February 2026 Newsletter

Hello, everyone! How are you doing? What did your January look like?

Read until the end to see what I was up to this month!

If you’d like to see more of my content in a shorter form, I’d love it if you checked out my Instagram!

Writing: “Fun” Projects vs. “Serious” Projects

I don’t know about other writers, but I tend to divide my writing projects into two categories: “fun” projects and “serious” projects. I know that might sound a little strange—shouldn’t all writing be enjoyable? And yes, I do think you should like your ideas and enjoy working on them most of the time. What I mean by fun versus serious has less to do with enjoyment and more to do with mindset.

My “serious” projects are the ones I see having a future. These are the stories I intend to draft and redraft, polish endlessly, and work on until they’re as good as I can possibly make them. They’re my priorities, and I’m willing to push through the phases where motivation dips or the idea feels less exciting, because I believe in their long-term potential. The Phoenix Pendant is a good example of this category. I’ve been working on that novel for about two years now, and I genuinely hope to publish it someday.

“Fun” projects, on the other hand, exist purely for me. They tend to be lighter on plot and heavier on vibes—often just a mash-up of tropes I love, random scene ideas, and concepts I want to play with. One example is Project: Europe, which is loosely based on a trip I took two years ago. It’s essentially my way of reliving that experience by rewriting it as a rom-com 😂 I don’t have big plans for it, and that’s the point. If I feel like editing it, I will. If I don’t, I won’t.

So why keep both kinds of projects going at the same time? Because they balance each other. When one project starts to feel more focused—or even a bit like work—the other becomes a low-pressure reminder of why I fell in love with writing in the first place.

Do you have “fun” projects and “serious” projects, too?

Reading: The Ruling Class by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Ruling Class by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Genre: Young Adult Mystery/Thriller

Age rating: 14+

When Tess Kendrick is sent to stay with her older sister in Washington, D.C. she has no idea that Ivy is the Capitol's go-to "fixer," a person who can make powerful people's scandals disappear with a snap of her fingers. Tess never thought she and Ivy had much in common, but when she enrolls at the exclusive Hardwicke School, she soon finds herself thrust into the role of high school fixer, solving problems for the children of the D.C. elite.

Secrets pile up as each sister lives a double life, and their worlds come crashing together when a scandal from the halls of Hardwicke reaches Capitol Hill. As the stakes turn deadly, Tess must uncover who's behind the power play before she becomes a target herself. (Blurb taken from goodreads.com)

I’ve been a huge fan of Jennifer Lynn Barnes for a while, but I didn’t discover The Ruling Class until recently. This is perhaps an example of how readers—or at least this reader—can be guilty of judging books by their covers. Since it’s one of her older titles, the original cover feels a bit outdated and not especially eye-catching. When I spotted the book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble, though, I thought it was a new release and was instantly intrigued.

Like all of Barnes’s books, The Ruling Class was a fun, fast read. While most of her work falls within the mystery/thriller genre, each series or standalone offers a slightly different flavor. The Ruling Class isn’t quite as intense as The Naturals and leans more toward a political thriller than Little White Lies’ high-society mystery, but it still delivers the compelling twists and endearing found-family dynamics that fans of The Inheritance Games will recognize and enjoy.

I will definitely be reading book number two!

Spotlight: Virtual Event with Roshani Chokshi and Marissa Meyer

Earlier this month, Roshani Chokshi’s new book, The Swan’s Daughter, was released. In honor of that, she did several virtual and in-person events. I got to attend one of them, which she did with Marissa Meyer.

If you know me, you’ll know Roshani Chokshi and Marissa Meyer are two of my favorite writers. Both of them have written several amazing books and are great to listen to at live events.

Every time I attend one of these events, whether online or in person, I always feel reinspired. Hearing these two fantastic writers, whom I greatly look up to, talking about their books and their writing processes always leaves me eager to write and to try to create something even half as good as them.

(I can’t wait to read Roshani’s new book!)

Life in January

January went by ridiculously fast for me. It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating the start of a new year by ice skating on the pond behind our house—and now, somehow, it’s February. How did that happen?

I love the start of a new year because it means I get to make tons of goals and plans, print out new calendars, and go a little wild with my lists. The amount of time I spend planning out my year is, admittedly, a bit ridiculous.

(Also, I need to point out that both February and March start on a Sunday this year, which means the weeks line up perfectly on the calendar. February is basically my ideal month: it starts on a Sunday and has exactly four weeks. You have no idea how happy this makes me. I feel like this is a little bit of my Autism poking through.)

I spent the last week of January and the first week of February doing tech for a play my sister is in. It’s been fun to help out, but after six performances, five rehearsals, and set building—around 45 hours of work total—I’m very ready to be done.

While this month went pretty well for me personally, things feel much heavier on a broader scale, especially in Minnesota. In times like this, I tend to turn to my ranting/venting document, where I work through my emotions in a more prose- or poetry-like form. I’m not going to share what I wrote this time, since it’s pretty raw, but I will say that it’s been really hard to witness the pain people in my community are experiencing. Friends and coworkers are living with fear and sadness.

I’m incredibly aware that I’m privileged not to have to worry about my family’s safety, and I recognize that privilege for what it is. What’s happening is not okay, and I believe it’s our responsibility to stand up for those who are less privileged than ourselves in whatever ways we can.

Quick Writing Update

• Started Draft #4 of The Phoenix Pendant (Want to learn more about this project?)

• Started a short story

• Wrote 2,000 words of Project: Europe

• Started brainstorming a new novel

What did you think about my review of The Ruling Class? Have you read any of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s books? Let me know by replying directly to this email or leaving me a comment of the website that corresponds to The Introverted Writer!

Thank you so much for reading! Have a great rest of your day!

Abby Henderson

P.S. Next month I have an exciting announcement!