2026 - A Year of Ambition

First off...the ever important graphic showing my successes, my failures, and the potential future:

Happy New Year! As the title of this blog post suggests, I'm digging deep for a big year in terms of self-publishing. I'm excited to go over 2025 with you, the decisions I've made, and what is to come in 2026.

Alright, let's unpack 2025 first before we get to the fun exciting news:

COMPLETED:

For a Song in the Needing Harmony series

The Last Refrain in the Needing Harmony series

Staying Strong in the Monster Academy series

1. For a Song (Needing Harmony Book 5) was released on April 8, 2025, so that's a win!

2. The Last Refrain (Needing Harmony Book 6) will actually be released January 20, 2026...but I consider it a win, because it's done and ready to be shared with the world. I just didn't want to lose its release in the shuffle of the holidays. Believe it or not, holidays aren't necessarily a great time to release a new book and I wanted to make sure I give it the celebration it deserves. You can preorder it here, so make sure to do so!

   1. This wraps up the series, so if you haven't read it, or need to catch up, or want to do a reread, now is the PERFECT time to do so.

      
      

      

3. Lesson Six: Staying Strong was released on September 19, 2025. Woot woot! As a reminder, the Monster Academy series will now be on Kindle Unlimited permanently. So if you haven't read it and you subscribe to KU, what'cha waiting for?

INCOMPLETE:

TBD (MA7)

Launch Jaye Ann series

Finish Discord exclusive series

Be better at social media

And then we get into the not quite successes. It was a matter of balance of work and life and these didn't quite make it:

1. I didn't quite make it to Monster Academy 7. It happens and I apologize. But that just means you get to look forward to it in 2026.

2. This comes to one of the big decisions I made in 2025. The Jaye Ann pen name is retiring. The books currently there will remain so, but I won't be publishing anything else moving forward. I'd rather keep it all under one name. Just easier for me. I was hopeful it'd help separate out my genres a bit more, but I'll just be more clear about genres.

3. I still plan to write a story in Discord. I just realized I had literally lost the plot for the story I had been currently working on, so I took it down. I plan in January to start up a new standalone story. The plan will still be to periodically release chapters in Discord and once it's finished, anyone in Discord will have a chance to receive it for free when it goes on sale.

4. And finally: social media. I don't think I need to say much. I suck at it and it's my goal every year. I WANT to do more, but then I overthink it and don't do anything.

Now for the exciting future and what to look forward to in 2026:

Monster Academy: I plan to release two Monster Academy books. In general, my goal is two a year...it just hasn't worked out that way. Let's see how this year goes.

Ever Unlasting: It's time to introduce you to the Ever Unlasting series! This was the one that was going to be introduced as a Jaye Ann story, but now will be under my normal name. Here's a sneak peak (nothing is final and may change)!

Fun fact! For those who know about my short attempt at Amazon's Vella, this was the story I posted, so I'm excited to share it with you officially. And don't panic, I know I mentioned wanting to publish three books in the series this year (I'm aiming for like 4 books in this series overall). The first book only needs to be proofread and I'm halfway through writing the second book! Even more great news, the preorder is now live! Reapermarked is set to release on March 24, 2026. I made the teaser because I didn't think I'd get the preorder up in time, but check out this gorgeous cover I made:

(Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance)

Touch of Home: In late 2026, I'd love to introduce you to Verity in a new series (the series name is still being worked on). The first book will be called A Touch of Home. This is a very precious series to me. The first book is going through final revisions before I send off to editors. Keep an eye out for more information! (Genre: Contemporary Revere Harem Romance with a little magical realism)

New Discord exclusive story: I mentioned above that I had lost the plot for a story I had been sharing exclusively on Discord (join if you want to read these!) and so I took the story down. I have a new idea and I plan to start sharing it in January! I plan to slowly release chapters as I write them on Discord for fans to read. Once it's completed, I'll go into revision mode and then when I release it, Discord readers have an opportunity to get a free copy. These stories will always be standalone stories. Good news, I've already started sharing, so join my Discord if you'd like access to the story. (Genre: Shifter Romance - MFM)

And finally...be better at social media. I don't know what else to say. I suck at it. I know. So my goal is always to do better.

EXTRA NEWS: I've finally committed to an idea I have been wanting to do for years now. It's a love story that happens during holidays throughout the year. So you'll start seeing preorders pop up this year for 2027. Twelve books (1 book a month), short stories (about 20k words or less), about a female kinetic witch detective and a human male reporter falling in love through the chaos of holidays. I have to start now if I want to make that lofty goal. Starts on New Year's Day and ends on Christmas in 2027! (Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance)

And that wraps up my review of 2025 and goals for 2026 (and a sneak peak at 2027)! What do you think? Anything you're looking forward to? Let me know!