Happy New Year! We’re now a quarter of the way into the twenty-first century. What a mind-blowing thought that is.

My posts lately have been reflective of my back catalogue books, and life generally, but isn’t that the way of things when seeing the old year out and ushering a new year in?

For 2025 I’ve decided to set intentions rather than goals. Making resolutions that I can’t keep only makes me feel bummed out. Instead, here are my intentions:

Mental health

I’m a fan of letting go of things that no longer serve me. Recently I made huge progress with tackling some old scripts running in my head that are no longer a part of my current life. This year, I intend to keep moving forward with that by acknowledging the present when dealing with the past; in other words, using mindfulness and meditation to keep grounded. Compartmentalising has been really useful for me and I’m going to keep a lid on the things (pun intended) that no longer have any bearing on the present.

Physical health

I have decided that there is no point in trying to stick to a rigid diet and exercise regime when we’re still in the thick of flu season. I spent my two weeks off work for the Christmas and New Year break quite ill with a chesty cough/flu/nasty sinus infection, bingeing carbs while in my jammies. Did you see the videos I posted over the holidays? Notice how I used music instead of speaking? That’s because I had lost my voice. What’s that I hear you say – that I didn’t look sick? Makeup works wonders. A splash of red lippy and a dash of eyeliner works wonders for a pallid face.

I will restart my diet and exercise plan in spring. When the world awakens from its winter sleep, so will I.

Writing intentions

I plan to keep chipping away at ghost novel WIP#7 and psychological novel WIP#8 on a regular basis. As much as I’d like to set a more fixed target of, say finishing the final drafts of both, if I were to fail to meet such a goal, well that would be… Expletive deleted! So, I’m setting some general intentions rather than rigid targets with these drafts.

Marketing intentions

Last year more of my book sales were organic rather than from sponsored ads. I’m hoping to wean off paid advertising even more this year and see if I can keep my back catalogue sales floating along through online promotion via social media. More about the breakdown of those stats and what I’ve learned in more detail in another post.

In summary

Focusing on the journey rather than the destination will make for a much healthier and happier 2025.

Happy New Year everyone!

Posted by on January 3, 2025 in Biography, Random stuff and tagged , , , , , , , , .

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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