LOOKING AHEAD

I LIKE TO THINK OF EACH NEW YEAR AS AN ARTIST WOULD A BLANK CANVAS.

Past mistakes and shortcomings are ancient history and January allows me to move forward towards successful enterprises. Looking back, I had a few accomplishments. I won second prize in a writing contest and My Weekly asked for minor changes before they would consider buying a short story.

I spent almost all year seeking an agent for my novel. A few asked for partial manuscripts and one requested the entire novel. I had some conflicting advice, but nothing that really helped. Early this month, I was discussing the non-fiction author's platform with my friend, Tina, and a light bulb went off in my head. Surely an unpublished fiction author requires a platform as well.

Beneath the Surface is a dual time frame novel that takes place during The War of 1812 and 2012. Following the Revolutionary War my United Empire Loyalist ancestors were driven from their land in what is now Lower Manhattan. The 1794 Jay Treaty stated that the Loyalists were to be compensated for their lost property and many were, but the U.S. reneged and my ancestors were never compensated. Many law suits were brought forward over the next century, but nothing was settled. There is no statute of limitations on property, so, are the current heirs entitled to cash rewards? Maybe, maybe not, but it does make an interesting platform that I will use in the novel and my query letter.

We've had a ton of snow so far and I often find myself curling up in a cozy chair with a good book and a cup of tea. I did a lot of reading this year and several of my favorite authors published novels including, Barbara Erskine, Susanna Kearsley and Maeve Binchy, who passed away last year. As usual I have a stack of unread books, fiction and non-fiction waiting to be read. I'm currently reading Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, which is set in 1870s New York society.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A PRODUCTIVE WRITING YEAR

Hopefully I will be selling a few short stories and signing with a literary agent. I don't make New Year's Resolutions, but I have promised myself that this year I will keep my office tidier, eat less chocolate and blog more. So far I haven't kept any those promises, but there's still eleven and a half months left in 2013.