JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Happy New Year, everyone! (We can still say that for at least the first week, right?) I'm starting out 2026 with a bang - hopefully a bang like fireworks reaching high into the sky, and not a bang you hear while driving your car and suddenly the steering wheel starts to wobble.
Usually, my contribution to What We're Writing Week is 1) I'm not, really or 2) another in an endless series of excerpts because I'm still working on the same manuscript since last year. Not this time, however! Right now I have three balls in the air, two professional and one personal.
One: I'm picking my non-mystery novel back up after mumbledy-mumble months weeks. I was sidelined for mostly happy reasons: my daughter's wedding and the birth of my grandson, the release and tour of AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY, and, of course, the holidays. As much fun as the hustle and bustle and guests and celebrations were, it feels delicious to be back at my laptop, getting words on the page.
Two: I'm working on the proposal for Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne #11. I'm at the earliest stage, where I'm noodling ideas, moving characters around, and trying to come up with something cohesive. While on tour, one of my Albany-area readers suggested the Lake George New Year's Day Polar Plunge as a setting. I responded, "Oh, yeah, imagine you're standing in the nearly-freezing water and you feel something like a fish... but it turns out to be an arm."
That image has stuck with me ever since, which means there's Something There. Of course, I need to make it work with who can investigate what, and I want to bring some new characters from the most recent book back, and I want to set up a possible story line for the 12th book if my publisher wants two... there's a lot of staring into space and scribbling into my composition notebook during this process.
Three: It's the new year, and I want to be even more organized and productive than I was in 2025! (Those of you who know me an stop snorting with laughter now.) So I've got out my calendars and my planning notebook and I'm making lists of EVERYTHING and THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS and WHAT I GOT RIGHT IN 2025 and WHAT I WANT TO IMPROVE. That last one tends to be a long list...
How about you, dear readers? Are you working on an unfinished project? Thinking of a new one? And are you debating your word of the year and your intentions?
I'm happy to hear you are able to get back to your non-mystery novel, Julia . . . and I'm trying hard to imagine Clare at a Polar Plunge standing in freezing water 😊
ReplyDeleteNo unfinished projects here . . . just trying to stay warm and keep up with everything!
Staying warm is a major project at my house, Joan - I've got to go down to the wood room and tote more firewood within the hour!
DeleteWow excited you thinking of not one but two more Russ and Claire !❤️
DeleteI'm thrilled to hear you're working on the next Clare and Russ book!
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to wrap up all the little unfinished projects from last year, but on Monday I'll do my own version of the Polar Plunge (love that story idea, btw) and diving back in on revisions to Honeywell #5 and on the sample pages for a "new" project (the same "new" project I've been working on for two years now.)
You know I'm usually more "better late than never," Annette, so I'm all behind a two-year-old new project!
DeleteI'm so excited to hear there maybe a chance of another adventure with Clare and Russ.That news has made by year and it's only 3rd January :) Just finished latest and just makes me want more...fast !! Happy New Year and congratulations on daughter's wedding and grandson
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea! Happy New Year to you and yours!
DeleteHappy New Year, Julia! What wonderful projects. Your holidays soumd like they were full and exciting, both professionally, with the incredible reception of your book, and your new grandson. I will be ready to read any and all of your books when they arrive.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do have a project left over from last year. I'll start on it this afternoon.
Yay, Judy! Let us know how it goes.
DeleteHooray, Julia! It's always great to hear you are writing. Are you currently working on your Thomaston story, or a different one? I'm excited to hear your publisher wants another Clare and Russ and possibly two. Polar plunges are a big thing up here, not necessarily on New Year's Day but any time in winter when the ice is thick enough to cut a hole and stand around cheering with towels. It would be a great scene, especially if the person churning to the surface in the icy water feels your Mystery Thud. (NB: when I watched, that person jumped with a climbing webbing leash around her waist so she couldn't get lost under the ice.)
