2010

For the sake of convention, or vanity, or whatever … I feel the need to do a year-end wrap-up post. Perhaps I should hold off until tomorrow, but tomorrow I might not have time. In addition to the day-job work, I plan to clean this apartment from top to bottom, because I absolutely refuse to begin the new year with a dirty bathroom; it sets a bad precedent.

Therefore, any 2010 retrospective of mine needs to happen today.

And I'm not entirely sure what to say.

In 2010, my seventh novel sort of … well … took off. And everything changed.

With the help of an epic team of fabulous editors, a great boss, and my amazing agent … I had two more books published (Dreadnought and Clementine), sold two more (Ganymede and Inexplicable), either completed – or essentially completed – four others (Bloodshot, Hellbent, Ganymede, and my segments of Fort Freak), sold a couple of short stories, sold reprint rights on a couple others, sold foreign rights for three books in nine countries, and maintained a part-time day-job working as an associate editor for Subterranean.

I did conferences/conventions/events/signings in San Francisco, Portland (Oregon), Troy (Michigan), Victoria B.C., New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Vancouver (Canada not Washington), Denver, Madison (Wisconsin), Richmond … plus a whole host of them in the greater Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia area.

I am completely freaking exhausted.

I am also grateful beyond words.

2010 has been worth every minute. Even the jet-lag.

* * * * *

So what about 2011?

Well, let's see.

This year I will get better about saying "No." I don't like saying it, but for the sake of my sanity, I need to deploy that syllable more often. Note to self: Am only human.

Likewise, I will get a death grip on my finances. Not altogether unrelated: The husband and I are saving up to buy a house – a goal which is actually within hypothetical reach this year, (a). barring unforeseen catastrophe, and (b). if we are careful. My shopping refrain for 2011 re: everything from groceries to tee shirts shall be, "Do I want this, or do I want a house?"

I will spend less time on the internet. I fart around online far too much; I use it as filler for all the in-between moments in my day – and some days, those in-between moments accumulate into hours. As a side benefit, it's amazing how much drama, bullshit, and butt-hurt I miss when I skip certain feeds. Amazing, I tell you! Not sure why it's taken me so long to figure out I don't need it, but really. I don't.

However, I will make a point to maintain this blog in a fashion that does NOT devolve into daily stats reports or lists of links for weeks at a time. Blogging isn't really that time-consuming, and I enjoy it. I also enjoy tweeting and posting kitty pictures, and lurking in a digital clubhouse or two. These are not Problem Time-Suck Areas with regards to my internet experience.

I will write the sequel to Ganymede (of course), and I will propose/pitch/pull together material for at least three other books, which I very much hope will sell. The first partial/proposal is almost finished; the other two I'll begin in the next week. I might throw in a fourth, but I want to talk to my agent about it before I do any fiddling on that one.

I will write. A lot.

And I will read. A lot.

I will hope for the best.

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]