Hi there,

I’m writing this at 2 am. There’s confetti on the floor. I’m not big New Year’s Eve, but I’m a sucker for confetti. It makes life feel magical and I take the magic where I can find it these days (which is why I probably spend so much time in my manuscript…spoiler alert…there is magic there.)

For me, it’s the blurry two weeks of the year between Christmas and New Years where I’m not quiet sure what day it is and I can’t remember the last time I ate a vegetable. It’s also freezing so I am going to use this newsletter to complain about January, to sort out my thoughts about beginnings and to tell you what I’ve cooked up for Bold & Bookish in 2026.

Happy New Year. I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s ease in.

Unless you’re born in it, there’s really no way to negate the universal truth that January is the worst month of the year. It’s cold. It has at least six weeks in it. It’s dark and icy. Let's not forget that it’s cold.

The motivational factors are minimal. I truly advocate for us all hibernating and then poking our heads out in April to see what’s up. 

Alas, life goes on and so I’m thinking about what it means to move through the dark, cold, still seasons in order to begin again; to make new things, reach new goals and fight new (or old) fights. 

The dark/cold/still might be god-forsaken January or it might be heartbreak, disappointment or a tough setback. We don’t always begin with stars in our eyes and engines revvings. Sometimes we begin with hearts aching and feet weary from the hills we just climbed. Sometimes we begin with fear and only a dash of faith that there is something shiny and different and beautiful up ahead.

While I was editing my manuscript the other night I came across a line I wrote several years ago that has survived every round of cuts and word smithing. It encapsulates what I currently feel about beginnings. 

In order to begin we don’t need as much as we think we do, just faith. A glimmer of it will do. We need enough to do one thing, then the next, and then the next. To write one word, then another, and then another. 

So whatever you’re standing on the edge of, I wish you faith to get you to the next step. I know you can do it. 

Even if it is January.

I’m thrilled to share the first Bold & Bookish program of 2026, Time to Write. This is a virtual writers retreat happening on Saturday, February 28th.

This program was built on the idea that creative time is precious and worthy of protection. 

Here’s what writers can expect: 

Writers at any step in their process will find this useful. Leave energized and with next steps to move your writing forward in the weeks to come. 

Thank you for your continued support, for reading and all the kind responses and thoughts shared post-read.

I hope you’re warm. I hope you’re safe. I hope you have what you need to begin.

With faith and much loves, 

Cat