Looking Forward with Hope and Plans
by Paty Jager
January 10, 2023
I’ve been someone who rarely visits the past. There are a couple of things that happened in my past that shaped who I am today. And while I look back and wish they hadn’t happened, I know I wouldn’t be as independent and strong had my life been all sunshine and roses.
And it is the murky past that keeps me looking forward rather than back. What I see laid out ahead of me is a year full of promise, travel, exploring new elements of my writing, and working on promotion for my products.
After feeling like I’d let myself and my readers down last year by not finishing all the books I’d planned, I’ve scaled back my book output this year to give me room to enjoy life and not beat myself up.
I also have a family trip planned to Alaska to watch a grandson graduate from high school before he joins the Air Force. And another trip to Hawaii with one of my best friends. I would have liked my husband to go, but we were offered a condo in August and he can’t get away then. On both trips, I plan to enjoy the people I’m with and take lots of photos.
The daughter who lives down the road has a new riding horse this year and I’m looking forward to getting out on trail rides with her and any of her kids who want to go. We had planned to do that last year but her horse wasn’t trail-ready yet.
Another thing hubby and I have talked about is taking long weekend trips around the east side of the state. Going on roads we’ve never been and seeing places we say, “We should go there someday.”
I also need to make a trip to Lincoln City to research an upcoming Spotted Pony Casino Mystery book. I’ve had the idea for this book in my head for almost ten years, but finally have the character and circumstances to make it work in a mystery series. I love when that happens!
The other thing I am looking forward to is attending more NIWA (Northwest Independent Writers Association) book events. I plan to go to the Mt. Angel and Portland events for sure. I’ll have to check out some more. I also have a book signing tour set up with Dwight Holing, an author who writes similar books to mine only in a different area of Oregon and in a different era.
There are so many wonderful and new things happening this year that I only want to look forward and dream of the fun I’m going to have.
One of the things we can all look forward to is my January release, Bear Stalker, book 10 in the Gabriel Hawke series. I had so much fun doing the research for this book with my sister-in-law and so far the beta readers and my critique partner have all enjoyed the book. Hopefully, that’s a good sign for my readers!
Here’s to a wonderful new year for everyone!
Award-winning author Paty Jager and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. On her road to publication she wrote freelance articles for two local newspapers and enjoyed her job with the County Extension service as a 4-H Program Assistant. Raising hay and cattle, riding horses, and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Her penchant for research takes her on side trips that eventually turn into yet another story. Learn more about her at her website.
