Here we are at the end of yet another year. While this past year had more ups and downs than 2011, I'm actually a bit sad that it's over. Maybe because it flew by so fast, I didn't get half the things done I wanted to. Maybe because the things I did accomplish, I'd like to be able to do all over again.
Here's a quick rundown on my 2012:
*For anyone who knows me personally, you know what an emotional rollercoast ride this past year has been right from the start. My grandparents' house burnt down in January, resulting in my grandmother being in the hospital roughly half the year. She gave us lots of scares during that time, but she's home now and doing great. They've rebuilt and moved in just in time for Christmas. Small miracles that mean a lot. Sure they lost 50+ years of accumulated memories, but we didn't lose either of them. In fact, it made us all appreciate them much more.
*During this time, I managed to publish my first book. My goal for the New Year was met, although it officially came out after my birthday. The shift from writing, editing and querying to marketing was a bit tougher than I expected. I'm slogging away at marketing, with one of my New Year goals to get the book into a lot more bookstores as well as do some serious work on my second children's book. Don't worry, my more 'adult' writing will still be getting some attention.
*Which brings me to the next highlight of the year: first drafts finished on two mss and substantial work done on two others. Because of all my readers, WHAT THE WHOLE TOWN KNEW got the push it needed to get finished. I also have GENERATION GAP waiting in the wings for editing and PROMETHEUS' LANTERN is a third of the way done. Without support from all of you, I wouldn't have gotten half of this done. Now, WHAT THE WHOLE TOWN KNEW is going through a second edit & revision before heading off to Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. I'll keep everyone updated on how it goes.
*Hard to tell if this is a highlight of the year or not, but this past September I turned 30. It went by with very little ado; family gathering with cake and presents. I'm still finding it hard to believe I'm not still in my twenties. I think I'll pretend that part of the past year just didn't happen and continue to give my age as 29.
*I attended my first Con! Ok, so it wasn't *THE* Comic Con, but it was still cool. I'm hooked and looking forward to next year. With a better hotel this time around.
*Lost Smeagol, my cat of 8 years in May, on his 8th birthday. He had a bad heart that went undetected. That had to be one of the worst days of this past year. It's only hit my kids in the last few weeks that he's gone for good. Delayed grieving isn't any better than immediate grief.
*Because of us losing Smeagol, we adopted another cat a few months after. Mouth is a gray tiger and a bully. We took her in to be a companion for our other cat who was also grieving Smeagol's loss. Too bad Mouth, while friendly, doesn't like other cats and dogs. We've worked out an...arrangement.
*My GoodReads goal was not met, which is surprising given how much I read. Then again, I do a lot of online MS reading/critiquing and none of that counts. Next year, I shall try to do better.
I think that sums up 2012 for me. Not a totally terrific year, but not as bad as 2011. Here's to making 2013 even better.
How was everyone else's year? Are any of you ready to show 2012 the door or are you going to be sad to see it go?
No comments:
Post a Comment