Chanerr, everyone!
Wanted to wish everyone a happy Winter Solstice! Our family is celebrating in our own way this year, hoping we'll get to see Jupiter and Saturn's alignment if the weather allows.
This year, we believe the winter solstice signals the end of darker times and the beginning of a brighter future for the next year. 2020 has been a year of change and for most of us, one of the darkest years in our lives. Our family is determined to put that behind us as much as we can control.
But, even in the darkest times, there are still things to be thankful for. This year, I completed a fun bonus prequel of the NecroSeam Chronicles, "Princess of Grim", featuring the childhoods of Willow and the twins before their adventure began, on top of finishing a children's illustration book for my daughter, "Ballad of the Ice Fairy", AND the Audiobook for "Willow of Ashes".
Best of all? After 11 years, I completed the final book of my pentalogy fantasy series.
I started writing in 2009 when I first started college, and it's been such a huge part of my life, it feels eerie to ACTUALLY be done... obviously there are other stories in the NecroSeam world I'll be writing in the coming years (Yulia's backstory during her time with Lord Endsler, a few epilogue stories involving Milann, the birth of Dream and his first meeting with Death in his teen years, etc.), and a few stories outside of the NecroSeam universe. But if I'm being honest, it will be hard for ANY story to hit home as hard as this series did for me. This year marked the end of the story of Willow and the twins, and it really left me blank this year, knowing it was over after so long.
I spiraled into a deep pit of depression and anxiety after the finale launched. My daughter turned 2 in September and has been such a handful, it was like juggling a seven-legged spider most days. She's my life's joy, make no mistake, but being a toddler mother while dealing with mental health during a global pandemic, a ruined economy, and one of the absolute WORST elections that left everyone so divided and terrified, it was hard to be happy about finishing any accomplishment.
And I'm more fortunate than other moms out there who may NOT have a husband who is incredibly helpful, AND a supportive family from both sides. This was a tough year for everyone. It was a devastating year for others. And for too many, it was their last year. For those who were lost this year, know that you were loved by so many, who are all broken that you had to leave.
This year, my Yule resolution will be to re-train my negative outlook on certain life aspects, and instead make them positive: Thinking of what I am lucky to HAVE, rather than what I DON'T; focusing on what I LOVE, rather that what I HATE; and, ultimately, letting the future reveal itself as it WILL be, rather than unhealthily obsessing about the endless possibilities of what if MIGHT be.
I've lived my life with so much fear already - of even talking with those I don't know - and now I'm ready, more than any year, to push past the fear and take in the light the world still has to offer. It's there if we look, and although it might be hard to see, I've decided to fight fang and claw for it.
Happy Solstice to all, and may the light guide you to the future.
Much love,
Ellie
