Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, merry Christmas (if you celebrate it) and/or happy Holidays to everyone!

This year has been far more stressful than I anticipated, and I'm glad to finally see the light at the end. This is a time for reflection and for reconnecting, forgiving, and drawing close to one's friends and family. So, in this spirit, as you may have already noticed, I have restarted my regular updates on the website.

Of course, if you are among the visitors who have checked the website recently, you may wonder why now, and why did I stop posting since March. The truth is, I had several hard months as my day job, too, was impacted by the uncertainty and confusion of this year's layoffs. The market being as it is, it has been stressful and difficult to continue putting myself forward, seeking something new - something better, hopefully. It's not easy out there right now, and I've had a couple of close calls with companies unaware of the legalities of hiring in Europe, where I live. But they say the third time's the charm, and I finally found an opportunity unlike anything else I have done in the past, with a company culture that is vibrant and exciting. Time will tell, but I am hopeful and, now that this great weight is off my shoulders, I can also turn back to my writing.

Leaves is still in need of some editing, but in the meantime I have also picked up Carnival again and the first draft, I think, is almost ready. Carnival will be unlike my previous books, in that it is not a standalone story: it will branch in two directions by the end, with two sequels - each of which will follow one branch. I chose to do so because it won't be necessary to know what's happening in one branch in order to read the other, although of course there could be more fun in reading both.

After Carnival and its sequels are done, I think it may be time to finally start tackling one of my two major projects. I'm not sure which one will start first, although I suspect the untitled Pact of Four I will be the first one to come out. I'm working on an outline, which may take a while, but I won't start writing the draft itself until after Carnival's sequels are out.

Realistically, I hope the next few books (Ghostblood is coming soon!) will be well received and that people will enjoy them. I don't have a publisher, so I'm doing all of this on my own, and I'm sure I've made a lot of mistakes along the way. But as much as I would love to see North Star, Ghostblood, Leaves, Carnival and any other books take off in interest and in sales, at the end of the day I must keep in mind that I'm writing for myself. These are the stories I would like to read, and hopefully this will resonate with others. But even if it doesn't, they still warrant being written.

Look out for the announcements about Ghostblood's re-release, and thank you for following me. Until the next time, enjoy your holidays with your loved ones, family and friends, and let's get back in touch in the new year!