Monday, December 7, 2020

Wrapping up the year by Paty Jager


I'm excited to say, I had a good writing year. I finished the books I'd planned to write, made my word goal, and made decisions about a new series.

The year had a few downfalls. All of my conferences were cancelled. I was disappointed in that, but I found other ways to keep busy and learn. 

Looking forward to 2021, I have a series ending and a new one beginning. I had the idea for the new series bubbling around in my head for a while, and when I decided to end one, I started began researching the new character. 

While it will be sad to end the one series, I feel it is best to end it before readers think it has gone stale because I'm not as excited to write it as I am the new idea.

The new series will be the Spotted Pony Casino series. My main character works in a casino as security. She's a disabled veteran who grew up on a reservation with her mother who is a teacher.  She'll be living and working in the same community where she grew up. But she isn't a tribal member. However, she will be treated like a community member because of growing up there and the respect her mother has achieved through her teaching and helping the community.

This will be my next challenging series to write. But what is the fun in writing a book if the author doesn't learn something new as they entertain and inform the reader? 

That is my favorite thing about writing. Learning new things and incorporating it into a book. 

What are you looking forward to in 2021?



3 comments:

Diana McCollum said...

Paty,
Kudos on completing one series and starting a new one. And, of course, meeting your writing goals. For 2021 I am excited there will finally be a vaccine available for the COVID-19 virus. Because, this means I can go to CA and visit our kids and grandkids, I can once again visit my friends here in OR, go out for dinner or coffee or lunch!

Life does go on, but pandemic life has been a struggle.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Diana

Judith Ashley said...

Looking forward to your new series, Paty. Is this the one that includes the theme of missing indigenous women?

I'm looking forward to hugs from my grands, great grands and friends, a week at the Oregon Coast and getting back into my writing groove. The pandemic didn't interfere but some health issues of mine and the end-of-life and estate process of a long time friend certainly took its toll.

Maggie Lynch said...

Paty, You continue to amaze me with your imagination and ability to even come up with a new series. I agree that finding new stories and bringing them to fruition is a challenge and rewarding.

It is easy to fall back on what has come before. Those characters are well known and don't take as much work to develop--the joy of on ongoing series. But the excitement of a new one is also something many writers pursue. I'm looking forward to learning more about yours.

What I am most looking forward to in 2021 is the promise of a COVID vaccine and, I hope, a return to a more civil political landscape. For myself, I'm hoping to finish a series in 2021 and to begin two others. One of them being a middle grade longer running series. I'm still in the planning for the latter, but excited about the possibilities.