Happy new year. I hope you had the opportunity to celebrate. I spent the evening with my husband and some dear friends, and we chatted and ate all night. We all said, ‘oh, we won’t see the new year in,’ and whaddya know? We did!
I hope 2026 is kinder and more fun than 2025. We can all do our bit to make the world a kinder place for others and do something every day to inject a bit of joy into our lives. We might not be able to control what happens out there in the big wide world, but we can choose the way we respond to it.
For a few years, I took part in something called Last 90 Days. From October 1 to December 31, I set and track health, personal and business goals to achieve. It helps me finish the year strong rather than waiting for the clock to run down. This was always perfect for me as the (Australian) summer is the busy time for our business, so we rarely travel or take time off. It’s a time of GSD (Getting Sh*t Done!)
This year I was overseas from the end of September to the middle of November and wasn’t really setting goals in that time other than to find the next fantastic meal or tick amazing places off my Book It List. So, in light of this, I’ll be observing the first 90 days of 2026.
January – My husband and I started with a personal trainer in December. We’re both feeling the pudge of mid-life creeping onto our bellies, so we’re working with Sven (yep – that’s his name!) to lift heavy things and run about until we’re sweaty messes. So in January we will both be eating clean and gymming like crazy to try to get a bit of this flab to tighten up.
I’ll also be meeting with my wonderful writers group, outlining our goals and setting in motion some fun events.
I’ll also be attempting to get some actual writing done. I plan to enter my crime manuscript in the Allen & Unwin unpublished crime novel competition. Every time I think about querying or pitching, I feel ill, so in 2026 I am going to push myself to do it more. I’ll be posting weekly chapters of my 2020 novel, Alia Henry and the Ghost Writer, on my Substack. You can find it by clicking here. The second book in the Alia Henry series is underway, and I hope to have it finished for an April release.
February – We’re heading to Japan for a week of skiing and eating (mainly Indian food for me as Japan doesn’t do a lot of vegetarian or vegan…) When we come back, we’ll be preparing for Spain. Yes – my husband has decided to come to Spain and walk a part of el Camino de Santiago with me and a friend.
I will have the second Alia Henry book, The Door to Yesterday, finished and in the hands of my critique buddies and beta readers. Planning for the second edition of the Currumbin Crime Writers Festival begins this month, and my first Art Inspired Writer workshop for the year will be at HOTA Art Gallery on the Gold Coast, 28 February.
March – I will be teaching a workshop for the Queensland Women Writers in Brisbane on March 10. There will be plenty more training for the Camino and PT with Sven. Edits of The Door to Yesterday will be in full swing and all that goes with publishing.
So that’s the first 90 days of 2026. There are some writing competitions to enter and some to help with as a volunteer judge, trip planning and family events thrown in there too.
What have you got planned?
