It’s been a mixed year – a year filled with hope and some disappointment, the joys of a new book coming out and the impatience of waiting for a contract to appear in the inbox. It’s been a mixed year in the writing too – from picture books to junior fiction to storytelling – my story focus has moved across a different spectrum – something I’m still learning to adapt to.

2012 was an extreme year – filled with the highs of a new relationship and the lows of a breakup. 2012 was an extreme year – with 3 picture book contracts with publishers I love to work with. But 2013 didn’t have the drama of 2012 – it was more of a journey, a process of discovery. Learning to write younger fiction, learning to tell stories, rediscovering the joys of folktales all over again and slowly earning my stripes and just collecting good feedback on the way. 2013 was more varied – filled with new holidays to Antwerp, Pafos and Paris, learning new things, getting healthier and volunteering with schools and a lot more with SCBWI, becoming a part of CWISL, making new friends and best of all being a new aunt.

When you’re a grownup and you’re on your own – it’s hard to find an anchor that’s not related to the day job. Most of my living daylights will be spent working somewhere for someone else. The rest of the time – it is easy to forget to live. Especially when you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. There’s no one chasing me to write a new picturebook and send it out. There’s no one looking over my shoulder checking on me if I have written each day. So it is easy to take a day off, even weeks off or months off and just get into a sloppy routine of work and TV.

But I always found my writing to be an anchor. My spiritual place to return to. Even if I had nothing I’d have my imaginations. So what if no one cares if I write or not. I do. I have to write – otherwise the people talking to me in my head would cause chaos.

I’m sure everyone looks back on this day to see how the year was. Everyone has a memory yearbook to review the whole year like a slideshow.

I too reflect on the year – I feel I could change a few things, tweaks here and there. Then I pause for five minutes to watch the fireworks from the terrace and it’s onwards and upwards to the next year. Time is like the sushi belt – you can’t really make it stop just for you. You have to pick up the stuff you want and let go of the stuff you can’t have – in a sushi train it would be most of it except the rice parcels for me – and then have fun while enjoying what you were able to take for yourself.

What will 2014 bring? Who knows? Who can tell? Do I want to know? Not really. Whatever happens in 2014 – I know I can handle it. I read somewhere that you only get things that you can handle – you might not know it – but you can always find it in you to handle it.

My writing will always be there to listen to me, to let me dream, to keep me out of trouble. I want to read more stories, tell more stories, watch less TV, be more active and rediscover the joys of cooking – these are not resolutions – just some tweaks so I don’t forget what’s important to me lest I should regret the passing of time without putting it to good use. Time and sushi belt waits for no one.

Here’s to a new year, welcoming 2014 into all your lives with joy, peace and loads of goodies on the sushi train.