It’s time for my yearly overview and reckoning. 2025 has been anything but uneventful — a mandala of experiences, choices, and revelations. In May, I gave up my beloved flight attendant job. I’m still sad about it, but I don’t regret the decision. It was taking a toll on my health and family, so I had no choice but to be realistic about the situation. Currently, I’m at home, being a full-time parent and focusing on writing.

In some ways, this is a privilege, but it’s also not the easiest thing to do. I miss having colleagues and a balancing pole to my creative, home-focused life. Staying put day after day is not how I thrive, so remaining productive and focused is sometimes a struggle. I’m still technically on the lookout for a job that can accommodate my writing passion and my current parental responsibilities, but that’s hard to find where I live. I’m working on accepting my circumstances, reminding myself that many would love to be in this situation. Perhaps, I’m a living example of “the grass is always greener on the other side.” That’s a battle I will have to carry over to next year.

Publication-wise, this year was amazing. I’ve had six original publications (notably in Trollbreath, The Daily Tomorrow, and Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast) and two reprints (PodCastle and one more venue, announcement pending). Also, a non-fiction piece is forthcoming in SFWA’s Planetside in January. I won’t top these intimidating statistics next year (yes, I’ve managed to intimidate myself) because I haven’t been writing all that many short stories. In fact, all the stories that I published this year were written in years prior. It’s just that I finally got around to submitting them consistently.

So what have I been doing in terms of new projects? I finished the first draft of a novel, which I’m now revising. My plan to finish that by Christmas won’t work (thank you, stomach flu and the opportunistic cold that followed right after). I also revised an older novella for the umpteenth time, but I think it’s finally the way I wanted it. Actually, the non-fiction piece was written this year, so I did produce at least one short thing in 2025. So, all in all, I can’t say it was an unproductive year.

When it comes to events, I participated in two online readings and took part in the Milford retreat at Gladstone’s Library (which helped in drafting my novel in five and not six months — read my account of that experience here). This was an unforgettable time, which unequivocally showed me that, as much as I miss being on an airplane, writing is what makes my soul sing.

So, what about 2026? I hope 2026 to be the year I query my novel. I also hope to draft a sequel to the revised novella, which I’m currently shopping around. (Yes, yes, I know. Novellas are hard to sell, thus not the cleverest thing to write career-wise, but art is not always clever). I also want to write at least one short story. To be honest, I don’t expect any publications in 2026. I don’t have all that many short stories left to send out as I mostly focused on long-form projects this year.

That’s it from me. I won’t burden myself with resolutions (second year in a row to eschew these). All I hope for is to allow myself enough sleep and exercise, be a good parent, and give my writing my best.

P.S. The photo shows a mandala I colored. I color when I need my brain to decompress. This one took me a couple of years to complete (Perhaps, I need to leave more time for self-care). When I’m working on a writing project that takes a while, I have the same feeling of excruciatingly slow progress until… I finish. Then I look at the whole, and it was all worth it.