Welcoming 2025: A Year of Possibilities and Stories Yet to Tell

As I reflect on the dawn of 2025, I can’t help but acknowledge the weight of the years leading up to this moment. Los Angeles has endured so much—from wildfires and strikes to cultural shifts and personal reckonings. This city has been a testament to resilience, but as we enter a new year, I find myself yearning for something beyond resilience: a chance to breathe, to create, and to simply be human again.

A Year of Possibilities and Embracing the Unknown

For me, the idea of “a year of possibilities” is less about boundless optimism and more about creating space for humanity to flourish in a world that often feels relentless. Embracing the unknown is a mantra we’ve all had to adopt, especially as the world continues to change in ways we could never predict. It’s about letting go of rigid expectations and finding beauty in the unexpected.

Personally, I’m focused on growth—not just creatively, but strategically. Writing Solo Agers: Book 1 - Kakistocracy was a labor of love, but in 2025, I want to refine the business side of my writing. How do I connect with the audience this story was meant to serve? How do I ensure the themes and characters resonate deeply with readers? These are the questions driving me as I look to align creativity with purpose.

Lessons Learned and Habits to Refine

This year, I’m doubling down on systems and processes. Creativity flourishes when it’s supported by structure, and I’ve learned that the key to resilience isn’t just endurance—it’s having the right guardrails in place. Whether it’s refining my marketing strategy, defining my audience, or streamlining my writing process, I want to work smarter, not harder. And most importantly, I want to focus on what truly matters, leaving behind the superficial distractions that often plague self-publishers.

Storytelling in 2025: Bridging Gaps and Building Empathy

Storytelling is at a crossroads. In a world saturated with content, AI is accelerating creativity at an unprecedented pace. Yet, with this acceleration comes a profound opportunity to redefine our relationship with art, labor, and creation. I believe we’re transitioning from the singular hero’s journey to a collective hero’s journey—stories where diverse characters come together to tackle systemic issues rather than individual antagonists.

Speculative fiction, like Solo Agers, has a unique role to play in this shift. It allows us to step back and examine ourselves from an abstract perspective, preparing us for challenges we may not yet recognize. By exploring a near-future where solo agers navigate a collapsing healthcare system and societal marginalization, I hope to spark conversations that challenge the zero-sum mentality of late capitalism and encourage more empathy across all demographics—including age.

Balancing Optimism and Realism

Writing about heavy themes like aging and isolation requires a delicate balance. For me, optimism is rooted in the resilience of my characters and their capacity to find love, community, and meaning even in dire circumstances. Found families and the connections we create—whether freely or under pressure—serve as anchors of hope. It’s not about sugarcoating reality, but about showing how humanity’s capacity for love and connection can endure even in the face of adversity.

Looking Ahead: Stories Yet to Tell

What excites me most about 2025 is sharing the world of Solo Agers with more readers. These characters have lived in my mind for years, and now they’re stepping into the light. I’m eager to see how their stories resonate—how they spark conversations, challenge assumptions, and perhaps even disrupt the way we think about aging and society. Whether it’s one reader or a million, my goal is to bring this hidden demographic into the spotlight, giving them a voice and a place in the broader cultural narrative.

Hopes for a Revelation

If 2025 could leave me with one revelation, it would be this: that even in a world marked by volatility, humanity’s goodness endures. As much as automation, technology, and societal upheaval reshape our lives, I hope to see moments of collective kindness, trust, and resilience that remind us of our shared humanity. These are the stories I want to tell, and these are the stories I hope to witness.

An Invitation to Readers

To my readers, I ask: Have you reached high enough? Sometimes we limit ourselves to what we think is possible, never realizing that our wildest dreams can expand as we grow. My hope is that my work will inspire you to reflect—not just on your own journeys, but on the interconnectedness of our lives, our families, and our communities.

I invite you to join me in this journey. Together, we can build something meaningful—a conversation, a community, and a collective voice that refuses to let anyone be marginalized or forgotten. Writing Solo Agers is my way of starting that dialogue, but the real power lies in how we engage with it together.

Building a Legacy Through Connection

For me, this journey is deeply personal. As a solo ager myself, I see this as an opportunity to create a found family—a community of readers, thinkers, and dreamers who believe in the power of stories to spark change. I hope that Solo Agers will grow into something bigger than me, a legacy that continues to serve future generations long after I’m gone.

Here’s to 2025—a year of possibilities, of resilience, and of stories yet to tell. Let’s write it together.

Warm regards,

Myron Ward