I turned 36 in February.

I'm not one of those people who stress out over growing older. Since leaving my teenage years, I've felt every new age is better than the last. The confidence that has come with age excites me. Learning and growing excites me. I loved being 20, I loved 25 even more, 29 was great, 35 was fantastic.

But the age 36... this might be the most exciting one yet, because now, I feel ready. My birthday made me pause and take stock, and I wasn't super happy with what I found.

As a writing coach, translator, manuscript consultant and ghost writer, I've now contributed directly to more than 40 published titles, and indirectly to roughly 200. I am proud of the work I've done. But at the same time, that folder on my computer, the collection of my own novels – novels I've written, edited, re-written, re-edited – has steadily grown, and I've kept putting off doing anything about them.

So now, I'm taking steps. I'm diving back into reading and writing for my own sake. I’m reading broadly, widely, and with unapologetic passion. I'm reading like a writer – to learn, to study other people's craft, to keep the wheels turning. And I'm going to treat my own books with the same respect as I treat the books of others.

Let's go!