Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2019 already?
Well, it's true that the R8 have been MIA for the last few - ahem - years. We all had Life happen with a capital L, and consequently the blog kind of fell by the wayside. But we are still here, we are still writing, and we want to ring in the new year with you!
Nichole Christoff
Word: Gear
Why this one: Whether we’re talking high, low, forward, or reverse, “gear” is my Word of the Year because it’s a good reminder to keep on keepin’ on. I figure gettin’ it in gear is the only way to reach the next destination on this road called Life. If I’m not ready to roll, Life could pass me by, and I don’t want that. So, whether my progress is slow or quick, I want to engage that gear.
Why this year: With the latest two Jamie Sinclair novels having hit the virtual bookshelves in 2018 and new works-in-progress for 2019, now is the perfect time to remind myself that there will be obstacles on the road ahead, maybe a detour or two, but I can put in plenty of mileage, too. By getting myself in gear, I’ll get where I want to go. And so will you.
So! “Gear” is my Word of the Year! Throughout 2019, feel free to keep in touch. You can find me, my books, and all my social media links at www.nicholechristoff.com.
Misha Crews
Word: Through
Why This Word: A few months ago, I was very despondent. I was far from home, having recently transplanted myself to the west coast, and life was not looking quite as sparkly as usual (which is quite a bit of an understatement). Suddenly, my sadness was overtaken by this thought: Wow, I am really going through something. And if I'm going through it, then at some point, I will come out the other side.
Why This Year: At the end of August 2018, my mother passed away very suddenly. That loss is one which can never be reversed. Although I do believe in an afterlife and I know we will see each other again, I will be without her for the rest of this lifetime. And that fact, to put it poetically, sucks big time. The adjustment period after this bereavement is a major part of what I have been going through.
I looked up the origin of "through" (researching word origins is one of my favorite forms of therapy), and it comes from a Dutch word meaning "door," which can be traced back even further, meaning "to cross over, pass through, overcome." There is a peaceful resonance to the idea that I am passing through a door, crossing over stress and pain, and overcoming difficulty to reach calmer shores. It feels like a truth that I can hold on to when waters get rough and stormy.
Robert Frost said, "The best way out is always through." Well, sometimes it's also the only way out. So, that's what I'm going to do in 2019: steer through my uncertainty and my grief, and find my way to the happiness and productivity that waits on the other side.
Mackenzie Lucas
Word: Rebuild
Why This Word: As the definition states, the word rebuild means to build somehting again after it has been damaged or destroyed. I’m totally restructuring my life, from the ground up.
Why This Year: I’ve just gone through a year of tearing down, or as my tarot friends say, I’ve been towered. It’s been a year full of loss. I went through a separation and divorce this past year. My nest is totally empty—the last of my boys has gone away to college. And I lost my dad this past year; my sole surviving parent. Thus, I’m an orphan. So the new year is all about rebuilding for me. And, girl, I’ve got a lot of rebuilding to do. It’s all good, I swear. If not a little hard. A fresh start. Right? I have the chance to start at ground zero and create something fresh and new. The possibilities are limitless. Which is exciting, if a little scary. But after the year I’ve had, I think I’m ready for the challenge and chance to restructure my future. And no matter how much you prepare for eventualities (lost relationships, empty nests, and the death of loved ones), the actual life events and grieving process can be so much harder to deal with in real life than you’d ever expect. Yet, there is life on the other side. So here’s to rebuilding! Let’s do this. Bring it, 2019.
Keely Thrall
Word: Ship
Why this one: Two reasons. 1) Hello! Romance writer, here. I'm all about the ship - friendships, courtships, relationships, loveships (would should totally be a word). Shipping fictional characters to Happily Ever After Island is the core of my writing mission. 2) It's time to ship my work and give my characters a chance to explore the world beyond the contest circle.
Why this year: In 2018, I made a number of small, crucial shifts in the hows of my life (my ecosystem of habits) so that I could focus more intentionally on my writing and what I want from it. What I discovered in the process is that I'm tired of being unpublished. I'm tired of holding back and hugging the shorelines, letting doubt whisper in my ear of shipwrecks and storms. At the dawn of 2019, I say: it's time to cast off for Romancelandia. I'm ready to set sail and ride the waves of adventure to meet my fortune. I am, in fact, ready to make like a captain and ship.