Happy New Year -- & A Wrap on 2025!

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Happy New Year, Supernatural Undergrounders! I hope life brings us all some beach -- or beach analog -- goodness in 2026.

I also understand that we're entering the Year of the Fire Horse (although not until the end of February), which sounds like there may be action and excitement of the positive sort in store. All digits pretzelled that shall prove to be the case.

The Year of the Horse, 2026

I haven't yet decided on my theme for 2026, but in the meantime, here's the wrap on 2025's Leadership in Fantasy posts:

Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction ~ Where To Find 'Em & Why They Rock:

February: Mara of the Acoma in the "Empire" series by Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts

March:  Kaladin and Dalinar in "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson

April: Pyanfar Chanur in "The Pride of Chanur" series by CH Cherryh

May: John Aversin in Dragonsbane, by Barbara Hambly

June: Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

July: Ulric of the Nadir in Legend by David Gemmell

August: Signe de Barbentain in A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay 

September: Dr Mensah in the "Murderbot" Series by Martha Wells

October: Katsa & Bitterblue in "The Graceling Realms" by Kristin Cashore

November: Coltaine in "Deadhouse Gates" by Steven Erikson

December: Faramir in "The Lord of the Rings" by JRR Tolkien 

 

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About Helen Lowe 

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

From the Backlist: Writing Resolutions for the New Year

"Now What?" by Yaoyao Ma Van As

 

Welcome to the last post of 2025 where we highlight an insightful look at ways writers, and readers, can make a great start to 2026. 

Writing Resolutions for the New Year by T Frohock

Enjoy this addition of From the Backlist, and have a safe and wonderful celebration!

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Writing Resolutions for the New Year

by T. Frohock

 

Or the new month, or the new day, I'm pretty flexible about resolutions as a whole, because we all tend to slip off the wagon from time to time. However, there is nothing like having an outline of sorts for the year ahead ... or the month, or the day ...

You get the idea. Anyway, here are some of my plans for writing in 2016:

A Business Plan. My business plan will consist of more than eating collards on New Year's Day and hoping that means I will make a lot of money in the coming year. I will actually sit down and make dollar signs followed by actual figures as to how much I can afford to spend on promotional activities. I will analyze my writing, the markets I want to reach, and my readership. I will have a clear idea of the types of books I intend to write along with realistic timetables as to how long it will take me to produce each work.

Read More Books. I will read more books both in my genre and outside my genre. I want to read fiction and non-fiction, because reading broadens my skillset by constantly exposing me to new ideas. While I definitely read for enjoyment, I also read in order to study other authors' works for story structure and techniques that might improve my own writing.

Pace Myself Better. This is actually part of my business plan, too, but I wanted to list it separately, because self care is important. I pushed myself a little too hard in 2015. Keep in mind that I work a full-time job in addition to writing. Realistically, it takes me about five months to complete a 30,000 word novella. What I didn't account for in 2015 was a month of edits on a previous novella along with a month of promo on the opposite side. In 2016, I will be accounting for those extra two months. I also know that I can produce about 30,000 words of good fiction in a five month period (in addition to blog posts and other stories), so that I can better assess how long it will take me to write a novel. Add in reading, those little ups and downs of life, and family, and seven months for a finished novella is actually more realistic.

Take More Risks. Continue reading...

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T. Frohock has turned a love of history and dark fantasy into tales of deliciously creepy fiction. A real-life cyborg, T. has a cochlear implant, meaning she can turn you on or off with the flick of a switch. Make of that what you will. She currently lives in North Carolina, where she has long been accused of telling stories, which is a southern colloquialism for lying.

Check out her latest releases HERE!

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Thanks for dropping by! Can't wait to see you all back in 2026!