2019 Wrap Up, January Check-In, + Hiatus Announcement

Well, 2020 is already speeding past like a freight train (one filled with toxic sludge, if the last week and a half is anything to go by).

As if it wasn’t bad enough that the world is becoming a scarier place by the day, my migraines have decided to attack with a vengeance. I don’t start my new meds for another three weeks, and even then, there’s no telling whether they’ll help or not (not to mention whether or not they’ll incapacitate me with side effects).

So, since my head doesn’t seem to like screens right now, I’m going to be taking a break for the rest of the month. No Twitter, no blog, and minimal Facebook – though you might catch me on Instagram now and again.

I’m hoping that by limiting my screen time to writing, I might actually manage to get work done on revising my Adult Urban Fantasy – in between all the naps my brain requires these days just to function.

On the bright side, my inability to work last month, combined with terrible insomnia, resulted in record reading stats for me:

December Reading Stats:

• Adult Mystery (24)
• Adult Fantasy (1)
• Adult Urban Fantasy/Paranormal (1)
• Re-Read (1)

December Total: 26 (+ 1 Re-Read)

2019 Total: 253 (+28 Re-Reads)

I really wanted to give you some random stats here, like how many authors I read, a total of genres for the year, paper vs. audiobooks, etc. but my brain isn’t up to the amount of computer time it’d take to crunch those numbers.

Hope you all have a good rest of the month, and I’ll see you in February.

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

Well, 2020 is here at last, so let’s hope we’ve left behind all the garbage from the trashfire that was 2019 (or even the 2010s. 20-teens? -If this decade gives us nothing else, at least we’ll know what to call it).

It’s been hard not to feel discouraged by everyone’s decade-in-review posts, especially ones listing numerous published books, but it’s not like I haven’t accomplished anything – even if some of what I’ve accomplished is just surviving.

So, to prove to myself I’ve actually done something this decade, here is my list of accomplishments from the last 10 years (feel free to skip it if it’ll discourage you.)

• survived a twin pregnancy: seriously, 8 months of not having enough energy to stand while cooking dinner, needing constant naps, and horrible food cravings  – mostly ribs, a food I don’t eat – all while looking after a toddler, was no easy task.
• survived the first year of twinfants (+ a toddler): this was, no joke, the hardest year of my life. When my boys were born I had 3 kids under the age of 2, and I was averaging half an hour off between feeding sessions. Even with help, I barely left the house, and pretty much didn’t sleep for the first 3-4 months.
• dealt with a nasty concussion: 9 months of no screen time, followed by over a year of limited screen time, not to mention the 5+ years of chronic/constant migraines
•  wrote 5 (?) novels + 10 picture books: of course, not all of those were worth seeking publication on. Sometimes you just have to cut and run. But, I still wrote them, and there are loads of people in this world who’ve never written a single book, so I’m calling this an accomplishment.
• got an agent: and lost said agent. But it was a good few years while it lasted.
• had my cake decorating book published: Fun With Frosting: A Beginner’s Guide to Creative, Fondant-Free Cakes is available at bookstores and through Amazon!
• made two television appearances to promote Fun with Frosting: you can watch one of them here.
• placed 4th in the 2D division of the international Threadcakes cake decorating competition: You can check out all my entries through the years on the Cakey Goodness page of this blog (the original Threadcakes page seems to not exist anymore), but this is the creation that took the cake (pun most definitely intended). Yay, Fraggles!
• got diagnosed with the chronic pain condition/illness Fibromyalgia: as anyone who suffers from chronic conditions knows, getting a diagnosis totally counts as an accomplishment (even if, like in my case, the doctors then tell you there’s nothing you can do to control/deal with/help it)
• travelled: okay, it’s not like I did anything super cultural, but I walked the Black Forest in Germany, toured the Tower of London, relaxed in the Dominican Republic, and discovered the magic of the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando.
• raised three really good kids: parenting is hard, but they eat healthy-ish food, love to read, and stand up to bullies, so I think we’re doing something right.

I’m sure I did more in the last ten years, but those are the things that stand out the most.

Tune in next week for my January check-in, including my final reading stats update from 2019.