Time to wrap up the last week of the year. All in all it was a good week, so here goes...
Writing: Last night, I finished the first draft of DN3. Yay! It's just under 49K words right now, but I expect to add a bunch in editing. And I hate the end, so I'm guessing it'll have a rewrite. I also came up with a title last night when I was supposed to be falling asleep. How does Duke Noble, P.I.: The Deepest Cut strike you? :half-shrug: I loved it last night. Now I'm not so sure. (Updated 8:20pm - The phrase 'the first cut is the deepest' wasn't coined until way past when this book is set, so NOPE. Back to the drawing board.)
I did marketing. Thicker Than Water (DN2) was on the block. I moved 129 free copies, one full price copy after the freebie, and someone read it in KU. Here's hoping that those freebies turn into sales of Rumor Has It (DN1)
I did reading. I finished my first book of the year. (And I totally forgot to add it in Goodreads, or make a 2026 goal for the year, so don't go looking over there.) It wasn't bad. Actually, it was pretty good. Different. And not what it was billed as... hard boiled crime? Not. Anyway, it was good, so that's a win.
In baking news, I made stuffed pork chops yesterday. Those were yummy, so yay.
On the activity front, I did 3 days of woods work - hauling deadfall and cutting it up and raking it up - for about 2.75 hours. I haven't weighed myself to start the year yet. I'm a little leery because I've been noshing quite a lot lately. (ETA: I did it. Weight: 177.4 - well, at least there's a starting point to go down from.)
Speaking of woods work, the big fallen black cherry tree is mostly cut up now and all the top branches/twigs have been moved to a pile that's out of the way. So yay. We have several stacks of firewood laying out there that have to be moved, but they'll be fine out there for the time being. We're both feeling pretty good considering what we've done and our respective ages, so we've got that going for us.
My Christmas tree is still up. I have to take that down and get back to normal.
I located my 2026 day-planner. I bought it in early December and put it somewhere I wouldn't lose it (and the cats wouldn't eat it), then promptly forgot where that was. I looked in all the obvious places, but nope. Then I noted a spiral binding peeking out from the top row of books on one of my bookshelves. Huzzah!
Since I was a total spazz last month, I didn't get my spreadsheets prepared for the coming year, so I did a lot of those last week. I still have a couple of personal ones to do, but those can keep.
Other than that... Welcome to 2026! May it be a banner year for us all.
How was your final week of 2025?
Yay on finishing the 1st draft and as you already know, I like the title but will reserve final approval until I know more about the plot.
ReplyDeleteMmmm. Stuffed pork chops. And stop worrying about the weight. Go for the muscle/activitiy building. The rest will take care of itself.
Yay for finding the planner. Good eyes! Yay for spreadsheets and all that other stuff.
I mostly vegged. I did get the mantel decor & stockings down plus switched tablecloths and centerpiece. I need to do the front door wreath and outside lights. I'll get on that. Eventually.
In the meantime, I'm mentally prepping for peopling this week. Doctors appointments. Yes. Multiple. Ugh.
And yes, may 2026 take off like a plane towing that big banner declaring us all to be winners!