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I have made lists but not yet my New Year's resolutions. I flogged myself so hard last summer and fall on the farm and then into the holidays that after having accomplished Christmas, I have been in a state of almost suspended animation. My resolutions from last year are still printed and lying under the glass of my desktop. I accomplished those concerning my health and exercise (I hate exercise and have to follow a strict schedule to stick to it) but I now realize the rest of my expectations were too high alongside so many tough farm chores. I only wrote one article and I did not finish a single chapter in my novel, much less ten. I hope to do better this year. (Selden)
Thanks for the polar plunge info, Selden! One of my Very Organized Friends recommends no more than three goals for the year, and that they should be in different areas of life, say, relationships, professional, health. It feels like way too little, but I have noticed when I set a daily to-do list with only three items on it, I tend to actually get them done...
DeleteGreat projects, Julia! The idea of an arm in the frigid water gave me goosebumps. (My remarkable friend Libby DeLana has a new book out about cold water bathing - COLD JOY - if you need some research.)
ReplyDeleteI'll be starting a new project in a couple of months after the current book is buttoned up, one I'm excited about. Otherwise I'm working on a doll quilt for Ida Rose that matches the one I made her two years ago. I am unambitious about personal change or getting to all the Swedish death cleaning I should be doing!
Edith, having recently been inducted into the pleasures of grandparenting, I think hanging around with Ida Rose and quilting for her is an excellent plan for the coming year!
DeleteI agree - and there's a new little one overdue as of today!
DeleteSo happy to hear Clare and Russ will return. Look forward to your non-mystery. Projects?!? What to do with all the photos! 70 years of photos with people only i can identify. Certainly don't want to burden my kids with that! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteMarcie, I should put that on my long list. SO many boxes of photos from the past, and on the present side, I should get my favorites printed out before they're lost to the cloud.
DeleteI am so happy to hear that there will be a new book with Clare and Russ. Yay!
ReplyDeleteAnd also happy that you have several projects lined up for 2026.
No immediate projects right now.
Thanks, Dru Ann!
DeleteHappy New Year Julia! I like the idea of starting a new book with a polar plunge. Definitely not for me, although I have a friend who has participated several times-- he's from Northern Minnesota so he thinks about cold a bit differently.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to make a list today and try and think about all the things I've been putting off. My offspring flies back to Chicago tomorrow, so I'll have a bit more space. My meditation word for 2026 is joyful. I need more joy amidst all the craziness and uncertainty.
Joyful is an EXCELLENT meditation word, Gillian. Just looking for it in the day-to-day makes one's life better.
DeleteMore Clare and Russ? Best news in ages! Cannot wait!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anon!
DeleteHurray Julia, we're so happy to hear all this!
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice way to start the year, Lucy!
DeleteGood luck on the happy days of planning ideas for your new book(s). I have saved my copy of the latest release because a) I want to reread the last one- refreshes the brain cells, and most importantly b) I didn’t want to be overwhelmed with other things and people and so can just enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteAs for your number 3 on the list, it is hard for me to contemplate how anyone could be disorganized and not follow a straight path (says she tongue permanently stuck in cheek, and who has already changed her mind 4 times, and I have not finished my coffee yet… What happened – well Jack says he turned off the hot water next door, and so I will have to bring the laundry here to wash it and then take it back to make the beds – well, maybe tomorrow; and the sun went out, so now I have to light 2 fires, so I may as well stay here and rethink tonight’s supper, or finish putting away the ornaments or water the plants, or shop the plant catalogues, or wait, I hear a puzzle calling me. Just have to move the boxes, shove the cat…).
Oh, and if anyone else wants a book idea – we watched Cirque du Soleil on Prime. There are a lot of water stage manipulations underwater, and my mind wandered to how easy it ‘might’ be to arrange a body down there, and so the mind wanders…)
Margo, I have also saved AT MIDNIGHT, which I bought on preorder, because life has been too crazy with demands and I wanted to be able to reread first and to savor it.(Selden)
DeleteI'm delighted to hear the book is one to savor! And yes, the great discovery of my late 50s has been organization and focus isn't binary - you an or you can't - but that those of us who aren't naturals can adopt systems and tricks to make it happen for us. Honestly, if I had known this back when I was 30, it would have saved SO many arguments with Ross, who was a naturally, effortlessly together person.
