2023: A Year In Review
Another year is in the rearview mirror and it was a really good one. It started with an outstanding author event at Towne Book Center in Collegeville, PA. They’ve always been great at partnering with local authors, and this time was no exception. Next came a romance author event in February (under my other pen name) that was a resounding success. March saw me flirt with the idea of doing something that had been requested of me more than a few times – writing a book about writing. I’ve mentored various writing groups across the years, and facilitated several workshops, and I’ve been asked if I had a book about the craft. I decided to go ahead and get it done.
In April I spent a wonderful weekend at The Highlights Foundation attending the Eastern PA SCBWI Pocono Remix and thoroughly enjoyed keynote speaker Leah Henderson. I also joined some of my fellow SCBWI authors at Aaron’s Books in Lititz, PA for a book signing. Then in May I attended the Pennwriters conference in Pittsburgh where I met a lot of talented authors, took in some great workshops, and got to dress like a faerie.
June saw me attending the IABX Children’s Book Festival. This was an inaugural event and it was very well organized and attended. In July I was a signing author at two more romance book festivals under the alternate moniker, and August saw me writing and prepping for the height of book fest season.
September came and I had a blast at two different book festivals: Books, Books, Books in Lancaster, PA and the Festival of Books in the Alleghenies at Ebensburg, PA. I met a lot of wonderful readers and sold a lot of books.
October sent me to the Collingswood Book Festival in Collingswood, NJ and The Write Women Book Festival in Bowie, MD – both outstanding events that yielded new author friends and even more book sales. Then it was release day for BLOW YOUR MIND, WRITE YOUR BOOK. Now I have a writing book to refer people to when they ask me. Go me!
November was spent with NaNoWriMo, and my newest work in progress, a fantasy YA story about Anya, one of the seven daughters of death. Together with the ghost of a long-dead bard, she’s going to save her world from the dark force that is slowly destroying it. I also spent a fun afternoon at the Lititz Public Library for their local author event. Turnout was great and as usual, I met many wonderful readers and authors. I also announced that I’ve re-acquired the rights to TRAVELER and DREAMER and I’m exploring the continuation of the series. I ended the month with the cover reveal of my next YA novel, IN THE DARK OF A DREAM – coming in April 2024. This one is about a girl with chronic night terrors who finds herself sucked into a virtual reality experiment that’s gone horribly wrong.
December started with a bang at The Festival of Words in Middletown, Delaware. This was a new event for me, and I had a blast with all the local high school students and took part in a panel discussion with a few of my YA author friends. And that brings us to the end of this busy and beautiful year. I am beyond grateful for all the great events I attended and all the terrific people I met. Here’s to 2024!
