I have completed my fifth novel, and I’m now preparing to submit the manuscript to publishers and agents. It’s always an exciting time in the writing process as I grow hopeful that an agent or publisher will respond positively to my work and agree to represent me. It’s never happened, but I can always hope, right?

I’ve been through the submission process before, but there is something missing this time. Normally, I would also be in the process of starting my next novel, because writing is a constant in my life. I love writing and feel productive when I complete a page. The problem I’m currently facing is writer’s block. This is a first for me. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve always had an idea for my next book as I submit the current one to agents and publishers. The ideas aren’t coming to me this time. Curiously, my husband, who provided the ideas for two of my previous novels, is also suffering from some sort of block of his own.

As I fretted over my writer’s block, it occurred to me that I haven’t blogged in months. Blogging provides an opportunity to practice my writing. So, here I am. I’ve neglected my blog for too long and now is a perfect time to make up for that. Stay tuned.

I recently finished reading Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi novel by Andy Weir. It was a book club assignment, otherwise I might have put the book aside, never to be picked up again, after reading the first 50 pages. Out of respect for my club mates, I make it a point to finish reading any book that one of them recommends to our group.

In recent years, I’ve blogged about making an effort to read more science fiction, a genre I’ve traditionally avoided. There is a lot to learn from science fiction, even if I usually find the characters boring. Project Hail Mary, fortunately, has two major characters who are well-rounded and interesting, even, in one case, funny. Another feature that keeps me away from sci-fi is the sometimes heavy emphasis on science. Of course, that emphasis makes sense, but not when it comprises at least 50 percent of the book, and the science is not easily understood by a layperson (including me). That is the case with Weir’s book, which is packed with scientific facts, figures, formulas, procedures, and on and on. I had to skim through those sections with a vague understanding of what was happening so that I could finish the book some time this year! This isn’t to say that I didn’t learn anything, because I did.

More importantly, by reading this book, I was able to reflect on the global warming crisis that confronts us and how our world is lacking in an effort to bring together world powers to tackle the problem and come to some agreement on techniques for dealing with it. Though Weir writes about a specific world crisis (an alien species is killing our sun), he draws attention to the need for putting aside individual concerns to fight for the greater good.

I recently finished another draft of my fifth novel and have passed it on to several beta readers for review. In the meantime, I wait…and instead of writing, I read.

Last week, I read the first in Isabella Maldonado’s FBI agent Guerrera’s series, The Cipher. It was a quick, exciting, and action-packed story. I began reading Maldonado’s crime novels this year after finding them on Amazon. She’s quite a prolific author, which means that I have many more of her books to enjoy.

I followed Maldonado’s book with quite a different novel, Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea, one of my favorite authors. As a writer, I envy his elegant and descriptive writing style. As a reader, I relish the emotional impact of his stories. Urrea’s mother was a Red Cross worker during WWII and followed the troops into the European Theatre. Her experience was the inspiration for this novel of friendship, loyalty, bravery, and heartbreak. It is a moving, masterful work.

Now, on to the next read, which is Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno Garcia. I look forward to it.

Last year I read 37 books.

5 were non-fiction

14 were by Latino authors

2 were by Asian American authors

2 were by African American authors

9 were by male authors

I read 2 suspense novels, 6 historical, 5 mysteries, 2 horror, 1 romance, and 1 science fiction.

I like keeping track of the books I read every year and try to interpret trends, if any, in my reading. I’m pleased that I was able to find and read a good number of books by Latino authors. I hope this is a trend that carries into the new year.

I recently have suffered some relatively minor health issues that interfered with my self-imposed deadlines for writing my fifth novel. I have to set deadlines or I might never finish the project, or I might take way too long to finish it. Not that it really matters. I don’t answer to anyone but myself. I do, though, hold myself accountable. I expect to meet my deadlines and goals. I set a goal for number of pages completed per week, and an expected number of pages for the first draft. Because of my health setbacks, I lost a month of writing, and I’m just now getting back into the rhythm.

I’m certainly not a well-known author or even somewhat well-known. I haven’t had great success in selling my self-published books, and that is mostly my own fault. I’m not good at marketing my books. It takes time to market, and I’d much rather write than market my written work. Nevertheless, I try to stick to the deadlines I set for myself.

Writing is an outlet for my creative ideas. Developing an imaginary world is exciting and fulfilling. But t’s not always easy to find the time to write, and I don’t always “feel” like writing. In other words, I don’t always feel the “creative juices” flowing. Setting deadlines keeps me in line. I assure myself that I will write.

Okay, I’m ending this blog entry. I need to write a page for my current novel before dinner time.

It’s been a strange year. Actually, the last two and a half years have been strange, kicked off by a worldwide pandemic. My husband and I spend a lot of time at home, a habit we grew into when the Covid lockdown happened. Though it appears that everything around us is back to normal, we wonder what normal is now. I don’t like spending all this time at home, but every time we venture beyond our level of comfort and safety (a trip to Las Vegas in May, for example), a Covid surge happens and reminds us that the world is not yet “normal.”

Some things in my life have changed for the better. I’m not eating out as much, and as a result, my numbers were better at my last physical. The healthy meals I cook are keeping my husband and me healthy. I’m not reading more than usual, but I’m choosing my reading material more carefully. Before, I think I was choosing a title for the importance of its theme or because it was lauded by the critics. I tell myself now that life is too short to waste it reading something I feel I have to read as opposed to a book I want to read. Books that I recently read for sheer enjoyment are The Hacienda by Isabel Canas and The Last Chance Library by Freda Sampson. I read the latter for the second time and enjoyed it just as much as when I first read it.

I read 41 books last year. Here’s a breakdown:

10 by male authors

11 by Latino authors, 2 by Asians, 3 by Blacks, and 1 by a Native American.

8 mysteries

1 science fiction

3 romances

3 historical fiction

All the books I read were fiction but one, Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. I see that I still don’t read much science fiction despite making an effort to explore the genre a couple of years ago. In genre fiction, I will always prefer mysteries. I’m glad that I read a selection of fiction by diverse authors. We need diverse books.

Okay, here it is, my list of favorite reads of 2021, in alphabetical order by title:

East of Eden by John Steinbeck—I’d always wanted to read this and finally got around to it. Gorgeous descriptions of the Salinas Valley, strong, memorable characters (including a positive depiction of a Chinese man), and a compelling plot make this a major accomplishment in storytelling.

The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade—I liked the New Mexico setting and the depiction of a Latino family, dysfunctional yet supportive of one another during tough times.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes—I enjoyed the intriguing plot, the focus on women’s rights, and, of course, that it’s about librarians and library services.

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson—Yes, another novel about librarians and libraries, and why not? it’s a subject close to my heart. Even though it’s set in a library in an English village, I related to so much of the story pertaining to budget cutbacks, patrons, literary references, and even politics.

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld—I found the book fascinating and engrossing as it explored what Hillary Clinton’s life would have been like had she not married Bill.