The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Or, in the case of writing a new book, with the first page. And that’s where I am today—at the beginning of a new year and a new book. The book doesn’t have a name at this point. Titles come later—usually much later.

So I’m starting. It’s a Joanna Brady book. That news is going to cause howls of outrage from fans who are Beaumont-centric. Please remember, I have four sets of characters, and the three with HarperCollins—Joanna, Beaumont, and the Walkers—have to take turns. In other words, 2016 belongs to Joanna. I can’t write any faster than I can write, and maintaining any kind of quality in the writing means it takes time.

People who have heard me speak know that I am a non-outliner. My aversion to outlining started in Mrs. Watkins’s sixth grade geography class, and it’s something from which I have never recovered. I don’t know the ending of a book when I start writing it, but this time I do know who the killer is. And I know who’s dead—or who’s going to be dead. But how I go from the deed to catching the killer? Well, that’s the whole point of writing mysteries, isn’t it?

Last night I heard from a man who told me that all my characters seem like people to him, and he’s always wondering what’s happening to them between books. That’s something I wonder about myself, because I’ve discovered over time that my characters can be busy little bees when my back is turned. Remember when Eleanor Lathrop eloped with George Winfield behind Joanna’s back and behind mine, too? That was a surprise.

So that’s how I’ll be starting 2016—by writing a book—while Bill is busy taking down and packing away the Christmas decorations. We’ll be heading to Arizona for a few weeks. This will be Jojo’s first trip to Tucson, and it will be interesting to see how she deals with the lizards who have gotten used to having our yard all to themselves. Lizards are quick, and with the golden retrievers, the lizards thought they were home free. Bella nailed one of them the first night she was there—and brought the still bloody corpse into the bedroom where she proudly dropped it on my pillow. I’m sure she thought she was bringing me a real treasure. The thing is, Jojo is quicker than Bella. The lizards are probably doomed—and so is my pillow.

So what am I looking forward to this year? There’s the Clawback tour, coming in March. It’s not finalized yet, but it will be soon. We’ve booked a Silverseas Cruise for late May and early June. The cruise was our 30th Wedding Anniversary gift to each other. Later in June, we’ll be celebrating the wedding of our eldest granddaughter in Moses Lake. And in the fall there will be another tour for another book—the one with no name.

Eight months from beginning the walking experience, Bill and I are both still walking and it’s still working. I am down sixty pounds from where I started and so is Bill.

So it’s going to be a busy year, and to my way of thinking, busy is better than not.

So Happy New Year, folks.

My best wishes to all of you, and for those of you who are walking, keep walking.