Resolutions for 2013

My last post was on Old Year Resolutions, but I have a few for the New Year, too. These are all about my writing life (those for my personal world I've written down elsewhere), and they're more nebulous than I'd like, since much involved in traditional publishing is not in my hands, but I have them. Perhaps you can compare to see if any of yours are similar.

1. I have a book coming out this year, published by Covenant Communications, and I'm setting goals for how to get the word out. The story is about the Burnetts, a Mormon family struggling with a death, but it can apply to any family of any religious background. It has recipes in every chapter, but it's about a much bigger question: What recipe can you use to mend a broken family? Watch for A SECRET FAMILY RECIPE, coming in June.
2. I'm up to eight books available now for e-reader devices and I'm devising goals for publicizing these. I plan to grow my Twitter community, use Facebook and other social media to let people know about these sweet love stories, and trumpet the fact that I actually got a personal recommendation from Debbie Macomber. Really! Maybe that will help?
3. The eight mentioned above include six from the Rainbow Rock series. I'm currently writing a seventh. Set a decade or so from where the last book left off, RETURN TO RAINBOW ROCK begins with Marcie Carmody coming home in disgrace, ruined both socially and financially by her ex-fiance who has left her for another woman. She thinks she has it rough until she meets Ryan Fields, abandoned by his wife who has also taken their children. It's a story of growth and maturation, mistakes and second chances, or as William Faulkner once said about "the only plot there is," it's a story of "sin and redemption." I plan to have it online by June.
4. When I get Marcie comfortably settled in Rainbow Rock, I am going to marry off her step-brother, Danny, who is now an officer for the Arizona Highway Patrol. That story is already giving me delicious moments of anticipation.  ;-) 
5. MAGGIE RISING, which I previewed in my last column, is with my agent now. I'm making some revisions appropriate to a specific genre and audience (TBA) and I hope I'll have a contract for it soon.
6. Mostly I intend to spend less time at the "day job" and more becoming a full-time, professional novelist--my dream since I was eleven years old. Let's see how I do.

May you have success with your own goals for this Good Luck Year, 2013.


Susan Aylworth is the author of 11 novels--8 published, the 9th soon-to-be, the 10th contracted, and the 11th with her agent. She hopes to write dozens more. Connect with her here or at www.susanaylworth.com or follow @SusanAylworth.