I know not everyone had a great 2025. For my family, it has had its share of ups and downs. Overall, though, if I had to relive it, I would. I’ve had some terrible years and this was not one of them.
I don’t always have a “word of the year,” but in 2025, I had a strong sense that I was to “Release.” Specifically, release control. Stop trying to make my dreams come true. If you know me, you know there is one very specific dream that I believe is also a promise from God.
I still believe in that dream, but in 2025, I had to accept that I could not make it come true, no matter what I did.
In 2026, there are also some words.
Now I don’t pretend to believe that the “unexpected” will be that dream coming true, although it would certainly be nice. What I’m learning is that life is going to throw curves. To mix my metaphors, it’s better to anticipate a change in plans and therefore be able to roll with the punches. The world is growing less predictable all the time, and as the world gets weirder, we can expect that our lives are going to get weirder as well.
As my friend Hannah Hood Lucero’s Flynn Boys would say, “Vigilance.”
But enough rumination for now. Let’s recap 2025!
This was the first year I truly began to feel I had come into my own as far as writing is concerned. Things began to take shape in a way they haven’t previously, and I’m excited to see where things go from here.
In March, I published Dearest Gunter, the first book in my Separate Ways Series. For those who were left with more questions than answers, that is by design: it is to be followed by at least two more full-length novels, both of which are drafted.
Along with DG, I released two novellas related to the Separate Ways series:
Born for Adversity appeared in the very first Brave Authors Novella Collection, Every Life Treasured. This novella serves as an unofficial “sequel” to Dearest Gunter until Separate Ways Book 2 comes out, because it tells Lani’s story immediately following the events of DG and hints at her trajectory.
Schneewittchen, part of a collection of Historical Fairy Tale Retellings from Beyond the Bookery entitled A Worthy Love. I loved the challenge of retelling a fairy tale, and was thrilled to read a review on Goodreads that opened with, “Ooo, this was such a good Snow White retelling! It’s very rare to see WWII stores from a German perspective, and I highly appreciated that.”
I also submitted to a few contests, which I have been (and continue to be) reluctant to do. Included in these submissions was a short story entitled Beneath the Din, which, if you are a newsletter subscriber, you received in my December newsletter. Not a prize winner, but I was pleased with it because it was my first attempt at a short story of 1000 words or less. Plus, for the first time, I told the story from the perspective of an Allied nurse.
I also submitted a piece of poetry, which is as far out of my wheelhouse as short stories are. I may eventually create a new page on this site, specifically for shorter pieces of writing… so stay tuned!
In 2025, I checked THREE MORE things off my Bucket List:
Dearest Gunter was translated and made available in German.
I also created audio editions of Dearest Gunter and The Christmas We Both Needed on Audible. I recognize that Virtual Voice audio books are still controversial, but I was willing to give them a try.
Finally, I added a Music tab to my website and created a YouTube account. I have not made much of this yet, but it is there, just waiting… kind of like the draft of Separate Ways Book 3 that’s been sitting on my hard drive since 2024…
And then there was my Grace Project…
I took some time this summer to work on a personal project, a 70,000-word speculative/contemporary novel that I gave the working title A Simple Project. It challenged me in new and fun ways, and also gave my heart a break from all the heavy topics in my usual stories.
Photo by Taras Makarenko on Pexels.com
After all that, I finally got to work on Separate Ways Book 2, which I finished drafting as of 12/30. This might be the most dangerous of all my books so far. It addresses uncomfortable topics, “unalives” a fan favorite, and casts one of the villains of the history books in an objective and neutral light.
Feel free to submit your guesses at the bottom!
There is also unrequited love and an honest look at life in Weimar Germany.
*Soap Box Time*
One of my constant bugaboos is that people think Weimar Germany was some great place, and that the coming of the Nazi storm destroyed an otherwise viable and flourishing society. The truth is that Weimar was, in many ways, as dark and evil a place as the images we paint of Hitler’s Germany.
/rant
That’s all I can tell you for now. Why give all my secrets away? As I said above, in 2025 I began to feel that I gained a better sense of my identity as an author.
So what are my goals for this year?
One of the main goals of 2026 is going to be to reflect on my journey as a German-perspective author of WWI/WWII fiction and put it into some kind of systematic or sensible order, so that I can share my journey and navigation techniques with others.
As I said, I finished drafting Separate Ways Book 2 on 12/30. The working title is Brother Jochen so you can tell that Joachim aka Jochen Schrader will feature prominently alongside his brother Gunter.
I do not have a release date for Book 2 yet, but I do have a release date for another exciting project:
I will be re-releasing my debut novel, Sani: The German Medic in June.
I have been turning this idea over in my head for years. With the 5th anniversary of the book’s release coming up, I decided it was time, not just for a polish, but for an update. I’m hoping to make at least three blog entries about changes I’ve made to the book, so stay tuned. I will be plastering social media and my newsletter with pre-order signups and maybe even an ARC opportunity!
What else can folks expect… besides the unexpected?
There are a few things I am turning around in my mind. While they are related to what I’m already doing, it will mean I have to shift some of my priorities.
I’m going to cut back on guest blogging so I can concentrate my own blog. I’ll still be looking for guest bloggers here, so if you’re interested, drop me an email on the Contact page.
After Separate Ways is complete, I am considering creating a new pen name for a YA-friendly series. There has been much talk about the direction the YA industry is taking, and as I have kids of my own, I want to be a part of the solution. My writing will never lose its edge, but there are things our kids just don’t need to be reading. (Does anybody?)
Lastly–and this is the thing I am MOST excited about–I joined a WWII Reenactment group! I haven’t decided exactly how I’m going to share my adventures yet, but I’m definitely planning on doing so, so stay tuned!
All the best to you, and a Happy and Safe 2026!
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