2013 Roundup

 

 

2013 was a bit of a bear for me. I'm glad to see it in the rear view mirror. But before I bid 2013 a joyous farewell, indulge me one last look peak through the looking glass.

So how did I do on my 2013 goals? Some hits and some misses.

Of the three books I wanted to finish and submit, two crossed the finish line and are at publishers (Baen and Musa). Fingers crossed, and hopefully announcements soon. I had to slow down on writing the third novel to do a bit more research and try that outline thing with it. My new goal for Schrodinger Effect is to have the first draft done by the end of the first quarter 2014 (March 30, 2014), and have a final product by ThrillerFest in July. Unexpectedly, Musa Publishing included me in their cookbook of recipes in November, 2013.

I'm a few weeks away from my law firm's first anniversary. Being a solo practitioner has been an experience.  I'll blog more about this in the next week or so.


Not everything was sunshine and happiness in 2013. In fact, the second half of the year was marked with loss. Cancer took my second mom, Phyllis Hussey, in June. Three of our four cats moved on. I was down for two weeks with a nasty stomach virus. My Dad had another stroke and his Lewy Body Dementia has been getting worse.

On the, can't anything go right? page, was the call I received from my bank on Black Friday letting me know of suspicious activity on my debit card. Needless to say, I wasn't the person buying 5K worth of Apple products, $350 at Radio Shack, Facebook credits, a Match.com membership and pizza at Papa John's. I think I'm most offended by the fact the hacker bought pizza and dating with my money. Match refunded the money immediately. Radio Shack took about two weeks to refund $299.99 (I guess they didn't credit the shipping). I'm still waiting for Apple to do something. Needless to say, the unexpected drain on my finances changed our holiday plans a bit.

The upshot is 2013 is over, and I have a brand new year to look forward to.

What's on the horizon for 2014?

I'm waiting to hear back on the two novels I've submitted. I'll definitely have at least one new book out in 2014!

I've been accepted as a co-author on Sandra Yancey and the EWomen Network's new project. When I saw the proposed title, I felt it fairly aptly summarized my life. Succeeding Through Doubt, Fear & Crisis will be a cutting-edge multimedia book with embedded audio and video (available on iPad  and other digital platforms) and traditional print book. The expected publication date is August, 2014 for the annual meeting. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

My conference schedule is pretty full.

I'm getting ready for Superstars Writing Seminar in Colorado Springs. I've written a lot about Superstars on this blog. Since I'm 'sure your tired of hearing me rave about it, let me direct you to Brad Torgersen's and Nathan Barra's fabulous posts on how Superstars changed, well, everything, with their writing careers. Really, folks, this is a must attend seminar.

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April will bring the American Bankruptcy Institute annual conference in DC. (Yes, I know, that's the boring lawyer stuff. But since the conference lasts 3 days, I figured it deserved a mention). Balticon in May (Memorial Weekend) is on the list. I'm hoping to attend ThrillerFest in July. August will see me at the EWomen Network conference and book launch for Succeeding Through Doubt, Fear & Crisis.  DragonCon in September (Labor Day Weekend) is a possibility. World Fantasy is in DC in October and I already have my tickets.

We've started on some necessary home repairs, and have some family time planned. Overall, I'm looking forward to 2014.

What's my number 1 goal for 2014?

In the words of James Artimus Owen - My goal is to be the kind of person who makes things happen.

Draw out those dragons!