The Three B's of 2021

When Covid-19 first hit and we were all sent to work from home, we had no idea what was in store. We all chatted about being given time to reflect, to work in quiet solitude and peace and regroup. We all thought we'd have more time to think.

What ensued was the opposite of peace. WFH turned out to be a frenzy of online activity, learning new skills and adapting to the new norm of muting our mics, rearranging our workspaces and realizing that our office chairs were indeed ergonomic.

Schools shut down, the U.S. election circus upped the madness and 2020 snowballed us all along in various forms of unexpected madness.

This led to the first B of 2021 – burnout. Digital burnout and zoom fatigue brought on by endless hours on our computers, scrambling to surf the waves of communication and keep our heads above water. We all ended up doing way more hours rather than less and it seemed there was no respite.

And then there was the loss. We all experienced a shocking terrible loss and for the Inanna family, it was our Editor-in-Chief, Inanna Publications (19 February, 1958 – 14 December, 2020): Luciana Ricciutelli.

As posted by Inanna Publications: "Luciana was a fierce force for women’s rights and empowerment and social change. She worked tirelessly for Inanna for 28 of our 42-year herstory in her role as Editor-in-Chief. Luciana spearheaded the development of Inanna’s book publishing program in 1996 and the launch of the poetry and fiction series in 2004. She was also key in the editing and production of our feminist journal, Canadian Woman Studies/Les cahiers de la femmes, and had over 30 years experience working with charitable organizations. Over the years, Luciana took leadership roles on boards and committees in and outside of the publishing world to bolster women’s lives, support independent presses, and to help affect positive change in the world.

There are really no words to express this tremendous loss. Luciana was not only a brilliant editor and publisher. She nurtured writers with the same care, encouragement, and concern she did for her family and closest friends. Luciana’s accomplishments are innumerable. And her impact on Inanna Publications is immeasurable. Her greatest wish was for Inanna to grow and continue to thrive far into the future. Our Inanna community meant the world to her. She was one of a kind, and we are so proud to be entrusted to carry on her crucial work and honour her enduring legacy."

I worked with Luciana for over eleven years. She was not only my editor and publisher but my friend, mentor and, as I often told her, my angel. The loss of Luciana has hit hard and I am still trying to process this loss. Which is the second B of 2021. Bereavement.

There were wins in 2020 and topping my list was the publication of The Rage Room, my tenth book, and one of the true loves of my life. Writing has always saved my sanity and pouring my heart and soul into The Rage Room (and the production and promotion thereof) was a real high of 2020.

But what's up next? This leads to the third B of 2021: Book Goals.

I have a book scheduled for 2022 with Inanna, Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon and since I wrote this a few published books ago, I'll need to rewrite it. I see so much progress with my writing from book to book and I know I'll want to resculpt and edit this book substantially.

I also want to write a sequel to The Rage Room. It's buzzing around my head like a noisy fly and I want to see if there's anything there.

Ideas for books are a dime a dozen and this might well end up being no more than that, an idea. But I have to take the time to explore it fully.

I am looking forward to the audio book of The Rage Room as well as doing events related to that book.

But, given the three B's of 2021, I need an action plan. And not so much an action plan as a me-plan. Action sounds too aggressive right now – I'm tired and I'm sad and I feel quite digitally depleted.

To this end, I've drawn up a schedule to help me do all these things but I do plan to do them in a quieter fashion – less social media, more reading, more yoga, more writing, meditating, breathing, walking and yes, reflecting.

I don't know about you but I just can't do the craziness of 2020. We had no idea it was coming and we did the best we could but now, moving forward, I'm really hoping to manage things better.

I won't be doing The Minerva Reader this year (my review site) but I will be posting reviews here on Goodreads.

And dear Reader, the best way you can support authors is by reading their books and posting reviews.

If you visit www.inanna.ca you can purchase books for 30% off until 15th January with the coupon code Holiday20.

I wish you all a wonderful 2021 and I hope that your me-plans will work out well – we are all in this together and let's move forward with kindness and compassion – and a lot of great books!