A Letter from Danielle for January ’26
Hi everyone,
I’ve always liked January, because for months before that everything happens at breakneck speed. For anyone with school-age children, September is a whirlwind of schedules, school uniforms, meeting new teachers, signing up for classes, and trying out for sports teams. For parents trying to keep up with the fast pace and organizing carpools, it’s a lot to manage. By October, everyone has adjusted to the fast pace of fall, with lots of fun on Halloween, which is the warning bell that the holidays are coming. We spend November getting organized for Thanksgiving, making holiday plans, and gathering family and friends. Holiday decorations start appearing, and the countdown begins for the mad dash to Christmas or Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate. Frantic holiday shopping, picking trees to decorate, and going to or giving holiday parties fill the weeks. From September to December, the pace gets faster every day. And on the first of January, suddenly it’s all over, as though someone flipped a switch to “off,” and the frenzy is over.
Most people don’t make big plans for January; they tuck in and stay home for real winter weather. It’s great to hibernate for a while, read a book, relax and enjoy some quiet time, or do projects at home. I hibernate like a bear, stay home, and do some serious writing in the cold winter months. I stay home for weeks at a time, working on new books.
I like January because it’s a fresh start, a reset, a clean slate, a blank canvas for new beginnings. You put away the old year, and you get to do things differently, make changes if you want to, figure out what you didn’t like about last year and change it if you want to—to be healthier, calmer, better organized, work harder, get more exercise, or relax more. January is a quiet month when you can take stock and decide what you want to change, or what new projects you want to start. It’s a great month to catch up on your reading too!!
And we have some fun books for you this month. My new book The Devil’s Daughter will come out in hardcover—a book that I LOVED writing. It’s about two sisters who couldn’t be more different. One sister is a truly lovely young woman, a great student, great person, great daughter, and the other is a sociopath with an evil streak in her that knows no limits. She will do anything to get what she wants, no matter whom she hurts, with no boundaries, even including breaking the law. I loved the story as it developed; some people will go to any lengths to meet their needs. The book is exciting and fun and different, a roller coaster ride of contrasts between the two sisters. I hope you love it and have fun reading it and trying to predict how it ends!!
And Far From Home is another exciting book, in trade paperback. It came out at the end of December. The story begins with the true-to-life attempt to kill Adolf Hitler during World War II. The attempt failed, and his would-be assassins were killed for the attempt. The book is about the widow of one of the men who tried to kill him. She has to take on a new identity to escape the Nazis and flee to France. It’s about her life with her new clandestine identity. Both books should keep you entertained during the quiet month of January!! I hope you have a peaceful, restful month, and plenty of time to catch up on all the things you want to do and didn’t have time to do before! And I hope you love the new books!!
All my love,
Danielle