Out with the old and in with the new

This is my first year of writing a blog and so I do not have a tradition of sharing with you my aspirations for the coming year or a review of the year that has passed. However, this is something I have practiced in my personal journaling for the past thirty years. I have got it down to a fine art with a review of the highs and lows, then bullet point aspirations for the coming year. As I have grown older and wiser my aspirations have become modest and more about maintaining good health and well-being. So, I get a kick of satisfaction when I write at the beginning of each new year that I have exceeded my expectations.

Maybe my intuition prepared me for what 2020 was to bring because my aspirations were:

• Keep up daily meditation practice
• Continue to write every day
• Continue to exercise – yoga, Pilates, cardio, etc.
• Improve diet by planning meals in advance, using what is in the fridge.
• Buy less or zero clothes

The above was pretty much what filled every day! I am proud to say that I did not buy a single item of clothing. I had just finished writing the first draft of Just Bea and in the process researched recycled clothes. This raised my awareness of waste as a result of fashion and I decided that I had more than enough clothes to last me several years. 

My writing goals were to complete Just Bea so that it was ready for publication and to start work on Misdirection. At that time I was represented by a top literary agent and The Borrowed Boy was out on submission so I was hoping for a publishing contract.

My reviews of previous years have been filled with travels to exotic places, family occasions, theatre, exhibitions – all of the things we missed in 2020. However, there was a silver lining for me because I focused 100% on writing, publishing, and marketing my books.

At the end of March, I decided to self-publish The Borrowed Boy and inspired by Joanne Penn of The Creative Penn (look up her podcast and website – she is amazing) to become an Indie Entrepreneur. I have learnt so much this year and loved every minute of this exciting journey. I have connected with wonderful people all over the world: readers, authors, bloggers, life coaches, and teachers. 

At the end of 2019, my heartfelt wish was –  to quote my journal, ‘To get a publishing contract.’ Although this did not happen, what did happen was better because it opened up new opportunities for me and fulfilled an aspiration that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, I imagined writing a column in a magazine about the sort of things I write about here in my blog. There was no such thing as a blog then and the vision I had of sharing my reflections in a column was crazy but the idea nagged me. I believe that ideas are sown in our hearts with a purpose. It may take some time before they make sense, but I know from the joy I get in writing my blog that it is what I was meant to do.

My first blog was posted on 16^th April 2020 and with the exception of 28^th December, I have posted a blog every Monday since then.

I won’t go through everything I have achieved this year but I will just express my gratitude for a few more things that came into my life once I decided to take the path of an Indie Entrepreneur.

Friday salon Tweet-chats

Every Friday at 4 pm GMT, 12 EST on Twitter I host a tweet-chat for the writing community – Friday Salon. I look forward to our weekly chats and have met some great people from across the world. Everyone is welcome to join in. Before this year, I did not engage with social media. I love people and believed Twitter with the limitation on words to be superficial. However, tweet-chats and the supportive writing community I found on Twitter proved me wrong. When the world feels like a dark place, I look to the network of like-minded people I have discovered through social media and I imagine them shining bright, lighting up the world. 

Castaway Books

I have been busy recording interviews with some of my favourite authors about the books which have shaped their lives and influenced their writing. Learning how to edit films and starting a YouTube channel and podcast was a steep learning curve – but I am ready to share this with you early in the new year.

Books

The Borrowed Boy was published on 1^st August and has already received three awards. Just Bea my second novel will be published on 1^st February. Check my Facebook page Deborah Klée Author for news of the launch party on 4^th February 8pm GMT with a paperback giveaway draw, which you are invited to attend.

In summary

It has been a difficult year in many respects as I am missing my family, especially my daughter and her husband who we have not seen for a whole year, and my father who is in a care home. I visit him whenever I am allowed to but I have not hugged him since 3^rd March. However, I am grateful that we live in a beautiful part of the world, that we have a garden and a spacious house, that my husband and I both have creative pursuits and interests to keep us occupied, and above all that we have good health. 

I hope that you have good things to look back on in 2020 and wish you the very best for 2021. Thank you for subscribing to my blog and commenting on my posts. I love hearing from you.

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