Review of 2015 and Goals for the New Year
2015 was a good year for me. More ups than downs in my writing and personal life.
Writing Successes:
2015 saw the release of Deceptive Cadence and Diverging Cadence, my duology about a young woman who goes back to her high school days to have a second chance in life, and spans the years between. Cadence's story is one that, from the moment I wrote it, buried deep into my heart. At times I still wonder if I can ever write anything so deep and stirring as her tale. So, having these books released is something I'm personally really proud of, like I'm leaving something truly me to the world.
Cadence released through REUTS, which hooked me up with some amazing people. I always love having the chance to interact with other great talents, whether in writing, editing, or design.
Another release was Dancing in the Athenian Rain. This novel was one I originally wrote as a teenager, and was my first real novel I ever wrote. I'd written stories before then, but this one turned things around for me. I'd updated it a few times since then, but the basic story and characters are still the same. I'm honestly just happy to see it in print.
Although I took most of the year off acquisitions, I did sign the third book in Sharon Bayliss' December People series with Curiosity Quills. These books blow my mind. How Sharon comes up with this stuff is beyond me. If you haven't read the first two books, do it before the third comes out later this year.
The Kiya Trilogy continues to be my bread and butter as it holds solid ranks. Late in the year, right before Thanksgiving, Kiya 1 went on sale for free and sales sky-rocketed for all three books. Kiya 1 reached a high of #3 of ALL free Kindle books, and when it came out of the free sale, sat at about 300 for several days. Even now, it's still sitting around 12,000-14,000.
Upcoming in 2016:
The first book in my seven book series called Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles, releases early this year. I don't know the exact date, but I believe in Feb sometime. As usual, this part gets a little slow with CQ as I wait for the proof and cover, but it will get there in time, I'm sure. The rest of the books are lined up for tentative release each March for the next, well, seven years.
I have a couple more books in the pipelines, nothing official yet, but I'm hoping to work with REUTS and SMP again this year.
I'd really like to get to some conferences.conventions etc this year, so if you know of any around Arizona, point me that direction.
My Personal Life in 2015:
2015 brought a miracle to my life. After years of trying, leaving a 4 1/2 year gap between kids, I finally had baby #2. I have some health issues that I put a lot of time and money into dealing with in 2014, which paid off exactly how I wanted. Now I have two beautiful little girls that I love with my whole heart.
I had plenty of visits from my family in Australia too. My husband finally got to meet my sister's husband, and they hit it off amazingly well, when they came over to visit earlier in the year. I love my sister, and although I was quite pregnant and limited, we did do a trip to the Grand Canyon with them, and my first daughter had a great time tailing her uncle everywhere. There's no doubt that "Uncle Jason" is her favorite uncle!
My parents came right after I had the baby, which was nice, especially when I spent a lot of time focused on the bub, and kid #1 had some jealousy issues.
On the down side, about a month after having the baby, the hubs lost his job. So we had a mountain of medical bills and a very small income in comparison with my royalties. We've been lucky enough to have people help us out here and there, and we've scraped by so far. Hopefully, he'll get some work here soon so we can get back on our feet financially.
Coming in 2016:
Honestly, I really want my sister to get pregnant. Fingers Crossed!!! Like me, she has struggled with fertility issues, and I so want her to be a mother. There's no one more deserving of that role than her.
In August, Kid #1 will be starting school. Mind. Blown. How did she get so big? How is she five??? But school will be so great for her. She's so lively and bright, I really think it will give her the opportunity to get the stimulation mentally and socially that she craves.
When the hubby gets some work and we start to bounce back, we will hopefully be doing some much needed renovations on our house. This place has needed work from the day we moved in, and we've finally set some solid plans in place... we just need the income. So, fingers crossed on that.
I started a book club! We had our first meeting already, and at our meetings we Skype with the author. So far it's been a hit, and I love hearing the ladies say that they're enjoying reading again, and looking forward to reading new genres and types of books. Thanks to the hubs for suggesting doing a book club, and for supporting me as I took the idea and went to the next level with it. I really needed it, as my PPD was really getting me down, and I think he saw that. But, after the meeting, I felt so much happier.
look out for son of a Pitch in Feb! If it goes well, I'll run it again later in the year. Yay!
My Goals for this Year:
To enjoy my kids. To enjoy my husband. To shed all the baby weight (cliche, I know, but if I want to try for another baby in the future, it has to be done) To get to Australia to meet my brother's soon-to-be wife. And to just get to Australia again, because I miss it so bad.
I'd like to get an agent, but I'm at a point where I'm pretty happy with the publishers I work with, so getting an agent would be a bonus, but not a necessity. I feel like my books sell pretty well as it is, and I like the flexibility I have with the publishers I work through.
I'm working on a sequel to the Kiya Trilogy, as well as book 3 and onward of the fairytale novels. There are also a few other things I have up my sleeve, but you've have to wait to learn about those.
All up, I'm in a pretty good place. 2015 went pretty well, and I believe 2016 has just as much promise. It's all about the outlook, right?
