Quarterly wrap: October – December 2025
Good grief, is 2025 finally over?! I’ve had a lot on my plate over the last few months, from drama at work to an unexpected and time-sensitive writing project requiring my attention. To hear all about it, check out my fourth and final quarterly wrap of the year!! →
What’s new in my life
Good grief, is 2025 finally over? I have had a lot on my plate this year, especially over the last few months, so for once it feels well and truly time for my fourth and final quarterly update of the year. Here’s a glimpse at what’s been going on in my life during October, November, and December:
Surviving work and personal drama. We’re going through a big restructure at work, and while I just got confirmation I’ve secured a role, it sounds like there’s more change on the way next year 😬. If that wasn’t enough, my grandparents are unwell, and my landlord is selling which means I need to find somewhere else to live. It’s been…a lot.
Participating in more running events. I ran another half-marathon in October and took 10min off the time I did a few months earlier, finishing in just over 2 hours. I was very proud of this result given I’d had a hamstring niggle in the lead-up. Then in November, I completed a challenging 14km trail run for something different and absolutely loved it!
Achieving 1/5 of my 2025 author goals. It really hasn’t been my year on the authoring front. I’ve got Blood of Old (Graceborn #1) almost ready for publishing, but everything else I wanted to achieve has gone by the wayside. It’s disappointing, but unfortunately my writing was what slid down the priority list with everything else going on!
Author update
While I didn’t publish any new blog posts this quarter—aside from this update, that is—there was a bit happening over on my Instagram account. After revealing my new character art by @sophielouisedraws earlier in the year (see below), I went on to reveal the official maps for the Graceborn series by @cartographybird. You can check those out over on the Graceborn page! 😀
Behind the scenes, I’ve also been working on a super special project that my newsletter subscribers are already aware of. It’s why I’m so behind on all my own writing tasks. My grandma has written her memoirs, which I have now turned into a published book for family and friends. It was a LOT of work, but it was lovely to be able to do that for her.
Writing progress
Blood of Old (Graceborn #1)
Status: Pre-publication
Word count: 190,000 (approx)
What’s new: I slowly chipped away at a few pre-publishing tasks for Blood of Old, book 1 in the Graceborn series, over the last three months. I’ve worked on the front and end matter for the book, got the paperback formatting to a state where it’s probably 95% done, made enquiries with a cover designer, and put together a loose publishing roadmap. There’s still a bit to do—especially when it comes to marketing 🙄—but I’ve left myself plenty of time. Everything is on track for a late 2026 publication date.
Graceborn #3
Status: Writing 1st draft
Word count: 136,814 (62%)
What’s new: Ugh. Unfortunately there has been exactly zero progress on book 3 in the Graceborn series this quarter. It sucks because I really wanted to get this draft done this year, but clearly it wasn’t to be. I had to put it on hold to prioritise working on my grandma’s memoir, but fortunately that’s finished now, so I’ll be able to hit the ground running with drafting in 2026. Hopefully I can finish it in the first half of the year. We’ll see how it goes!
Books I’ve read
Sadly, I didn’t finish reading any books in the last quarter. Any time I might have spent reading was instead spent working on my grandma’s memoir or lying dead on the couch 😅. I definitely fell short of my Goodreads challenge goal of 20 books, but here’s what my year looked like on the whole…
What have you been up to over the last three months? Did you achieve your writing goals or read any good books? How has 2025 been for you on the whole?
2 Comments
alexwriter25
Hey Rebecca!
I’m so sorry to hear that there is more change at work and that your grandparents are unwell :(. You and your family have my support, my friend. All the best with house hunting. That is really stressful. Sending you my full support.
Great job with finishing 2 running events!! Kudos! 🙂 Go Rebecca!
Getting one book ready for publishing is a huge accomplishment 🙂 I know it’s rough when we don’t achieve all our goals, and your feelings are understandable, but all progress counts. Totally understandable that writing slid down the priority list.
I love the character art!!
You have a good heart. It’s so thoughtful and wonderful of you to help your grandma with publishing her memoir :]. I’m happy for you and your grandma :).
You’re making nice progress with Blood of Old 🙂 You got this :).
All the best with Graceborn #3. 2025 has been a rough year…but I’m here for you and rooting you on. I always believe in you. :).
Totally understandable that you didn’t finish books this quarter. You have a lot on your plate.
2025 has been terrible overall with all the chaos and uncertainty that weighed (and continues to weigh) heavily on my heart. But I’ve had some bright spots. I got to deepen some friendships with some friends and made some new friends too. One of them is someone who I ran into often who has always been kind and their kindness has always brightened my day, even the most difficult days. I became friends with them a few months ago and that’s been a true joy :). I’m also continuing to submit microfiction. I’ve had three rejections so far, but I’m going to keep submitting. And I’ve made some progress (albeit very slow progress) with my superhero origin story. I’m drawing a lot. So, even though 2025 has been rough, I’m very grateful for the bright moments. 🙂
Take care, my friend. Happy New Year! 🙂
Ari
Sounds like the end of last year was busy and stressful. I hope your grandparents are doing better and that your living situation is easily rectified.
It’s always such an upheavel, moving.
Wishing you the best for 2026