On Writing, Story, and the Road Ahead

As the year draws to a close, I find myself less inclined to sum it up than to simply set it down — like a coat hung by the door at the end of a long day. Some years ask for that. Not a tally, not a verdict, just a moment to breathe before turning toward whatever comes next.

Earlier this week, I shared a few thoughts meant simply to steady the heart as the year turns. This piece is something a little different. Less about what has been weathered, and more about what has quietly taken shape along the way.

Writing, for me, has never been about filling space. It has always been about creating a place — one shaped by care rather than hurry, and guided more by readiness than routine. One where stories can rest awhile, where readers are not hurried along, and where a little warmth might be found when it is needed most. Re-opening the blog, reshaping its voice, and giving it room to become what it was always meant to be has been a deeply grounding experience.

Out of that steady work, a larger world has begun to form.
Writers call it “world building,” though it never feels quite that formal while you’re doing it.

Honey Hill Country — with its hollers and back roads, its small towns and familiar faces — has grown from a fictional story setting for Little Red Bear into a living place in my own mind. Characters have found their voices. Neighbours have wandered in. A sense of community has begun to gather, not unlike the way real ones do — one conversation at a time, one shared story after another.

Alongside that has come the joy of imagining what it might look like to “staff” a newspaper in such a place — giving names and temperaments to editors, reporters, and columnists who care about the small, everyday things that often matter most. That idea, once a steady pull that lingered for years and would not be ignored, has steadily become something real and welcoming.
That imagined paper eventually found its name — and its home — in Honey Hill Country.

Looking ahead, the new year brings with it the launch of The Hearth & Holler Gazette, a weekly visit from Little Red Bear’s Honey Hill Country meant to feel like a friendly small-town newspaper left on the kitchen table — full of stories, notices, humour, heart, and the quiet rhythms of a place that values neighbourliness and kindness. It has been a pleasure building it, piece by piece, and I am very much looking forward to opening its doors.

The year ahead will also see the continued adventures of Little Red Bear, including work on a second book — one that brings new characters into the fold, along with the inevitable misadventures, surprises, and moments of simple goodness that seem to follow him wherever he goes.

And consideration of all of this would not be complete without Little Red Bear himself — the character at the heart of these stories. From the very beginning, he has been there — sometimes leading, sometimes simply walking alongside, always ready with a suggestion or a quiet reminder. At other times, he has been looking over my shoulder, nudging a thought this way or that, and introducing me to neighbours I did not yet know I was ready to meet. In many ways, he has been my guide through Honey Hill Country, reminding me where I am, and why the stories matter in the first place.

And yes — there are one or two other ideas simmering quietly on the back of the stove — nothing to announce just yet — waiting for the right moment.

If this year has taught me anything worth carrying forward — it is this. There are no true endings. Only pauses. And new beginnings. Places where one chapter eases to a close so another can begin, often more gently than we expect.

As the calendar turns, my hope is to keep building a place where stories are told carefully, where hope and optimism are shared, and where readers can come and go without pressure — welcome whenever they need a quiet moment.

Thank you for being here, for reading, and for walking a little ways down the road with me this year. I look forward to what comes next.

— Jim  (and Red!)

A Small Note for New Readers

If you are visiting for the first time, you are most welcome here. In the weeks ahead, I will be launching The Hearth & Holler Gazette, the weekly project mentioned above and set in the world of Honey Hill Country — a small-town, country-comfortable newspaper of stories, smiles, and other warm-hearted tidings. If that sounds like your sort of thing, I would be glad to have you pull up a chair and stay awhile.

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P.S. from Little Red Bear —
I’ve already snuck a peek at Jim’s calendar for the New Year. Looks promising. I’ll be along shortly to welcome it properly — kettle on, porch swept, and a story already half-told. Don’t be a stranger now. You’re welcome to visit anytime.

Pen-and-ink illustrations created with the assistance of AI and lovingly styled for Little Red Bear Land.