2025… a sort of odd year in review

Oh, hey, hello there, dear reader. <3 Welcome back to my blog! ^^ Gosh… this is… I don’t really even know how to describe it. An odd post to make? Not quite odd, but it feels rather strange, tapping this out. It’s currently late here. Very late. The sky is a dark, beautiful, endless blue. If one looks very closely, they might be able to catch a few tiny stars winking at them.

Wow. 2025. Another year has slipped past. I truly cannot grasp how quickly time has flown for me. I still remember typing out my 2024 wrapup.

This little year in review is a bit odd. Mainly because it’s really very much a rather messy letter from me to you, in which I attempt to recap the year. (Which might be nearly impossible since so many things have happened!) I don’t even know where to start. This year was hard. I went through a really difficult summer of friendship breakups and moving. And yet it has been so so amazing at the same time.

I have met so many amazing people, who have supported me and my writing in ways I could hardly ever imagine. I have met the people who have now become two of my best friends. And just… wow. I really, really cannot put into words how much I’ve grown and what 2025 has been like.

I suppose one may as well start with a little monthly update.

January

January was when I wrote and completed the first draft of Island Keepers. It was in January that I started interviewing other authors, and met Valinora Troy, author of The Lucky Diamond, who is a good author friend of mine and who has supported me and my writing in so many different ways, and I shall always be eternally grateful to her.

February

Started the first draft of book two of Island Keepers (back when it was planned to be a series). Finished the first draft one afternoon while my parents were out with a family gathering I couldn’t attend because I was sick. :/

March

In March, I had such a wonderful time doing a virtual author event with Journey Bloomfield!! ^^ The two of us chattered on for over 2 hours about books, writing, and the importance of books and storytelling. I started interviewing more authors and began to ARC read more books.

After a brainstorming session with Valinora Troy, I was finally able to untangle the plot for The Last Hope, and began writing it.

April

Started planting zinnias and marigolds in my garden after being inspired by The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith. Was fortunate enough to be able to interview more authors, including Matt Myklusch and Xiran Jay Zhao.

FINISHED THE FINAL(ISH) DRAFT OF THE LAST HOPE!!!

May

Got my copy/line edits back from my editor (many thanks to Leah Larskpur for line editing!!). May was also a busy, busy month as I rushed about, trying to sort out the blog tour for The Last Hope and emailing a whole lot of book bloggers.

Started the second draft of Island Keepers.

June

More emailing back and forth from book bloggers….

Struggled through draft two of Island Keepers. It was in June (or late May) that I considered traditionally publishing Island Keepers after getting discouraged as an indie author.

July

July was a crazy month for me. I was having so many issues with Island Keepers (the plot. Ach, the plot.), but the blog tour for The Last Hope went amazingly!! It was so amazing and so surreal, and I spent a lot of July 20th just crying from joy. My mom bought us tiramisu to celebrate! ^^

August

August was when things got harder for me. We were preparing to move, and it was… just… hard to leave this place that’d been my home for so long. Tears were shed, and the magnolia tree outside my window was cut down.

Island Keepers did not get any more cooperative. It was then that I think I started to avoid writing.

September

Went through an incredibly rough friendship breakup. Didn’t write all that much. Printed out a little bit of my manuscript to try and edit it.

October

We moved in either late September or early October. Decided to set aside Island Keepers for the time being and work on a couple random projects.

November

I hosted a short story writing contest on my blog and was fortunate enough to be able to read some truly amazing stories!! ^^ I also started watching and reading Lord of the Rings and became an epic fan. Many thanks to Journey Bloomfield and Hallie Kropf for finally convincing me to pick up the series!! ^^

Also discovered this very snackable, scrumption, crunchable snack called banana chips which, in my opinion, are much more delightful than potato chips.

WITWIGO was born. :DDDD (only a select few people on my blog will know what this means. XD)

December

Slowly started working on Island Keepers again, just… slowly tapping out the story. A couple hundred words a day. Little bits of brainstorming. Started healing a bit from burnout. Had a wonderful Christmas with family and books! ^^ (And I got a SWORD!)

~ ~ ~

Wow. This year was absolutely wild. It was… tough. Very tough. But also amazing at the same time. And I am so insanely grateful to all my friends and all the people who have supported me and gotten me through the dark times of this year. <3 I wouldn’t be where I am without y’all.

And I suppose if I could pick only one thing I’ve learned from this year it might be this.

“Stop expecting life to get easier. It never does; that is not where its goodness lies.”

I believe this quote is from Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, and I really do feel like this quote perfectly captures what I’ve learned. Because this year… life really has been a rollercoaster. And so so many times, I have wished that it would just get easier. I kept waiting for this time where life would just… slow down and things wouldn’t be so tough.

But life will continue to hurl challenges at us, like it or not. And the only thing we can really do is to just take life as it comes to us. Both the challenges and the wins. And keep holding onto hope and chasing our dreams.

And before I leave y’all, I just wanted to share a few pictures I snurched and put together in this messy little collage. 🙂

^^ A little collage of moments and photos from 2025! Isn’t it lovely? The cats aren’t my own though (sadly). They’re my aunt’s — the grey one I have named Cloudstar and the white one, Snow Peach. My uncle was most baffled when I told him I’d given the cats English names. XD

And of course, thank you. To all of you who have been reading my blog, watching my YT channel, and/or reading my books. I am so grateful for every single one of you, and it has truly been amazing seeing this little blog grow into this wonderful community of writers!

So here’s to a farewell to 2025 and a warm 2026 of love, laughter, and hope. I am wishing the rest of you the very best of luck during the new year — to chase your dreams, for your writing to take you to new, wild, unimaginable places, and for you to find hope. :))

Till next time,

-Isabelle

random photo I snurched off pinterest