As snow falls while I type, I’m hoping for a moment that it covers the ground in a thick blanket, muffling the world even just for a few hours. I can cocoon here.

Of course, snow’s also a right pain in the arse, too, don’t get me wrong. It’s like the great-aunt who turns up at parties the life and soul of the show, then gradually there’s gin after vodka after cocktails that include *boiled potatoes* and before you know it they’re tripping people up on the stairs and leaving dubious coloured slush on the carpet.

But there’s a moment—when the snow settles for the first time and people haven’t ruined it with their careless feet-walking and cars haven’t churned it into doom-water—when it puts the world on pause, eats the noise. Snow feels like it gifts you a moment outside of time, however fleeting that might be.

Gotta take your moments of peace where you can get ‘em these days, right?

But I digress, and soon enough the snow will be gone.

I’m really here to wish y’all a happy new year!

Without dwelling on the crazy clusterfuck that was 2020, I’m just gonna say it was tough for a very many reasons, but on a personal level there were also some good things. I read some fantastic books and had a great year reading-wise—I tried to be better at posting reviews, and hope that some of you found them useful. I was writing (even if it was a little sporadically), and a few of my words were published by the likes of Molotov Cocktail, Daily Science Fiction, The Arcanist and The Cabinet of Heed. I started learning the harmonica (again). I returned to vegetarianism and cooked some things that were pleasingly edible. I did not teach either of the cats any tricks (sit, stay, tight-rope walking, sharp-shooting, sumo-wrestling) which is me dropping the ball, my bad.

This year, among other things, I hope to finish the first draft of my current novel-in-progress. I hope to write more, to find more of a routine. Chuck Wendig wrote an excellent post on writing and creating in these crazy times, well worth checking out, if just for the nipple advice. I hope to be kind on myself, but not let myself off the hook. I hope to read more fantastic fiction (insert massive excited face at the prospect of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun). I wonder if this year will be the year where I finally like olives like other grown-ups.

So happy new year to y’all, I hope it’s a good one, a better one.

Here’s to whatever plans you have working out.

Here’s to staying safe and healthy and well.

Here’s to being kind to each other.

The snow has stopped now.