CAPTAIN’S QUILL: SETTING SAIL FOR THE NEW YEAR
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Sir Bear on the deck of the Resilience overseeing the work to get us shipshape for the next adventure. Come hell or high water, we set sail on the 15th.
Hej, Messmate!
Today, I’m sitting here on Quarterdeck looking back at the seas we sailed, the storms we weathered, in 2023. It seems like the prudent thing to do before you turn the spyglass towards the shimmering horizon of 2024, doesn’t it?
Last year was difficult in so many ways, not in the least because my health has taken a turn for the worse, and my private life has given me a few thorny issues too many to contend with. But it wasn’t just me. For some reason, the powers that be saw fit to throw a ridiculous amount of shit at our whole crew and every last one of our passengers. I swear, I’ve never seen anything like it.
In any group of people we’re part of, we know that at least one of them will be going through something at any given point in time. That’s life. Shit happens, and in general, it hits us all at different intervals in different periods of our lives. Clearly, 2023 was a troll year, but I named my ship Resilience for a reason.
Yes, last year was a bleeding nightmare, but it was also a year of remarkable achievements and learning. It’s easy to forget that not all progress is visible. That not all progress is measurable. Sometimes, the most important thing we can do is nothing, and we did a whole lot of nothing. But on the inside, we grew. We observed, read, and learned. We opened up and shared things we wouldn’t normally talk about, and we confronted some of our biggest fears. On top of that, we lost some friends, gained a few new ones, wrote and published quite a few books, and kept checking in every day to support each other through thick and thin.
I’m proud as punch that, in spite of it all, the Resilience crew and passengers still had some major accomplishments and memorable moments in -23. The voyage was made richer by our companionship and shared love for storytelling in its many forms. There’s beauty in that. Sadly, we haven’t been able to leave all the issues we faced behind us, but I think we’re ready to catch the fresh winds of this New Year now. Indeed, I think it’s fair to say that our sails are positively billowing with ambition and dreams at this point.
Here are some of the things the Quartermaster and yours truly have etched into the logbook for the journey ahead. In 2024, our goals for the Resilience and Libertalia Press are to:
-> Launch Libertalia Tales: Pirate Life series.
-> Release 12 new titles: At least. We have 4 of Sir Bear’s titles, 4 of mine and our joint titles, and 4 Resilience writer titles lined up for publishing this year. But you never know…
-> Open Ko-Fi shop: We will have books, special editions, activity packs and much more, and there will be special treats for members and subscribers.
-> Set up memberships: We aren’t really big enough to have a membership yet, but sometimes you have to take that first step to see where the road will take you.
-> Double the number of Ship’s Log subscribers: Self-explanatory, but what’s new is that we’re adding an invite-a-friend option and there will be incentives to help us grow.
-> Introduce Äppelpaj and Grodprinsen: In my previous life, I had a small print media design studio. This year, we are pulling the white sheets off the furniture, dusting off the shelves and opening the old order book again. What we have to offer? I’ll get to that later.
-> Open our Discord to both readers and writers: We are currently in the process of restructuring our server to be able to host all Deck Pass holders. There will be a social area open to all, but we will also keep the writer’s camp as it is, open up the reading room and introduce a few other dedicated areas.
-> Explore New Genres: Sir Bear and I will be steering the ship into more diverse literary waters, both in terms of recommended reads and our own projects. We are introducing a new pen name and we have some interesting stories to go with it.
-> Increase Community Collaboration: We are starting to get more feedback and engagement, and we’ll work hard to increase the opportunities for collaborations this year. Our aim has always been for the Resilience to be a haven for both indie authors and readers, and that will never change.
Now, this is a very ambitious list, and it all hinges on a few crucial obstacles that we have to get past. It wasn’t happening last year, but this year I am moving to a new home. We don’t know where and when just yet, but we do know it will have to be soon. No matter how that little adventure unfolds, there’s no doubt it will bring its own host of challenges and vexations. Still. As soon as we’re out of the storm, we’ll be catching every little gust of wind and put our sails to the test.
How about you, mate? Where’s your 2024 compass taking you? What seas are you setting sail for? Share your goals and aspirations with us. Let’s inspire and uplift each other as we embark on this year’s expeditions together.
Until we meet again, may your dreams be bold, and may you always have access to blank paper and a full inkwell.
Puss & Kram,
//Linnea 🖤
ABOUT LINNEA LUCIFER
Linnea Lucifer is the Captain of the imaginary, yet very real, pirate ship Resilience and her merry crew of indie authors and omnivorous readers. But that is not all – amateur liar, weaver of stories, peddler of merch, lifelong spoonie, ancient dragon lady and Maddox Rhinehart’s irreverent pet are a few more words often used to describe the bearer of many names.
The Captain was named after a delicate little flower that grows in mossy, Swedish pine forests, and a certain fiery fallen angel. She spends most of her days daydreaming and writing fantasy, smut and painfully crappy poems. A diva of delight, she takes great pleasure in everything that tickles the senses and adds a sprinkle of magic and spice to our world.
Linnea writes fantasy rooted in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore under the pen name Saga Linnea Söderberg. She also writes Sweet’n’Spicy Spoonie romance together with Leto Armitage under their joint pen name Linn Rhinehart.
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