You are so right. The escape of fiction is a huge part of my life, too. I look forward to your books!

Providing comfort and pleasure? I read a lot of romance books last year. Every one reminded me of the importance of relationships (and communication) and loving. I was taken to so many different worlds and into the hearts and minds of people very different from me. (I’ve made a point of reading books from diverse writers.) It was a sense of normalcy, a warm hug I gave myself. So what if in a decade most people won’t know anything about the book? It was there for me when I needed it. And that’s just as valuable.

For my 2023, I want to stop dancing around performing and actually do it. Spend as much time on my music as I do scrolling the internet. And in the back of my mind is a 4-book romance series featuring people based on me and my friends, (late 40s to early 60s who never married or had kids) people I never see in romance books because another thing I discovered was how good it was to see someone like me find a happy ending. (I felt so seen by Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert.)

I’m with you though. To hell with algorithms and a social media grind. I’ve come to believe that by committing to share my creativity with the world, ways will open up that will allow me to share it. I believe my purpose is to bring joy into the world. I know the world will make way for that. It will for you too.