Any year brings with it ups and downs. Personally, professionally, as a citizen of the world.

In 2025, the human toil on our collective psyches was severe. Reminiscent of the not-so-long-ago COVID pandemic. Communities were fractured, families suffered isolation and separation, and our country faced chaotic, frenetic, violent upheaval--thanks to the actions and influences of our current Administration.

It never let up. The swirl of petty executive orders, law-breaking, distractions, rantings, threats, bullying, revenge tactics! It never let up. The trickle, trickle, trickle of madness emanating from the man-who-would-be-King, and his sycophantic, cowardly, legions. The cowardice and self-interest tilting the scale that was meant to balance power.

This morning, as I write this post, Trump has executed an "invasion" of Venezuela, and "captured" the President of that country. Whatever the official reason, Congress did not give its authority for this action, and therefore it is wrong.

Meanwhile, I decided a few months ago not to let the antics of the POTUS derail my energy. So, enough about him/them/they.

Professionally, 2025 was a mixed bag. I was serving out the last year of my two-year term as the Chair of the Board of Bouchercon National. The job was a lot of hard, and ongoing, volunteer work. The time, energy and effort didn't leave a lot of room for creative writing, but I managed, by the end of the year, to complete my Western (It's now out for sensitivity reads), and during the year I also wrote three, short stories that I am proud of, and I completed another short story that I will soon have news about.

In March, 2025 I was involved in a collective action to do good in this world, at a time when a lot of us were feeling bad. It was the highlight of my year. As a member of the organizing group, the Crime Writers for Trans Rights created an auction that raised over $60,000 to support the legal, and leadership development work of the Transgender Law Center. Our original goal was twenty-thousand dollars, but authors and industry experts from the crime/mystery writing community came through with signed books, services, and other items that caught fire with fans and readers. I am very proud of that work.

A tip of the hat to my fellow organizers: E.A. Aymar, Greg Herren, Jennifer Dornan-Fish (writing as Ellison Cooper), Sandra SG Wong, and Susanna Calkins. And I invited advisors, Robyn Gigl, Brenda Buchanan, and John Copenhaver  to help us, and lend credibility to the effort. We were a lean, mean fighting machines. Thanks to ALL the authors, industry professionals, and organizations who donated items and services to this auction. You are stellar citizens!

Personally, I took my first RV trip to visit my 98-year-old mother in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was grand to visit with her, see my brothers, and spend a bit of time with my family. I had a half dozen book promotion events in 2025, much fewer than in the two previous years, but just the right number for this tumultuous year. Oh, and the Charlie Mack Motown Mysteries were featured on Jeopardy! I'm working on the 7th book in that series now.

In 2025, like millions of other Americans, I marched, post-carded, and resisted the assault on our Democracy. Hallelujah!

2026 is to be a year where I write every, single, day. This morning I woke up to the thoughts for a psychological thriller based on the madness of our times. AND, hopefully, I'll get a publisher to pick up my quirky, book-within-a-book Western. Fingers crossed.

I pray the New Year will bring more kindness, more common sense,

more community, more pride in country, and more opportunities to write to my soul's content.