2023 will forever be a bitter sweet year for me personally.

The launch of the Opal Fields series in March ignited my dream of having an author career. This series took off from the moment book 1 – Her Buried Bones hit the ebook stores and has reached heights I never expected.

But not long after book 2 released, and book 3 was scheduled, my mum – a long time sufferer of Alzheimers – broke her hip, and took a downhill turn. Her passing in June created a snowball effect in our family.

October, my husband George’s father passed, then only a few weeks later, his wife, George’s mum was gone.

Then, as if three losses were not enough, the year was forever scared with the passing of our oldest brother-in-law on my husbands side, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. A triple hit for his entire family, especially his oldest sister.

But the resilience of the Aussie spirit battled on in our family.

Six trips back to SA to make preparations and grieve with family. The ongoing renovation project of our Queenslander. Three more books and a budding author career. The search to find our university attending son financially viable accommodation. All while running our Watersports business. It has certainly made life challenging.

But as I write this, I can feel a sense of peace finally falling on 2023 even thought the Christmas tree still isn’t up and we have one more flight to Adelaide tonight – which just got a 2hr delay.

With great challenges, comes change. To find balance, peace and security, decisions have to be made. These things don’t happen by accident – or at least not in my world.

So next year I’ll be semi-retiring from the family business. We’ll finish the renovation before winter (Oz time) and then travel more. See our family and friends more. Experience this beautiful country more.

But most of all, I’ll be writing more.

With the new series DS Dawn Grave or maybe just Detective Dawn Grave coming in 2024, I’m very optimistic about my writing career, and inevitably, your reading pleasure.

I could rattle off the achievements of the Opal Fields series this year, but if you follow me on Facebook, you’ve likely seen it all.

I could bombard you with pictures of our Queenslander renovation. But they’ve been in my newsletter and on Facebook all year.

So instead. I’m just going to give you a little gift. A deleted scene from Her Buried Bones. No catches, no sign ups. It’s only a small thing, and if you are in my readers group, you’ve likely already read it, but just in case.

Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays – however you celebrate the season. May 2024 be full of joy, love, peace and purpose.