Looking Back on 2023...

I can't believe it's been another whole year. At times, 2023 felt like it would never end, and at other times, the months were just flying by. This has been a year full of ups and downs for me personally, and professionally... well, it wasn't my best. But before I get into all that, here is a rundown of my original 2023 goals: 

1. Stay Healthy: I struggled quite a bit this year with fatigue, and as a result, I haven't slept well (oddly enough), which means I then end up in pain. As a result, I've had my Fibro meds increased twice this year, but I think I'm finally at a place where I'm good. The pain and fatigue aren't affecting my daily life as much as before. I haven't been working out like I used to, and I really want to get back into doing so. I've also been adding more carbs into my diet, slowly, and I'm managing that pretty well. 

My daughter who was diagnosed with Crohn's a couple of years ago is still doing well. We've had to increase her meds, too, but she's definitely in a much better place. 

My parents have been having quite a few health-related issues this past year, though. My mom has to have retina injections every few months. She had cataract surgery on both eyes, and she was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. My dad had extremely high blood pressure and ended up in the hospital with stroke-like symptoms. BUT -- they are both still with me and getting better each day, and I'm so incredibly thankful for that. 

2. Keep Writing and Publishing: Sadly, I didn't do so well with this. I didn't release any new books this year, but I did completely rebrand my Cursed Series, which was a much larger undertaking than I expected. I've been working on various projects, but with all the doctor's appointments and health scares, writing has been difficult. I'm close to finishing something new, though, and that's exciting. 

3. Treat My Business Like a Business: I did accomplish this! Though it took me most of the year, I have finally found various programs and tools to help me be more productive on the business end without working too hard. I've certainly seen the benefits of consistent online activity, and I'm excited to keep going into 2024. 

4. Expand My Audience: The increased online activity has certainly helped with this, but I've got some exciting things in the works, too, that will help with this. More about that below!

5. Read: I read sooo much this year, and I absolutely love it! I've even expanded into some new genres that I like a lot more than I thought I would. 

While I might not have accomplished as much on the writing and publishing front as I would have liked, I did have some pretty big wins this year...

• My very first pit bull, Nico, was staying with my daughter for the past few years, but he's now back with me. I love him so much, and he gets along with Crowley so well. I know he doesn't have many years left, so I'm enjoying every single moment with him.
  
  
• My daughter's boyfriend asked me to go on a cruise with the two of them next year, and I am super stoked for that. I'll be going with my best friend, Nicole. YAY!
  
  
• I took my second annual mother-daughter vacation. This year, we went to Missouri and visited Branson. While there, we went to the Celebrity Car Museum, and I got to SIT IN THE SUPERNATURAL CAR!!! This was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my year. 
  
  
• The husband and I, along with our best friends, went on an overnight trip for our wedding anniversary. We had so much fun!
  
  
• I made a trip to NY for a family reunion, and catching up with everyone was wonderful. While there, we drove to Buffalo so my daughter could meet her boyfriend for the first time. We visited the zoo and Niagara Falls, which was a blast. 
  
  
• I plotted and planned a new series with a co-author that we're actively working on for the new year. We've got some big plans, so stay tuned for updates.
  
  
• I stopped pressuring myself and tracking everything. In the past, I always kept a calendar where I'd track how much time I spent writing, blogging, editing, etc., and my word counts. Because of life, I haven't written much and seeing the blank spaces and the big fat 0 on my calendar was stressing me out. I felt like a failure. So I simply stopped. It's taken off a lot of pressure, and I'm unsure if I'll start tracking again or not. 
  
  
• I stepped out of my comfort zone this year and really scared myself silly with different haunted houses and spooky locations. My daughter and I would go do something scary every weekend, and it was awesome. 
  
  
• My cat Luna became very ill, and I almost lost her. But through a lot of love (and vet visits) she's healthier than ever! She continues to gain weight, and she still insists on sitting on my lap while I'm trying to work. 
  
  
• My daughter and her boyfriend got a new puppy. A pug named Loki, and I love playing with him and then sending him home. I forgot how much work a puppy is, and I'm too old for that. lol. 
  
  
• I started a couple new collections. Y'all know I have a huge Twilight collection beyond just the books, and now I've started a Supernatural, The X-Files, and Stranger Things collections. That might seem odd to include here, but I thrive on the hunt. I love going to thrift stores, antique stores, craft fairs, etc., and finding cool things to add. 
  