DeleteHappy New Year, Julia! (And all) Hooray for another Clare and Russ! We will all wait with bated breath. And a stand alone! Double hooray! No polar plunges for me! Also no resolutions. If I can finally clean out my office and covert it into a sewing/reading room I’ll consider that one for the rest of the decade!
ReplyDeleteSuzette, you can absolutely make that claim. I started to convert my oldest daughter's room into a sewing room/guest room two years ago, and I'm not done yet!
DeleteJulia,
ReplyDelete"(Character name to be thought of later) had been looking forward to the Polar Plunge for more than a week now. It had been a pretty terrible year for her and she was looking forward to using the New Year's Day dip into the iced cold water of Lake George as a way to slough off all the metaphorical grit and grime of the past year and enter (202-)? with a symbolic clean slate.
And that's likely what would've happened...if only that fish rubbing against her leg hadn't turned out to be someone's arm."
Okay, now would you please finish the story so I can read what sounds like a *ahem* killer tale to be told.
-- Thanks, Jay
Jay, I may just copy and paste this and send it off to my editor! :-)
DeleteI love this, Jay!
DeleteOoo, a new Russ and Clare! I loved AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY. Devoured it on vacation in early December. And good luck with the new project.
ReplyDeleteI'm finishing up my latest Laurel Highlands book (#9, which STILL doesn't have a title). Then I have to start working on a new Homefront book, THE PAST WE LEAVE (why can I come up with titles for those so easily?). This among some business-y stuff I hoped to have wrapped up last fall but, um, didn't happen.
I don't do resolutions. But I do want to get better with my newsletter and social media in 2026. And I think my word would be "fearless." Applies to many things.
Resolutions are a maybe yes, maybe no thing, Liz - I've come to realize what I need are plans, instead. As my daughter Victoria wrote about her sobriety, "I don't resolve not to drink today, I plan to not drink today."
DeleteI like that.
DeleteIt has been so cold here lately, Julia, that I don't even want to think about a polar plunge. Seeing it on the news was more than I could bear! But your idea reminded me about the time my friend and I were at the LG winter carnival, just walking across the ice and she went down. One foot and her whole leg went into a hole left by ice fisherpersons! Not fun for her at all. At least her boot didn't come off but she was slightly frozen.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you choose to write, I know it will be wonderful and I can't wait to read it! No pressure, but I'm not getting any younger.
None of us are, Judi! :-)
DeleteNo polar plunge for me, are people crazy? The closer I get to being a little old lady the more I detest being cold. Maybe in a fur-lined diving bell. Is that a thing?
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your projects, Julia. You know we are all cheering you on. However, I have a question about Millers Kill: doesn't it ever get HOT there?
My personal list of things I want to accomplish this year is not long, but has some big items on it. Cleaning out the garage and reorganizing it is a pretty big ordeal, but now that most of Steve's birdfeeder clients are using AI or somesuch to photograph their feeders we won't be getting boxes and boxes of them--that all end up in the garage. It would be nice to reclaim Steve's parking spot.
My biggest plan is to hardscape the steeply sloping backyard and create an outdoor area outside the back porch. Which means terraced planting, a patio, and steps leading down to the old garage (also filled to the brim with Steve's junk, along with lawnmowers). We already have massive rocks that came from the old rock wall and got piled up during demo of the old house. I met a landscape designer several months ago, and I'm looking forward to working together with her. She also plans native plants gardens.
"Native plant landscaper" is on my long-term To-Do list!
DeleteOoo, Karen, your landscaping project sounds amazing. I'll second Edith - I'd love to have a native plant landscaper take a whack, literally, at my property.
DeleteI remember swimming in a salt water creek and having my toe pinched by a blue crab. What was that? (cue Jaws music). Go for it!
ReplyDeleteThe three winter months are my most productive writing months. I end each day making a list of three easily-achievable tasks to accomplish the next day. Revising a page, re-reading a chapter, brain-storming more scenes to augment the major focus of the plot.
Have a good winter!
Here's to a productive winter for all of us, Margaret!
DeleteThe thing about intentions is they grow out of aspirations. Or so I have been taught. For me this is one of those landmark birthday years. I will be 80 in about 60 days. I dream of taking a "gap year" and visiting near and far. Tbh the realistic world will have me zooming near and far. //Like others I am very happy to know Russ and Clare will continue. Polar plunge? Omg swamp alligators sounds more desirable. Guess I have been in Florida to long. Now go hug that grand boy for me.
ReplyDeleteCoralee, I'm laughing out loud at the idea of a polar plunge in southern Florida being interrupted by alligators. I'll leave that one for Lucy to write!
DeleteCongratulations on the massive success of your current book, Julia! That must be some good incentive for pressing forward on polar plunge! Very exciting.
ReplyDeleteNow you have me thinking about my word for the year… I’m going to keep thinking. :-)
It deserves contemplation, Hank!
DeleteInching so slowly up the library hold list for At Midnight Comes the Cry--but I can wait, knowing that I'll have hours of Clare and Russ to enjoy! Polar plunge and an arm. Attached or disembodied? And if the latter, is the rest of the body in the same place or not there at all? And what about that arm? Expensive wristwatch but work-roughened fingertips? Tiny tattoo? I'm like Jay, get cracking, Julia! :-)
ReplyDeleteAs for projects, yes, two writing ones. One dedicated to my grand-nephew that I want finished before his birthday in May. So, get cracking, Flora! And second, get the outside under control this year. I'm not ready for a rocking chair in the assisted living place yet, so get the wilderness tamed somewhat! My word is resolute: so much to face this year and so much to be done.
Resolute is a strong choice for a year full of challenges, Flora.
DeleteStill thinking about my word of the year, Julia. Congratulations on the success of your new novel!
ReplyDeleteYou had many wonderful things happen - your child's wedding, birth of your grandchild and your novel was published!
Speaking of projects, I am currently studying British Sign Language from the lingvano app (Deaf teachers). Because my debut novel will take place in England, some of my characters converse in British Sign Language, I decided to learn their Sign Language. Lingvano also offers American Sign Language lessons and Austrian Sign Language lessons.
Thank you for that new and interesting information, Diana! I had no idea there was an app for teaching Sign; I suspect there are loads of people who will find that useful.
DeleteDiana, I saw that Mayor Mamdani had 5 sign language interpreters for his inauguration: American, Hebrew, Arabic, Indian, and Spanish.
DeleteLisa, wow! That's great. (Selden)
DeleteOh, so happy that you are working on Fergusson and Van Alsten 11 and maybe 12! Can't wait. As for me, the first half of this year is dedicated to finishing up three projects from last year. Maybe my things to do better list should include setting realistic goals! Nah.
ReplyDeleteWe go big or we stay home listening to Maine Public Radio, Kait! :-)
DeleteAnd here I was, thinking that the epilogue in #10 might be a goodbye to your readers. Instead, #11 is already on the way. I'm so glad!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm thinking about my word of the year--I'll let you know when I think of one. in 2026, I'm planning to get back to the novel I started in 2025 (not a Linder and Donatelli book) and work on getting a translation of my first mystery, PESTICIDE, published by a German language press.
Kim, I misread your last line and thought YOU had to do the German translation! My first thought was, “Don’t they have people who can do that for you?” Best of luck! — Pat S
DeleteDelighted to hear PESTICIDE has a foreign edition, Kim! And very excited to see what else you might be writing in the coming year...
DeleteWell, between Jay and Flora I think you've got some fascinating input for the polar plunge idea. So happy to hear that new book is in the works. As for unfinished projects, not so much. Just grateful to have a roof over my head. I've been pondering my word for 2026 and I keep hearing "Restoration." I think I like that because it can be applied on a personal and world-wide basis. I'd love to see sanity, kindness, generosity and empathy restored to our world. Wouldn't that make for a lovely 2026? -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteVictoria, I have wished many friends a happy, healthy and sane 2026. I totally agree with “restoration”. — Pat S
DeleteRestoration is lovely, Vitcoria. I can see it writ large, for our society, and very intimate - restoration of relationships and bonds.
DeleteJulia id love her more about your non-mystery novel. Can you please tell us briefly what it's about and when it might be oublished
ReplyDeleteIt's a novel about three generations of women preparing for the wedding of the youngest over the course of a summer in their family's Victorian beach house, Anon. Not a single murder, so it's quite a change for me!
DeleteOoh, I love this, Julia!
DeleteSorry I hit publish before I could edit!!
ReplyDeleteSorry to be so late getting to the comments - I slept in and then had TWO kitchen disasters to deal with. All is well now, and I'm going to start at the top and see what everyone has to say!
ReplyDeleteYikes! Think about goals and directions for the new year? Not ready for that! As for the word, I pick one and promptly forget it. Every single time.
ReplyDeletePost it here, Pat; you know someone will remember and thunk you over the head with it!
DeleteJulia, your plate has indeed been full, and in a good way! So excited to hear about both the writing projects ("wild swimming" is big in the UK) and can you please pass all the organizing tips along to me?
ReplyDeleteI think I may borrow Flora's "resolute" for my word of the year, along with "finish the damned book and start another" for a goal.
Keeping it simple is the way to go, Debs!
DeleteI only waited a few weeks before reading At Midnight. I savored it over Thanksgiving weekend and it was definitely worth the wait. Not that any of us (including you, Julia, I’d guess) want to wait five years for the next book.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t thought in terms of resolutions, but I definitely feel that my husband and I have made strides on our house and extra belongings in the past year. At one point we had storage units (plural) filled with not only our own crap, but my parents’ (who both died over 20 years ago) and my in-laws’. We have cleaned out all of them but the one we want to keep. And we had to move the remaining unit so cleaned and organized that one!
Speaking of native plants as Edith and others were above, we had our backyard landscaped last year and now have a hill to plant. We have a native plant expert who is going to help us plan and plant the hill for pollinators. And we created a garden bed for me to plant vegetables! Beyond that, I need to clean up my office and see what happens after that.
I’d like to say my word is hopeful, but I saw some headlines this morning. How about cautiously optimistic? — Pat S
Good luck with the garden, Pat! It's the best therapy of all.
DeleteI love to hear so many people going for native, pollinator and insect-friendly gardens, Pat!
DeleteIt sounds like you're in a good work mode, Julia. That can only be good for your readers. I normally would have torn right into At Midnight Comes the Cry, but, as I talked about in the last post, my knee surgery, my brother dying, and getting ready for the trial of my son's killer on Jan. 12th, have made it impossible to do anything enjoyable. My goal for 2026 is to survive the upcoming trial and hopefully have some good life beyond it. We are looking at a Mediterranean cruise. Oh, and the prosecutor now tells me I need to have my victim's statement ready at the conclusion of the trial. So, I'm declaring my new year as starting in February. Then, I'll see what I might be able to set a new goal, like maybe bringing my blog back, but maybe not exactly as it was. When I was in Maysville and saw my nieces from Ohio and my friends who put arms around me and hugged and kissed me, it gave me some hope that there still might be some future adventures out there. And, of course, husband Philip is more amiable about traveling now. My word for 2026, well two words, are positive survival, and my intention is the same.
ReplyDeletePositive survival sounds like a strong, realistic goal, Kathy. Nothing will make your live the way it was before Kevin's death, but we're all hoping seeing some justice for him will enable you to move forward in a positive way. Sending lots of love to you and Philip!
DeleteI second Julia's good wishes for you, Kathy.
DeleteI am savoring your new book. I don’t want to rush it. The story is complex and the characters are very interesting. Thank you!! —Denise Terry
ReplyDeleteExciting times for you - new book release, wedding, grandson - wow.
ReplyDeleteLaudable goals, all the best.
Clare would absolutely do the Polar Plunge if it involves solving a crime or saving someone - she’s a seasoned military vet! 👍 (HeatherS)
Go, Julia, go!!! Excited to see how you crush 2026!!!
ReplyDeleteJulia, I am in awe of your resolutions! My word of the year: Ballast.
ReplyDelete