From RELEASE to SCALE

This time last year (2024), I took a deep breath and told myself “The end is in sight!” I’d drafted the reader magnet and four books, and despite Book #5 being a struggle, I was well on my way to meeting the goals I’d been working towards since summer of 2023. Those goals? To release a new mystery series, THE UNLIKELY MURDER CLUB.

And so I chose RELEASE as my 2025 word-of-the-year.

Serendipitously, my inspiration, The Thursday Murder Club movie, announced its release on Thursday (of course) August 28^th. It made sense to tie my first release to that date. I put all the books up for pre-order a month apart and knuckled down to get them edited in time. Thank-you to my professional editor and my volunteer proofreader, Angela Van Breemen, for meeting my crazy deadlines.

During 2025, I published five books in five months and grew my mailing list from zero to over 1,100 subscribers.

I chose the word RELEASE because it had the double meaning of both publishing books and of letting things go. And while I accomplished all my writing goals, I’m not sure I moved my personal development forward quite as effectively. But I’m working on it.

What’s my word for 2026? you ask. It’s “SCALE.” Another multi-meaning word. I intend to scale up my author business with more knowledge and more books, planning five new books and a box set. And SCALE also means “to climb,” “to ascend,” so I’ll consider that a nod to more personal growth.

Oh, I’d also like to lose the 25 pounds I’ve gained sitting at my computer so much. So scales are involved there, too.

Curious about THE UNLIKELY MURDER CLUB? Grab the free prequel, Agatha’s First Murder, at https://www.ginaxgrant.com/

Wishing you a happy 2026! Hope you have the releases and scaling of your dreams.