We had a very white Christmas here in the Driftless area of Wisconsin:

I’m back in my office after taking the last week of 2025 off to recharge. This morning I played around some more with Amazon Ads for Driftless Spirits and checked the sites for a couple book contests I have in mind to enter. I’ll spend the rest of my time (after this post) reading through the first chapters of Book 2, working title “Tangled Roots,” to refresh my memory. Writing fresh chapters starts tomorrow, a task that I currently find both exciting and daunting, I have to admit.

In 2025 I wrote about 10 chapters/18,000 words for Tangled Roots, giving myself a head start and a springboard for 2026. I love the Prologue’s first line:

“Every storm has a story to tell, if you listen to it.”

Writing Book 2 is quite different from Book 1 so far. I spent a lot of time in 2025 world-building my little town of Casten’s Horn, in both space and time. Its physical layout and key places are vivid. The cast of characters spans from the town’s founding in 1860 to present day. I spent 2025 hyper-focused on getting the details right.

Starting Book 2, I initially felt overwhelmed, not with building the setting but with keeping the scope in check. One thing I love about Driftless Spirits is how “tight” the story is. I think the biggest challenge with Tangled Roots will be to keep that feeling even as the backstory of Casten’s Horn becomes more complicated. Also, while in Driftless Spirits the crime to solve is present-day, in Tangled Roots a past murder is discovered. The tricky part is bringing that past to life in narration set in the present day. The victim’s story is pivotal to revealing more secrets for my main character, Charlotte, to uncover. (The series will end when she’s uncovered enough secrets to set things right. There are hints of something very wrong in town in Driftless Spirits, and that too needs to be advanced in Tangled Roots.)

In between chapters, I am still learning how to be a marketer. Honestly, it’s a secondary concern. I hope people find my books and enjoy them but I’m not trying to make a living. I’m writing these books for the joy of it, and for the challenge. Still, I want to find readers. My lofty goal for 2026 is to average a reader a day. That would make me very happy.

My biggest concern for Book 2 right now is the cover! I love the cover of Driftless Spirits, as a journal plays a big part in the overall story and the cover itself is cozy, uplifting and a bit ethereal. I also like how clean it looks. The cover for Tangled Roots needs these same qualities and I’ve only just begun the search.

Anyway, as I start 2026, that’s where I’m at. Best of luck to everyone and Happy New Year! May you reach your goals, stay (or become) healthy, and have some happy moments that turn into cherished memories at year end.