2025 was an incredible year for me as a writer. The previous November, I was named the Indie Author Project’s 2024 Indie Author of the Year, which means that throughout the past year, I made appearances, sat on panels, gave presentations, and held signings, all in exciting venues hosted by amazing people. It was an author’s dream, a particular highlight of which was having Electric Trees produced into an audiobook. Later in the year, I also put out Familiar Territory, the long-awaited sequel to Nascent Witch. This was a release that gave me so much joy and motivation, I am already at work on the next book in the series.
The thing about momentum is that while you want to keep it going, you really need to be strategic about how you’re going to fuel it. I am no stranger to a carefully planned schedule, or to the ways in which one needs to be willing to adapt when that schedule inevitably goes awry! So once December hit and all of these exciting milestones were behind me, I started gearing up for the year to come. Part of that meant allowing myself to rest—to enjoy the time I get to spend with my loved ones during the holiday season, and to indulge in a couple of days where I did very little of anything at all. I also cooked for my family party, something which requires a few straight days of basically living in my kitchen. I’m still enjoying the leftovers!
In addition to the time at home, I optimized my few days off from work by attending as many ballet classes as I could. Years ago, I’d spend a good 2-5 hours, six days a week in dance and yoga classes, but when grad school happened, it took over my life and I stopped going to class. I still have a barre at home and never quit practicing on my own, but taking class is a very different experience from solo practice. I have a bunch of new instructors, all of whom have very different approaches, and I’m learning a ton from them about my body and its artistry. I am so grateful that 2025 brought me back to ballet—I feel more like myself than I have in a very long time.
I love selling my books at conventions and fairs. It can be exhausting, especially with a multi-day show, and the past year definitely taught me a thing or two about taking breaks, even before getting to the point where I feel that I need one. That said, I am absolutely planning to do more shows this coming year! It’s early, so as of now I only have confirmation from the New Jersey Library Association Conference in Atlantic City, where I’ll be tabling from February 17th through the 19th. Beyond that, I’ve applied/will be applying to events for April, May, June, July, August, and October. If I make it to even half of those, I’ll be thrilled!
One major thing I have planned for 2026 is putting out my first spicy book. Readers at conventions have told me that they’re looking for spice, and while I’d already had this project partially drafted, their enthusiasm caused me to move it up in the queue of my books to be published. Authors generally have very polarized feelings about input from readers, and some folks would rather eat glass than even glance at their reviews. I respect where they’re coming from, but I tend to seek out reader response, even when it’s negative—I learn from critique as much as I do from praise, and I really like to know where readers stand on my work. While on the one hand, I’m indie because I prefer to maintain creative control and don’t want a big publishing conglomerate telling me what to do, on the other hand, I like my readers when I have the opportunity to meet them, and I am writing for them, at the end of the day. So if a bunch of readers—existing and prospective—tell me that they’re excited about my work but would love to see some spice, no one should be surprised about the impending spicy project!
I’m also working on two short story collections relevant to my novella Season of the Witch, which is set in the sister towns of Mire and Ember Hollow. I did not intend to spend as much time in these towns as I’ve been doing, but the stories are practically writing themselves. I almost entirely blame my critique partner Sara, who said, “I don’t know, this feels like it’s a series!” countless times to me as I was working on Season of the Witch. And despite the fact that I protested this feeling each time she expressed it, what can I say? She’s brilliant, that’s why I love to write with her. An Ember Hollow collection will be released first, followed by another novella, and then there will also be a Mire collection.
There is one other project I’m working on that I am really, really excited about, but it feels premature to talk about it. My critique partners don’t even know it exists yet, which means there’s a ways to go before it’ll be ready for discussion in the population at large! Even so, I’m thrilled about this one, as I’m aiming to do a little genre-bending I’ve never attempted before. I’m hoping for a late 2026/early 2027 release, but we’ll see how the drafting goes.
That’s mostly it from me! Keep an eye on this site for new stories and books—you know I always have something brewing over my writerly fire.
Here’s to 2026 and all of the change it’s sure to bring!
Melissa
Melissa Bobe 