What do leaky taps and dead rodents have in common? This year has been an insane rollercoaster personally and professionally (at least for me!), but most of all it has been a great lesson in survival, endurance and empathy. It has also been incredibly inspiring. There have been hard times, but also some wonderful times, and lots of times in between. I'm so glad I got to share some of the good ones with you, and I'm so grateful you are still there right now, reading this. 2020 taught me we must always expect the unexpected, But 2021 taught me that There is NOTHING we can't do if we really have to. Yes, I said HAVE to. Not want, or wish. Wanting to do things is nice. You can dream of going to the Caribbean. You might want to get a better job, or wish to have a certain car. But dreaming and wanting and wishing doesn't make things happen. And nice is the blandest word ever. It has no energy. No passion. You don't want a nice book, or a nice boyfriend or a nice... pair of shoes, even. NO. Nice is average. Nice is the plain cheese sandwich you put together in a rush in the morning, on your way to somewhere you don't even want to go to. And nice, just like wishing and wanting, is pure fog. It will never materialise into something tangible. It's only when you have to, when you must, and when you decide there's no other valid option that the magic happens. It's all about the pressure you put on yourself. Wishing, like fog, means no pressure, just clouds of nice dreams... dreams you will do nothing about. And... sorry to tell you, but dreaming is NEVER enough. And if we are stuck dreaming, we're damned to live a cheese-sandwich life. Well, enter 2021. 2021, when I moved into a new home and I didn't know a family of rodents considered it theirs by right. It's hard to go on with your cheese-sandwich existence when rats keep knocking on your door to eat everything in your pantry. Just joking. Mice and rats don't knock! So I (just like many of you, I'm sure) I HAD TO do lots of things I didn't want to, and they got done because there was no escape. That's how I found myself doing things I never imagined I would, such as picking up lots of dead rodents (it got better with time, I must say), changing leaky taps and fixing bike tires (actually escalated into assembling a whole bike). I also got to break into my own house a couple of times, which gave me lots of ideas for a new book and made me feel a bit like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. So here's my motivation for you... next year, find a way to make the things you want a must. No lazy daydreaming. No wanting and wishing. I want you to tackle those dreams with fire. With passion. Like your life depends on it. Because... it DOES depend on it. Unless you want to eat cheese sandwiches forever. Even if you like cheese, it gets old quickly. And if you don't feel like doing it for yourself, perhaps there's someone out there who needs you to get up and start picking up those dead rats in the yard. I'm sending you a big, warm hug, and wishing you all the best in the coming year. May it be full of passion and dreams come true, and may you eat cheese sandwiches only when and if you really want to. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and lots of love from your favourite witchy author. PS: I'd love to hear about your 2021 and what challenges you managed to overcome this year!  If you like my writing, perhaps you'll enjoy... My holiday novella, A Winter's Cobalt Kiss, happening on New Year's Eve. You *can* read this book in one sitting, and if you liked the Stray Witch series, I'm sure you will enjoy it. GET IT HERE And HERE is a link to the rest of my series.