Hi friend!

Can you believe 2021 is almost over? Where on earth did it actually go? Looking back, I vaguely recall a trip to St. George, Utah in January, but honestly, that feels like three years ago at this point. And yet, it all just flew by!

This might be a longer email than you're used to, and here's why:

1. I want to share with you my goals and accomplishments for 2021
2. I want to tell you about some exciting things going on
3. I want to share with you my goals for Q1 2022 Jan-March

To read the gist, skip to the TL;DR at the bottom. :)

2021 Goals

My goals for 2021 were simple: Sell books, publish book 2 of the Origin Codex, write the first You Can Toucan book (more about this in the exciting news). I had some other plan in there as well, but shit happens, right? I can say, I did accomplish the following:

• Published book 2 of the Origin Codex (The Gorging of Souls) - I actually released it 15 days ahead of schedule!
• Wrote the first drafts (yes, there were two) of You Can Toucan Do More With Less Time
• Started the first draft of You Can Toucan Be Your Own Best Cheerleader
• Produced a reader magnet! You may have happened upon my list as a result of this free eBook that is a curated collection of my favorite short stories from LUMP and THE DOLL ROOM! If you got here that way, thank you for checking it out! I hope you enjoyed it!

Exciting Things:

I'm giving you this BEFORE the 2022 Goals, because most of the Q1 2022 goals are based on this exciting bit of news.

I have been working hard on the first draft of the third book in the Origin Codex trilogy, working title, THE CHAOS OF FLESH. However, after some soul searching, waffling (ooh, waffles), a frustrated Tarot card reading (yes, I "read" Tarot cards, but not well), and a chat with my hubby, I have decided to shift my focus for the next few months on launching the OTHER side of my business, You Can, Toucan!

"What the heck is, You Can, Tou-what?" You ask.

You Can Toucan (YC2C) is the non-fiction side of my business, which will include books, courses, and eventually book coaching services (if you don't know what book coaching is, hit reply and I'll tell you all about it).

The first book is called, YOU CAN, TOUCAN! DO MORE WITH LESS TIME. It's a productivity book for writers, but the lessons taught can be applied to various parts of you life.

The second book is HOW TO BE YOUR OWN BEST CHEERLEADER. The third book will be about project management for writers, but I may add some hacks in there for project managing your LIFE.

IF you are interested in these offerings, please click the button below. You'll be added to the waitlist to learn more about this. You'll also get to be one of the first Toucans, and will be invited to the email course once I launch it in January!

The button will take you to the YC2C website and you can see the adorable toucan I drew and designed my very own self, as well as some other things.

2022 Goals - Q1 Jan-March​
My goals for Q1 2022 are focused on getting the YC2C stuff going:

• Brainstorm and plan the content
• Build the YC2C Toucan20 course. This is a course that will be an alternate way to digest the book with videos, worksheets, possibly a workbook, and the deluxe tracking sheet
• Finish and publish the first book
• Launch YC2C email course and full course to the general masses!

In Q2 2022, I plan to get back to fiction, starting with revising the stories in the Horror and More-er eBook for audio. That's right! I am going to launch a podcast next year and want to make sure these stories are in ship shape for that type of consumption.

Once I've edited them, I'll send you the revised eBook so you can read along with me. Like those Little Golden Books from my childhood that were accompanied by a cassette tape, "Turn the page when the chime rings like this., *brrrriiiing*".

Only mine would probably be more like, "Turn the page when the bucket of blood tips over, like this *clang, sploosh*".

I also have a solid foundation for book 3 of The Origin Codex trilogy, The Chaos of Flesh, after bashing out 60,000+ words in about 35 days over November and into December, so now it is time to let it fester, so when I get back to it I can squeeze the precious life fluids out of it and recreate it. I'm still hoping for a Summer 2022 release for that book. Fingers crossed!

What I'm Reading:

• Creativity, Inc.
• Everything I Never Told You by Cindy Ng
• Course materials for the Author Accelerator Book Coaching course

What I'm Watching:

• Money Heist
• What We Do In the Shadows
• CHRISTMAS MOVIES (so far: Home Alone, Home Alone 2, and Noelle)

What I'm Listening to:

• Christmas music, obviously!
• LITerally Podcast
• The wind howling in the windows... or is that the souls of the people buried under my house?

Kira's Korner:

Isn't she just the grumpiest looking tiny Santa in the world???

TL;DR

• 2021 Goals: Accomplished? Mostly. I'm happy with what I did.
• Q1 2022 Jan-March Goals: Focus will be on You Can, Toucan launch!
• Exciting things: You Can, Toucan launch! This is the non-fiction/coaching side of my author business. Click the button below if you want to be included on announcements for this (or scroll back up to the Exciting Things section and see what you missed before you decide).

I wish you the happiest of holidays! Take care of yourself, stay safe, don't drink too much eggnog (who am I kidding? EGGNOG IS LIFE - hit reply and tell me if you do not agree with three reasons why. Or hit reply and we can sing Eggnoggy-nog together [to the tune of Feliz Navidad]). Oh, and happy New Year as well, since the next newsletter will be in January!

Peace and keep reading,

Claire

P.S. Enjoy this newsletter? Why not tell a friend or two about it! Send them to clairelfishback.com to sign up and get the free Horror and More-er eBook.

Or, you could hit reply and tell me what you like about it! (by doing so, you give me permission to use it in marketing content).