 Each year, many platforms will give you a summary of what you read, watched, listened to, played, etc. That led to others doing their own wrapped about things they did during the year. Some have to do with their business, others are more personal, or a combination. In this post, I'm sharing what I accomplished as an author, while also sharing what I read, watched, and listened to during the year.
During 2025, I wrote a total of 96,086 words in my stories. This does not include the words written in my outlines for all the stories I planned this year, my blog posts, or my social media posts. I had six books released in 2025! Four were published with Decadent and I self-published the other two. Five were new stories and one I revised and republished after I got my rights back to it last year. Here are the titles: Lion’s Crossing Once Upon a Rec Center Wish 3 Secrets to Love Arranged in the Stars (formerly The Star Princess) Beared at Christmas Christmas Kane While I did not accomplish all of the writing goals I set at the beginning of the year, I did finish the second book in my City Wishes & Enchanted Dreams series & submit (Once Upon a Rec Center Wish.) I did finish the second book in my Romance Tales from the Quadrants series & submit (3 Secrets to Love.) I did not finish my dystopian story. This one has been shelved for now. I did not revise and republish all four stories I got my rights back for. But I did get one done (Arranged in the Stars.) The Christmas books did come as a surprise, as do most of the shared world stories I write. I had wanted to write another Christmas Romance since I published Hey, Santa in 2013, and I guess I doubled-down this year.  I finished 25 books this year, failing to reach my goal of 30. There were so many I started but did not finish for various reasons. The longest book I read was 419 pages and my top genres were romance, mystery & thriller, and science fiction. I did continue to diversify my reading, which resulted in another great reading year! Here are my Top 10 reads in the order I read them… The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibert Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston Built of Secrets by Jemi Fraser Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North Titan of the Stars by E.K. Johnston You Started It by Jackie Khalilieh Only Mostly Dead by Alli Temple The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen I’m going to set my goal to 30 books again and continue to read diversely.  In 2025, I listened to music on two streaming platforms. My top artist on both was BTS. My top 5 songs on each were: 1. Love Bites by Nelly Furtado, Trove Lo, and SG Lewis 2. Empress of the Damned by Gunship and Lights 3. Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen 4. Around the World by RM and Moses Sumney 5. I’ll Be There by Jin 1. Spaghetti by Le Sserafim and J-Hope 2. Fight Like a Girl by Evanescence and K. Flay 3. Hand That Feeds by Halsey and Amy Lee 4. Ma Meilleure Ennemie by Stromae, Pomme, Elyanna, Arcane, and Coldplay 5. Killin’ It Girl by J-Hope I’ve combined my top 100 playlists for each (there were many repeats) on YouTube Music. Click on the button bellow to find it.  While I tried to jot down everything I watched in 2025, I’m sure there were some I missed. Here's a list of the more memorable shows I streamed. Some of them have been out for a while, but it took me until this year to watch them. Cross S1 Zero Day S1 North of North S1 Untamed S1 Departure S1-3 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder S1 SkyMed S1-3 Transplant S4 Heated Rivalry S1 Don’t Move (movie) From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (movie) What were your favorite shows and movies that you watched in 2025? And what do you recommend in 2026? I’m already looking forward for the next season to release of many of the above shows.  My main goal for 2026 is to stay focused. I took on too many other projects in 2025 instead of focusing on what I wanted to accomplish. Here’s what I’m focusing on in 2026... 1. Finish my MM MPreg Romance for a shared world. 2. Write the next book in my City Wishes & Enchanted Dreams series. 3. Write the next book in my Romance Tales from the Quadrants series. 4. Update the backmatter in my self-published books. 5. Revise the books in my dystopian romance series & re-publish them.   Arranged in the Stars is a MF Arranged Marriage Mistaken Identity Sci-Fi Romance that is set on the planet Minjet and a post-apocalyptic Earth. It is also a fairytale retelling of The Star Money by the Brothers Grimm. It was originally titled The Star Princess, but I received my rights back to this story earlier this year. I revised it to take it out of the multi-author series it was originally part of and made some other changes. Now, Arranged in the Stars is available wide at most ebook retailers.
Enjoy an excerpt from Arranged in the Stars...“Weird. So, when do you get to meet him?” “Tonight.” Ro’sa returned her gaze out the window, watching the shuttle descend onto the runway. She wondered if the prince had saved himself for her or if the rule was yet another way to control her. “There’s an official introduction ceremony where we will shake hands and eat our first meal together.” “That’s crap.” Her friend tugged on her fingers. “Let’s go meet him as he’s coming off the ship.” Ro’sa shook her head, yanking her hand away. “I can’t. I have to follow protocol.” “Then we’ll hide in the shrubs. Don’t you want to check him out before you’re introduced to him in front of everyone?” Biting her bottom lip, Ro’sa watched the spacecraft disappear below the treetops, willing her stomach to calm. “I guess.” She didn’t want to look like a fool in her first reaction to the man. He could be ugly or breathtakingly handsome. And if she’d already caught sight of the prince, she could hold her emotions in check at their official first meeting. “Let’s go then.” Ka’lyn stood at the door before she had the chance to move. Leaving her friend’s home behind, they darted through the woods on the packed dirt path. With only moments to spare, Ro’sa hoped they’d make it to the runway in time. If the castle guards hastened him immediately away, they’d never make it in time. Her parents should have let her meet him many years ago. Was he that horrendous looking that they’d avoided the introduction until only days before her departure? The least they could have done was show her a picture of him.  |
AuthorJessica E. Subject is a USA Today bestselling author of Sci-Fi and Paranormal Romance. Please note: Some links contain affiliate links.
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