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New Year: New Word of the Year

Time found its warp speed in 2018. The months were mere blurs out my view screen. And now we’ve arrived in a different calendar called 2019.

Maybe you recall that last year was a year for Metamorphosis around here. And there were a TON more changes and transformations than I had planned.

This year, I’ll be building upon those “new” things. That’s why my word for the year is

What’s Under Construction

My brand is the biggest thing that transformed last year. As you know, I went from a sweet romance author to almost solely a Christian romance author. I do still have a young adult fantasy short story in an anthology (IN THE BEGINNING) available, and my freebies are fantasy romance stories.

Two unexpected changes came last year.

First, out of left field, was when Kindle Worlds closed. You can recall my turmoil here.

Thankfully, Melissa Storm came through for all of the authors she rallied to her Kindle World and started Sweet Promise Press. I now have five titles available in the First Street Church series (with two more planned for 2019).

The most crushing change came when my first small publisher, Roane Publishing, closed its doors on October 1, 2018. Suddenly, my list of published titles was reduced by half. And, most devastating of all, my first full-length novel died before it could be released in November 2018.

As I worked through all the possibilities this closure revealed, it became clear to me that I should be going a different direction with my fiction. After all, I was building a list of Christian romance readers.

Would they be interested in my Bible studies and devotional? What about my historical women’s fiction based on women from the Bible?

I guess we’ll discover those answers as I construct a NEW back list of titles this year.

The Scriptural Reference


Since one of the biggest transformations last year was to almost entirely Christian fiction, I’ve decided to share my verse of the year on my website.

When you see what’s ahead for 2020, my penchant for this scripture will make even more sense. I hope you’ll stay with me, and even if you’re not sure the new trends will be “your thing” you’ll at least sample them before clicking “unfollow” and “unsubscribe.”

FaceBook Group

The biggest thing I want to build in 2019 is my Facebook Fan Group.

Okay, I admit, I don’t believe I actually have any “fans.” That’s why I’ve called the group “Friends of Author Sharon Hughson.”

Why am I doing this?

Apparently, Facebook has decided that groups are “in” and “now.” They give preference in feeds to posts from groups.

Big whoop-de-doo, right?

Except, I want to connect with my readers. Social media is the easiest way to do that. This group is where I’m hoping we can hang out together.

I’m planning to do some giveaways, book read-alongs and even test out my “mini-study.”

If any of that sounds remotely interesting or intriguing, I hope you’ll join the group.

Do you have a theme or word for 2019? How do you come up with it?

2 thoughts on “New Year: New Word of the Year”

  1. The word “contentment” came into my sleepy mind as the fireworks crackled, followed by “contentment with godliness is great gain” (it’s actually the other way around in 1 Timothy 6).
    And this year I have a theme song again! In 2016 it was “Trust and Obey” and this year it’s “Take Time to be Holy” – in the voice of Johnny Cash, of course 🙂

    1. Lovely. Contentment plays a huge role in our lives. The lack of it can wreak havoc on things that once seemed happy. I pray you will find the contentment God has for you…and let it begin with quiet time. The singing of Johnny Cash doesn’t hurt either 😉

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