Cheers to 2013!
This has been an incredible year for me on all levels, personal and professional. My husband and I are happily settled in Alaska. We bought our first house this summer and I still have moments when I realize that I can paint the bathroom any color I want, that the garden will be mine, and that we're truly living out a dream that started six years ago in Oregon. We and our animals (including our newest addition, Loki) are all healthy, happy, and safe. We have fantastic, exhausting, fulfilling jobs. Our families and friends are safe and healthy and enjoying life. God has blessed us beyond my wildest dreams.
2013 was also the year that one of my childhood dreams came true. With Red Moon's release from Escape Publishing, I became a published author and discovered that there are other people out in the world who are interested in sharing my characters' stories. Every day that I wake up, I thank God for all of the amazing people who helped me get to this point. And even if my "other" job (a.k.a. The Mortgage Paying Job) has been more intense in the past three months than I expected, even if it's taken the majority of my energy and has made it difficult for me to keep up with my writing, I could not ask to have a minute of this past year changed.
It has been hell on wheels, but it's made me stronger than I ever believed I could be.
Maybe that's why I'm not terrified of listing my resolutions for this next year. For the first time in my life, I am at a point where I will not beat myself up every day for not reaching my dreams. I've already crossed those lines, so from this point on, everything is gravy. Some of you reading this may scoff at that sentiment, wonder why I don't want a movie deal or to sell billions of books or be interviewed by someone famous. Don't get me wrong, that all sounds great, but it's not necessary for my happiness. And if it were, I don't think I would ever be able to appreciate the happy, comfortable life I've been blessed to create.
So...without further ado, my list of resolutions...
1. Finish Connor's story, Blood Moon, and get it to my amazingly patient beta-readers. This book has been weighing on me and while I'm excited to finish it, it's going to be hard to say goodbye to Connor. He's come a loooooooong way.
2. Start and finish my next novel of The Republic, which first appeared in Lace & Lead. I've been kicking around an idea for a while, but I'm getting some well-needed motivation to put it in motion.
3. Continue working on my new Seeress series. New adult fantasy with no idea where it's going. But the antagonist looks like Benedict Cumberbatch, so I'll never be bored.
4. Work on two novellas I've had sitting around. They're both fun writes, so they'll be my "downtime" writing.
Hopefully I'll be better about updating this blog (I swear, once my other job calms down, it'll get better!), but I'm so grateful for all your support. Have a very Merry Christmas and an incredible New Year!
