience store and the third was part written and featured a local cafe I go to, a very dog-friendly cafe, so I knew all the local places mentioned. I think I shall be reading more books set in Japan. It is a fascinating country,. My son loves it, though he and his wife live here.

Non-fiction

The Criminal Mind by Dr Duncan Harding. I picked this up without even reading the blurb. I knew it was my book. I find the mind fascinating and why people do what they do. No one is born evil. The  book held me all the way through as Dr Harding describes interviewing criminals for court and finding out about their lives and behaviour. Some of it is really sad, their backgrounds. Yet why do some people go through terrible childhoods and never offend while others go on to do unspeakable things to people? I guess its down to how one reacts, and we do all approach things differently. Of course I felt sorry for the victims, who couldn't, but I also often felt sorry for most of the perpetrators. It makes you question things. Haunting. The book is also about the author's life too, what he grew up experiencing himself and how he came to be top in his field. Fascinating.

Steeple Chasing by Peter Ross was a book I received last Christmas. The author visits famous churches and cathedrals, quite a lot of which I've been to. He talks about the history and what is happening now. He speaks with the clergy. I really enjoyed this one.

Estuary by Rachel Litchenstein. Anything about the River Thames and the estuary interests me, and while there was a moment I got bogged down with this book, I really enjoyed most of it. It's about history, the changing times of the Thames and its estuary as well as the author's adventures on the tidal Thames. There are handy maps too.

Auscultation by Ilse Pedler (poetry). I won this book at an open mic night (not for my poetry, sadly, but in the raffle). It's taken me a while to get around to it, but this was really good. Medical in content about humans and animals. Ilse is a holistic vet which comes across in her poetry. I didn't know what to expect reading this, but it was enlightening and sad. I felt at one with this book, maybe because of my love of animals. A really good read. I looked up the title to see what it meant, and it is listening to the body's internal sounds mainly using a stethoscope. Well, you learn something new every day.

There are other books I loved like The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page (fiction) and Offshore by Penelope Fitsgerald about the loneliness of people living in boats on the Thames (set some years ago) and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood which should be in the horror section! Reading her 'author bit' at the back of the book was another eye opener and we should really think about what this world is coming to now as we see what's happening around us. A big warning, I think.

Well, that wraps things up for another year. Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope you will continue to drop by. Happy New Year to you all.

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash