Looking back at this time last year, I recall the general mood among so many people to be done with 2020, with big hopes for a brighter 2021. In some ways it seems like “déjà vu all over again” after a year of continuing societal, economic, political, and health challenges for many of us.
But the threshold to a new year also presents the opportunity to count our blessings and make resolutions to build on the year’s accomplishments. As I wrote on this day a year ago in 2020: Positivity and Perfect Vision, I choose to “Accentuate the Positive”! I hope that you have found many positives in 2021 to keep you going strong into 2022!
Foremost, I’m grateful for my husband and daughters, sisters and brothers, friends and neighbors. In new ways, we got to know each other better and support each other.
My husband and I did not travel much in 2021, but the trip we took to Niagara Falls in April was a highlight, beautiful and memorable. Read all about it in my Discovering America Travelogue (5): Waterfalls! I look forward to new road adventures in 2022.
2021 was filled with my two favorite activities: dance and fiction. My adult ballet students stuck with me for many wonderful virtual classes through the first half of the year, and I resumed teaching in the studio in the fall.
Scarsdale Ballet Studio: quiet moment before class, Fall 2021!
For the students still dancing at home, I created and posted instructional videos. Are you a dancer? Check out my YouTube Channel for adult ballet and jazz dance classes!
My home studio: Jazz dance and ballet classes on YouTube
On the fiction front, my suspenseful story “Golden Silence” was published in a fantastic anthology, Autumn Noir. Don’t be fooled by the story’s title—the tale is darker than “golden” and quite atmospheric…
“Golden Silence” in Autumn Noir
My sixth, and last, Dana Hargrove novel is scheduled to release January 25, 2022, and currently on pre-order everywhere. Power Blind! I’m proud of this one. Anyone reading this blog post may request a free digital review copy. Read more about Power Blind on this website (links: book summary and non-spoiler book review excerpts) and if you think it’s for you, send me an email through the Contact Page.
Power Blind, the sixth standalone Dana Hargrove legal mystery!
I’ve been working on 2022 editions of all my books, with updated afterwords and formatting. Today, the 2022 editions of my first three story collections are live and newly enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program. Subscribers may read them for free: Dust of the Universe, tales of family; Everyone But Us, tales of women; Malocclusion, tales of misdemeanor.
Story Collections, 2022 editions, now on Kindle Unlimited
And speaking of free stories, here’s one you can pick up for free on several sites: Wattpad, B&N, Apple, and Kobo. “GEN LD3” is my first attempt in the soft sci-fi genre. Influenced by the events of 2020-2021, the story starts out rather dark, but has an uplifting ending. I hope you like it.
GEN LD3: A short story
Meanwhile, ideas for new stories and a novel are swirling in my head. I eagerly await more pounding on the keyboard!
Thanks for reading. Here’s wishing you and yours a very Happy and Healthy New Year! V.S.K.