I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for the start of a new year. It hasn’t helped that I’ve spent almost all Christmas feeling terrible; something that’s definitely had me craving the end of mince pies, tinsel and leftover turkey. On Thursday it’ll be January 1st, 2015, and I CAN’T WAIT.

2015 has several things in store for me, both writing and big steps in my personal life. In 2014 I didn’t manage to get as much writing done as I’d hoped for. I finished the Inside Evil series with ‘To Kill A Curse’ and published the second part of CRYO – ‘A Changed World’. Other than that it’s been pretty quiet (though I was working on another short story for The Alien Chronicles – which is now on pre-order, by the way). Writing-wise, there are quite a few things I’m hoping to get done in the coming year;

• CRYO 3 – I’ve written the first paragraph and am going to spend the first part of the year getting this next instalment complete. John’s hunt for Kath is about to intensify, he’s finally going to be leaving Earth behind him as he ventures up to the stars and, as with A Changed World, there’s going to some new secrets uncovered.
• CRYO Expanded Universe – I’m writing a number of short stories about the CRYO crew before they won their lotto tickets. These will be FREE for newsletter subscribers. 😀 I’ve almost completed Ann’ story; you’ll find out a little more about her wife, her love for horticulture and the accident that resulted in her losing forearms.
• A New Chronicles – The Future Chronicles are becoming quite the talked about series in the SF world, and I have a CRYO story coming out in The Alien Chronicles. Later in the year there’s going to be a zombie themed edition, and this will have a new Pacifier 6 tale.
• NEW SERIES – I’ve just started a brand new SF series following a group of colonists heading out to Mars to further the human race’s reach. THESE are the first few words;

It was cold, barren and the last place Rebecca wanted to go, but if she was ever to pay off her debts, a rotation on the Mars colony was the one clear choice. Space never failed to provide continued allure to the naive; until its true hostility revealed itself. When that occurred there was only one thing to draw the Environment Habitat Developers out; cash. An 18 month chore as an ENVO would solve all her issues. She could repay her loans and return to the relative luxury of Earth. There was only one problem – the thing that terrified her more than space itself was hypersleep, and that was a mandatory part of her upcoming tour. Black. Nothingness. No dreaming, drifting off to sleep or the comfort of a blissful awakening. Just emptiness. Death. It was truly frightening.

Rebecca looked down at her bare legs as she sat under the harsh lights of the prep room. She should’ve shaved; the small black hairs were well passed acceptable levels. They pricked the surface like the first spines on a young porcupine. The metal floor was cold under her feet, the bench beneath her hard and uncomfortable. She was about to face her worst nightmare and yet, here she was, thinking about just how undesirable she’d appear when her luke warm body was flopped into the sleep box.

The door behind her slid open and Rebecca instinctively drew her thin robe closer….she could hold on to her modesty for a little longer.

‘Dr. Galliance?’

The man looked up from his tablet device as she nodded.

‘If you’d come with me.’

She stood, wondering if he saw through the attempted bravado. Her forced smile wasn’t as strong as she’d hope for, and she could feel herself trembling. It was too late to back out, all the arrangements had been made. There was only one thing laying in her future; Mars.

But, aside from writing, I’ve got a few things planned too. I got married this year and we’re in the process of buying a home to renovate and move into during the first few months of the New Year. That means moving away from London -a place I’ve been for 14 years – and leaving my current gardening and dog walking businesses. I’m going to be focussing on building these business up again, as well as creating a beautiful home from the current wreck we’ve bought! Time, therefore, is going to be a premium and so I’m going to try and follow a few extra rules as well as cost-saving methods.

• Grow More Food – I’ve had an allotment for many years but honestly, I hardly ever get there. I want to focus on growing more of my own food in 2015, baking bread and cooking from scratch, thereby being healthier and (hopefully) spending less.
• Budget my Social Media Time – Seriously, social media is a MASSIVE drain. I love it, and I won’t leave it, but I do need to ration the amount of time I’m allowed on. So, no more checking in constantly. I need to carefully manage my time so it’s all used productively instead of saying I’m sitting down to write and then spending an hour on Facebook and Twitter.
• Save for the future – Part of our plan in buying home is to increase the amount of capital we have in 10 years time so that we can quit urban living, head into Suffolk (where I have land) and do a self-build. In January we’re meeting with an architect to go through our current drawings and to revise costs down so we have a better idea of budget. Thus, we’re going to be saving a lot for the future so that, one day, the dream of doing a self build and becoming ‘hobby’ farmers can be realised. I already have chickens, but I want sheep, goats, cows and horses too!

That’s a little round-up of my coming year; lots of writing, saving and moving to do!! I’m excited…and a little nervous. 😉