Happy New Year!

2018 was quite a year.  I accomplished a lot of goals, I surprised myself quite a few times, and I got published!  In case you forgot, my short story, A Boy and the Ocean, was published by Z Publishing House in their Massachusett’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Fiction.  It is my first publication, and the first the world will ever see of the Saintsverse, so it’s doubly exciting.

For this year’s goals post, I’ve got three categories: writing, reading, fitness.  Thus far, there’s only been one fitness post on this blog, but I’d like that to change in the upcoming year.  Fitness is a HUGE part of my life, and while it is definitely a way to allow myself to think things out instead of staring blankly at a computer, it’s also just something I love a heck ton and that I’d like to talk about more.

Let’s start with that!  I have two major fitness goals this year, and one for 2020 (yes, I plan that far ahead) that I want to start putting work in toward.  By the end of 2019, I’d like to be able to do a forearm stand and handstand away from the wall.  In a truly wild world, I’d be able to do at least a forearm stand by the summer so that I can start doing them on mountains, but we’ll see.  Right now, I’m able to do both at the wall, and I’m even starting to figure out my forearm away from the wall.  I recently dropped into a forearm wheel from my stand, and I’ve started getting more comfortable kicking up in the middle of the room, so it’s really only a matter of time.  The handstand will definitely take more time, but I’m also taking very specific steps toward that.  If you follow me on Instagram (shameless plug what’s good), you might have seen me fall in love with Body Bible this summer.  Yoga pretty much saved my life, but calisthenics made me fall in love with sweating again.  I’ve done the 4 week shred three times now, and I’m about done with it for a fourth time currently.  Once I’m done, I’ll start on the handstand program, which will hopefully start to teach me everything I need to know.  And, finally, the goal I’m going to start working on, but probably not accomplish until 2020, is a pull-up.  Just one, man.  I’d settle for just being able to do one.

My dudes, have I got some big dreams for my 2019 reading goals.  First, and most importantly, I will be challenging myself to read 100 books again this year.  I thought about upping my game again, but I was really comfortable at 100, and I don’t want to stress myself out due to the even bigger dreams for my 2019 writing goals you’ll see below.  I crushed my goal for 2018, coming in at 122 books.  And hey, if you’re curious about which were my favorites, here’s another shameless plug: Top 10 Reads of 2018.

Now.  I have been dragging my feet on several series over this year.  I told myself I was going to wrap them all up in 2018, and then I didn’t, so not only do I have regular reading goals, I have series reading goals, as well. And some rereading ones! So, here are my 10 reading goals for 2019:

1. Finish The Mortal Instruments series reread.
2. Read The Infernal Devices trilogy.
3. Finish A Series of Unfortunate Events.
4. Reread the Inheritance Cycle.
5. Reread the Shades of Magic trilogy.
6. Reread the Crows duology.
7. Read one classic per month.
8. Read the Bible in its entirety.
9. Read every book I bought in 2018.
10. Stick to my monthly TBRs!

I only have TWO books left of ASOUE and TMI, so I need to finish these. I also own TID and two spin-off Shadowhunters novels, so I want to get those done. Two of the other rereads I said I was going to do for the entirety of 2018 and then never did. And then, for those last four, I had a neat idea the other day that a good way to get through some of the many unread classics on my shelves was to try to read one per month. I also tried to read the Bible previously, and only got through the first two books, so I’m really going to give it a solid try again this year.

Last year, I read everything I bought in 2017 before the end of 2018, so I want to do that again with 2019. And, I’m going to make a concerted effort to actually stick to my monthly TBRs since they’ve been really helpful in getting me through my overall TBR.

Wait, this picture is actually adorable because the caption on Instagram is:

Fun fact: I already have a spin-off book planned after I finish writing Saints. It’s about three of the characters (none of the main five) leaving the island to explore the world via ship. It’s only one book in my brain right now, but who knows what’ll happen between now and then. I started the Pinterest board for it last night, and felt like my next read was pretty appropriate.

This was in December 2017, and it’s even more fitting right now because I want to revisit my writing goals for 2018 and see how I did.

• Was King of Saints queried?  Yes.  I didn’t start until December, but I did start sending it out.
• Was Saints 2 written?  Yes, and edited.
• Was Alex the Destroyed edited?  Dude, heck yes.  Not once, but thrice.
• Was the Pen boys summer novella and junior year novel written?  No.  Not even close.  In fact, I realized I needed to rewrite the first one in its entirety, so I actually went backward with this goal.
• Were one of the following writing: Mason, the desert witch, or vampire detective?  LOL, NAW, but that’s because I was writing other novels, whoops.

3 out of 5 isn’t bad, especially considering I made a big decision with one and didn’t do the other because I was writing other things.  That said, brace yourself for my 2019 writing goals:

• Edit Saints at sea into a final draft.
• Write Saints at sea 2, and edit it into a final draft.
• Finish first drafts for the following: sister witches, there are thieves, the ones we left behind.
• If time allows, start Saints: the bastards.

I know what you’re thinking right now.  Mary, that’s four books you want to write in twelve months.  Maybe even five.  Five and a half, really, since Saints at sea needs to be edited.  Like, what?  Here’s the deal, though.  Saints at sea edits will be a breeze.  All I really need to do is fix the beginning, change some things in the end, and we’re good to go.  Saints at sea 2 is brand new, but will happen in about 2-3 months, I think.  Sister witches is currently at 57k, there are thieves is currently at 59k, and the ones we left behind is just shy of 10k.  What this means is that it’s really, like, maybe two novels when all’s said and done.  Thieves is going to be over in about 20-30k.  Sister witches will definitely be longer, but it’s going to be hecka fun because I miss those characters constantly.  And the hiking novel?  It’s kind of been writing itself in between other books, so I’m planning on working on it like that until it’s done.

Realistically, my main goal is the Saintsverse, but I’ve got these other three novels started, and I don’t want them to still be blowing in the wind by the time 2019 wraps up.  So I have a year to finish them, as well as write the second Saints at sea and possibly start Saints: the bastards.  I know that the Pen boys and Mason aren’t on this list, but I’m making this as realistic as possible.  The Saintsverse is where my heart lives, and it’s where I’m going to stay for the foreseeable future.

Now, I’d like to have some kind of publishing goal for 2019, but we’ll see what happens.  Right now, it’s out of my hands.  I’ve sent it out, and it’s time to see what happens.  If that means more editing, it’ll happen.  If it just means waiting a while for responses, that’ll happen, too.  It’s not something I can totally control right now, but I’ll definitely keep you updated.

Cats?  Yeah, one of my 2019 goals is to love these two so much more than I ever have before.  They’re going to hate me.

What are your goals for 2019?  Are you setting a Goodreads goal?  Do you have non-reading goals planned?  Let me know in the comments below how badass your year is going to be!