Gratitude in the Writing Life
At the beginning of 2025, I was given a word. Expansion.
With that one word, I knew this year was going to be where I would see growth and enlargement, creatively and professionally.
It happened.
And I am deeply grateful for it.
I expanded my Coroner’s Daughter series with Book 5, What Darkness Does, and signed a new contract for three more books in the series. I also dove into several new creative projects that are still in early stages of development and drafting. Some of them may not reach readers’ hands or screens for years, but they’ve already expanded my imagination and faith in what’s possible.
Let’s just say, I’m officially on deadline until 2030 and beyond! That’s expansion, all right!
And I have felt the stretch and pull of growth.
As a career writer, there are rarely “down” moments in my work week. There’s always another scene to polish, a new draft to start, an outline to develop. And ideas tugging at my brain, begging to be jotted down in notecards. There’s also the business aspect of being a career author that lingers behind the scenes. Blogs to be written. Social to be scheduled. Reels to be shot. Emails to answers. People to reach out to. New projects to pitch, Meeting to take. Conferences to attend. Workshops to prep for and teach.
And through all this, there is a strong team behind me who help make these projects possible and come to life.
The People Who Make the Stories Possible
It’s not true that an author is an island.
Behind every project are dozens of people working tirelessly to shape, polish, and share it with the world.
It all starts with my agent, Julie Gwinn, who has stood by me for over eleven years, a steadfast guide through every chapter of this career.
Then my editors at Blackstone Publishing, Josie and Dana, continue to refine my stories into their best possible forms. And I remain deeply grateful to Rick Bleiweiss, who first believed in my work and has mentored me toward becoming a career novelist.
There are so many others at Blackstone, copy editors, designers, marketing and PR professionals, who help bring these stories to life. Huge thanks to Tatiana, my publicist, and Rachel, marketing and sales. I can not forget to mention there is another whole team at Crooked Lane, who manage my books The Coroner and Secret Remains.
This year, I was thrilled to partner with Amanda, Crystal, and Jackie at Positively Creative. They are the backbone of my outreach, the words, visuals, and technology that help my books find their readers.
And then there’s my unsung hero at home, my husband and business manager, Ryan. Every non-creative decision runs through him. He tracks the numbers, the contracts, the spreadsheets (I hate Excel. Thankfully, he doesn’t!), and often he’s helping me manage my sanity when I bite off more than I can chew.
On the receiving end of all this are my readers, librarians and booksellers who consume and share my stories with others. Thank you. You are the heartbeat of this work. You remind me, every single day, that storytelling is soul refreshing… and that matters.
Personal Gratitude in a Challenging Year
On the surface, 2025 was fruitful, productive, blessed, and full of creative growth.
But behind the scenes, my personal life was marked by challenge after challenge.
A friend’s father died unexpectedly.
A husband walked out.
A parent declined in health.
A sibling broke down.
A friend fought cancer.
Another faced the heartbreak of a failed adoption.
It felt, at times, like a downpour of human tragedy, one story of suffering after another.
And yet, even in that storm, gratitude found me.
I’m thankful that I was healthy, grounded, and available enough to be there for others. To sit beside grief instead of running from it. To hold space for someone else’s heartbreak when my own life was steady.
Sometimes the greatest blessing is simply having the strength to be someone’s anchor when the waves come crashing.
To My Readers, With Thanks
You, my readers, are at the heart of everything I do.
Your letters, messages, and conversations at events remind me that stories matter. One of my favorite moments this year was meeting both twenty-something and seventy-something readers who were equally enthusiastic about The Coroner’s Daughter series. To me, that’s the greatest compliment of all, that my stories resonate across generations.
I also love when readers share their crime stories with me, whether it’s a local newspaper clipping handed to me by a librarian or a personal account emailed later. These exchanges remind me how deeply true-crime storytelling connects us to our shared humanity, to truth, justice, and redemption.
And as we enter this Thanksgiving season, I want to leave you with this reminder:
Gratitude can’t thrive when we’re constantly comparing, scrolling, or doom-consuming the world around us.
Be intentional about what you digest each day, both online and in spirit.
Start your mornings by naming three things you’re thankful for. It will change your entire rhythm.
Looking Ahead with Hope and Praise
As 2026 approaches, my heart is set on connection. I’m looking forward to getting out on the road again, meeting readers face-to-face, and sharing more stories that celebrate the resilience of the human spirit.
I plan to carry gratitude forward the same way I always have, through prayer, journaling, and keeping my eyes off myself and on the great Creator who blesses us with our gifts.
The biggest lesson I’m taking with me from 2025?
That no matter what circumstances come, good, bad, or indifferent, we still have the power to praise, to love, and to hope.
Gratitude is a daily choice that lifts us from the mire and gives us perspective.
When I think of thankfulness, I think of the Eucharist, a word that literally means thanksgiving. Being a Catholic, I attend mass. And each Mass is, at its core, a celebration of gratitude, a reminder that even in brokenness, we are being made whole.
This year Eucharist came at me in so many big and small and unexpected ways. Some biggies were my sister’s wedding, my childhood friend’s wedding, and seven new book contracts!
So from my desk, and my very full heart, I’m giving thanks for you, for the stories yet to come, and for the grace that sustains us all.
Remember as we pass through this holiday and into new months ahead, thanksgiving isn’t seasonal. It needs to be a sacred practice all year long.
Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends.
Jennifer