Writing Successes:
2015 saw the release of Deceptive Cadence and Diverging Cadence, my duology about a young woman who goes back to her high school days to have a second chance in life, and spans the years between. Cadence's story is one that, from the moment I wrote it, buried deep into my heart. At times I still wonder if I can ever write anything so deep and stirring as her tale. So, having these books released is something I'm personally really proud of, like I'm leaving something truly me to the world.
Cadence released through REUTS, which hooked me up with some amazing people. I always love having the chance to interact with other great talents, whether in writing, editing, or design.
Another release was Dancing in the Athenian Rain. This novel was one I originally wrote as a teenager, and was my first real novel I ever wrote. I'd written stories before then, but this one turned things around for me. I'd updated it a few times since then, but the basic story and characters are still the same. I'm honestly just happy to see it in print.
Although I took most of the year off acquisitions, I did sign the third book in Sharon Bayliss' December People series with Curiosity Quills. These books blow my mind. How Sharon comes up with this stuff is beyond me. If you haven't read the first two books, do it before the third comes out later this year.
The Kiya Trilogy continues to be my bread and butter as it holds solid ranks. Late in the year, right before Thanksgiving, Kiya 1 went on sale for free and sales sky-rocketed for all three books. Kiya 1 reached a high of #3 of ALL free Kindle books, and when it came out of the free sale, sat at about 300 for several days. Even now, it's still sitting around 12,000-14,000.
Upcoming in 2016:
The first book in my seven book series called Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles, releases early this year. I don't know the exact date, but I believe in Feb sometime. As usual, this part gets a little slow with CQ as I wait for the proof and cover, but it will get there in time, I'm sure. The rest of the books are lined up for tentative release each March for the next, well, seven years.
I have a couple more books in the pipelines, nothing official yet, but I'm hoping to work with REUTS and SMP again this year.
I'd really like to get to some conferences.conventions etc this year, so if you know of any around Arizona, point me that direction.
My Personal Life in 2015:
2015 brought a miracle to my life. After years of trying, leaving a 4 1/2 year gap between kids, I finally had baby #2. I have some health issues that I put a lot of time and money into dealing with in 2014, which paid off exactly how I wanted. Now I have two beautiful little girls that I love with my whole heart.
I had plenty of visits from my family in Australia too. My husband finally got to meet my sister's husband, and they hit it off amazingly well, when they came over to visit earlier in the year. I love my sister, and although I was quite pregnant and limited, we did do a trip to the Grand Canyon with them, and my first daughter had a great time tailing her uncle everywhere. There's no doubt that "Uncle Jason" is her favorite uncle!
My parents came right after I had the baby, which was nice, especially when I spent a lot of time focused on the bub, and kid #1 had some jealousy issues.
On the down side, about a month after having the baby, the hubs lost his job. So we had a mountain of medical bills and a very small income in comparison with my royalties. We've been lucky enough to have people help us out here and there, and we've scraped by so far. Hopefully, he'll get some work here soon so we can get back on our feet financially.
Coming in 2016:
Honestly, I really want my sister to get pregnant. Fingers Crossed!!! Like me, she has struggled with fertility issues, and I so want her to be a mother. There's no one more deserving of that role than her.
In August, Kid #1 will be starting school. Mind. Blown. How did she get so big? How is she five??? But school will be so great for her. She's so lively and bright, I really think it will give her the opportunity to get the stimulation mentally and socially that she craves.
When the hubby gets some work and we start to bounce back, we will hopefully be doing some much needed renovations on our house. This place has needed work from the day we moved in, and we've finally set some solid plans in place... we just need the income. So, fingers crossed on that.
I started a book club! We had our first meeting already, and at our meetings we Skype with the author. So far it's been a hit, and I love hearing the ladies say that they're enjoying reading again, and looking forward to reading new genres and types of books. Thanks to the hubs for suggesting doing a book club, and for supporting me as I took the idea and went to the next level with it. I really needed it, as my PPD was really getting me down, and I think he saw that. But, after the meeting, I felt so much happier.
look out for son of a Pitch in Feb! If it goes well, I'll run it again later in the year. Yay!
My Goals for this Year:
To enjoy my kids. To enjoy my husband. To shed all the baby weight (cliche, I know, but if I want to try for another baby in the future, it has to be done) To get to Australia to meet my brother's soon-to-be wife. And to just get to Australia again, because I miss it so bad.
I'd like to get an agent, but I'm at a point where I'm pretty happy with the publishers I work with, so getting an agent would be a bonus, but not a necessity. I feel like my books sell pretty well as it is, and I like the flexibility I have with the publishers I work through.
I'm working on a sequel to the Kiya Trilogy, as well as book 3 and onward of the fairytale novels. There are also a few other things I have up my sleeve, but you've have to wait to learn about those.
All up, I'm in a pretty good place. 2015 went pretty well, and I believe 2016 has just as much promise. It's all about the outlook, right?
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