Ten years.
I started writing fiction in 2016. Published my first novel in 2018. And here I am, still at it, still learning, still making promises about engagement that I swear I’ll keep this time. (Yes, I know. I’ve said that before. But this year, I mean it. Probably.)
The Part Where Everything Changed
2025 was supposed to be a normal year. It was not.
The year started with the new administration taking a chainsaw to federal spending. If you worked in the nonprofit or think tank world focused on national security—nuclear war, AI risks, pandemics, that sort of light and cheerful subject matter—you watched the dominoes fall fast. By February, I was on layoff watch and started a job search. By March, two more grant opportunities evaporated, and I realized I couldn’t just sit around waiting for something to materialize remotely. I needed to cast a wider net, consider the private sector, and prepare for the possibility of leaving Texas after six wonderful years.
Big changes. The most dramatic in at least six years.
Then—great news. I landed a dream job at an AI tech company in Silicon Valley. In September, I packed up the dogs and moved across the country to the Bay Area. I now work in person for the first time in six years (a big adjustment), and I live in a quiet spot in East Palo Alto (as peaceful as it gets), only 300 feet from the San Francisco Bay, nestled between Meta HQ and Google HQ. The irony of a woman who sometimes writes about AI risks now working at an AI company is not lost on me.
Fortune and Misfortune: The Theme of the Year
Here’s the thing about 2025—it kept oscillating between lucky breaks and gut punches.
Lucky: I found my current place when I did, which meant I could leave my Airbnb early.
Less lucky: I still had to pay for a full month I didn’t use. No refund from the host or Airbnb.
Lucky: I wasn’t there when it burned to the ground.
Less lucky: I still haven’t sold my house in Texas.
Lucky: My parents kept me from financial ruin.
Lucky: Got an offer on the house on Christmas Eve.
Very unlucky: Buyers were difficult, pulled out, and dropped a Molotov cocktail on me… on New Year’s Eve. Fun.
You see the pattern. It continues
The Writing (Because That’s Why You’re Here)
It’s fitting, then, that my proudest achievement this year is The Lucksmiths—a standalone novel (though let’s be honest, it probably won’t stay standalone) about angels responsible for doling out fortune to humans who’ve earned it and making some big mistakes (cough, cough). I wrote it while wrestling with my own trends in luck and misfortune, a theme that’s followed me for years. If you’ve ever felt like the universe has a sense of humor at your expense, this one’s for you.
I also published:
- Black Box, the fourth book in the Lara Kingsley series—one step closer to finishing that five-book arc
- Daughter of Dragons, a prequel novella set 500 years before the Chronicles of Asterwelt, and the first of nine prequel stories I’m planning for that series
Beyond the prose, I wrote two TV pilot scripts—one for The Lucksmiths and a cyberpunk noir thriller called Neural Drift. I ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for the Chronicles of Asterwelt in March. I sold books at the Rockport-Fulton Book Festival in April. And I’ve started producing audio chapters of Daughter of Dragons and The Lucksmiths on my new Substack.
Busy year.
What’s Coming in 2026
Here’s where I get ambitious.
Audio productions. I’m diving deep into audio on Substack and revamping my Patreon to match. Why? Because it’s closer to TV production than words on a page, it’s fun, and I can build my audience and try something new in 2026: audioplays. The more production experience I gain, the more ready I’ll be when I finally get my shot at writing for television.
Human Chimera. Book Five of the Lara Kingsley series. The finale. My first finished series.
Rescind Order refresh. New cover, revised text to make it a true standalone with no prequel or sequel implications. I’ve got plans for this one—audio production, of course, plus a satire comedy audioplay (originally conceived as a stage play in 2020) titled American Doomsday. Not sure how far I’ll get on that last part in 2026, but it’s in the queue.
Dark Sun. A thriller based on my first screenplay (won some recognition at the Austin Film Festival and North Fork TV Festival in 2024), another standalone in the nuclear weapons space. Because apparently, I can’t stay away from the end of the world.
Another TV pilot? Maybe. Probably comedy again. Interesting…
Film festival submissions for The Lucksmiths and Neural Drift scripts.
Another Chronicles of Asterwelt prequel novella. Because nine prequel novellas don’t write themselves.
Is that ambitious enough? I think so.
What’s Coming Soon
A revamped Patreon to match my Substack. Integration of Substack content into my website. More audio chapters.
And yes—more engagement. I’m promising it again. But this time I’m in a new city, a new job, a new chapter. Maybe that momentum carries over.
Thank You
Seriously. Thank you for following my progress. I appreciate your support—whether you’ve been here since 2018 or just found me last week. Writing is a strange, solitary pursuit, and knowing there are people out there who care about these stories keeps me going.
Here’s to 2026. I hope to entertain you.
One year at a time.