Year’s End, Looking Back and Forward

A book, a musical, and the loss of a parent

From Substack, December 1, 2025

My year’s end posts are often celebratory. This one is bittersweet.

I made significant professional strides in 2025, both in my writing career and in my day job. Personally, a lot of things have gone well.

I also lost my dad this year, after traveling back and forth to the U.S. a few times to see him in the hospital. And my cousin died very recently; he wasn’t much older than I am.

A New Book

My poetry collection The Heart Decided to Move came out this year with Read Furiously’s One ‘n Done series. I had a lot of fun writing and illustrating this book that tells the story of my move to the UK, travels, and moments of daily life as an immigrant.

Mikey Belcher did a lovely interview with me on his Substack that goes into detail on the book’s themes, and I gave some workshops and readings in both the UK and Canada to celebrate the book’s launch.

A Musical

This May, Joan: The Musical, which Hannah Doyle and I co-wrote, was performed in the Brighton Fringe. It told a story of an older woman, left behind by both an ex-husband and the passing of time, who travels to another world Alice in Wonderland-style and undergoes challenges to get her confidence and power back. Our first two shows had a sold-out run, so we ended up doing an encore performance.

It was amazing to see such a big production onstage. I dreamed of writing a musical and having it performed as a kid, and now I’ve done it. The show had good reviews and was an exciting, intense experience that I learned a lot from. I’m grateful to our team – director Summer and actors Geraldine, Justin, Lauren, and Dean, along with the fantastic team at The Actors – for making this show shine!

Volunteering Endeavors

I took on two big volunteer tasks this year. I was on the committee to plan Mensa’s annual European gathering in Cardiff this year, which happened in August. I helped organize activities and also gave a writing workshop.

I also acted as a juror for the British Fantasy Awards’ Best Independent Press award. I ended up reading 20 books for this, which was both exhausting and rewarding. There are so many great independent SFF presses in the UK; this work left me optimistic that the genre is in good hands.

Other Things

The Whispers in the Earth anthology came out this year, featuring my Canadian ghost ship tale along with 19 other folklore-inspired stories from around the world and beautiful linocut illustrations.

I had a short story published in the NonBinary Review’s Solarpunk issue.

I also recently got promoted to Senior Editor at Mindtools and am excited to see where that role takes me.

I have more books planned, starting with a romance novella that will be launching next year!

I’ve done my best in 2025, and I intend to do the same in 2026. I think my dad would be proud.