  
• My eldest daughter got a new puppy this year, too. A German Shepherd named Eden. I haven't had the chance to meet her yet, but I hope to next year. 
  
  
• I decided to start a snow globe collection, mostly because I buy one each time I go somewhere new. They make great keepsakes. My husband even bought me a new cabinet with a light to put them all in! He's really the best.
  
  
• I took a very intense 3-day online class about marketing, and I learned quite a bit. I've also made some great new connections via that class. It also prompted a new idea for a non-fiction book. 
  
  
• My long-time agent passed away very unexpectedly. (To be clear, that is NOT a win!) As a result, I've now signed on with a new agent. Cindy Bullard at Birch Literary. She's great, and I'm excited to see what we do together. She'll be starting by hopefully selling the subrights to my Cursed Series. 
  
  
• My cat, Finn, who had been with my daughter in Missouri is back with me. He wasn't getting along very well with one of her other cats, so he came back. He's getting along pretty well with my cats here, and he even likes to play with Salem on occasion. 
  
  
• I've been blogging more regularly, too, and I'm being consistent with sharing my thoughts about the books I'm reading. 
  
  

As I mentioned above, I read so much this year, and I even ventured into some new genres. Here's my complete list: 

• Charm by Tracy Wolff
• Coop Knows the Scoop by Taryn Souders
• Lost in Michigan, & Lost in Michigan Vol. 2 by Mike Sonnenberg
• Michigan Haunts and Hauntings by Marion Kuclo
• Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
• Million Dollar Outlines by David Farland
• The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade
• Fragments of the Lost by Megan Miranda
• Paranormal State by Ryan Buell
• The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale by Stephanie Eding
• Haunted America by Publications International, LTD
• The Haunted by Danielle Vega
• The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda
• Grip of Fear, Grip of Darkness, Grip of Terror, Grip of Death, Grip of Madness, Grip of Evil, Grip of Honor, & Surviving Chaos by Sam J. Fires
• Camp Murderface and Camp Murderface: Doom in the Deep by Josh Berk and Saundra Mitchell
• What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie
• Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley
• Camp Slyvania by Julie Murphy
• Hawkins Horrors by Matthew J. Gilbert
• Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond
• Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher
• Judgment Road and Vengeance Road by Christine Feehan
• The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan
• Someone We Know by Shari Lapena
• The Sleepover by Samantha King
• Fourth Wing and Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
• A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
• The Girl in the White Van by April Henry
• Playing with Fire by April Henry

Overall, it hasn't been a terrible year considering. I definitely had a lot more personal wins than professional, but that's okay. Stay tuned for my official 2024 goals post :-) In the meantime, tell me in the comments what YOU did this year! 

GOALS: 2023

It's once again my favorite time of year -- GOALS!! I absolutely love setting goals for myself and seeing just how much I can accomplish in a year. And after the (surprisingly) productive 2022 I had, I'm more excited than ever to see what 2023 has in store. So, let's do this!

STAY HEALTHY!

Yes, this is absolutely the first thing on my goals for 2023. I'm finally in a good place with my Fibro and all my meds, and I want to maintain this. I'm no longer actively trying to lose weight, but I will continue to eat healthy and stay active. Encompassed within this goal is to keep my family as healthy as possible, too. Thankfully, my daughter seems to be adjusting to her disease and the recent medication change very well, and I pray that she continues to improve and do well. 

KEEP ON WRITING & PUBLISHING!

Obviously! I mean, this is what I do after all. Unlike previous years, though, I don't have any firm plans in mind of what I want to write and publish--and admittedly, I was freaking out about this for a while, but then I realized it doesn't matter. I don't need to have my writing planned out for the entire year. That's the best part of being an Indie author: I can write whatever I want, whenever I want. So rather than list out all the projects I think I might want to work on (and let's face it, I *always* veer away from my list anyway), I'm going to aim to write and publish another 5 books this year. I'm going to make this a mix of YA and adult. 

TREAT MY BUSINESS LIKE A BUSINESS!

I realize this might sound a little bit odd, and I do treat the act of writing and publishing like a business, but it's all the other stuff that goes with it that's lacking. I need to become better organized with my marketing, expenditures, and time management. I'm confident that doing so will also help me in the long term with my output and overall creativity.

EXPAND MY AUDIENCE!

Back in 2021, I'd sold licensing rights to my series to a couple of serial reading apps. I have a list of others that I want to explore and potentially contract with so that I can continue to expand my audience. I'll also be looking for new fun ways to help spread the word about my books. 

READ!

I'd like to aim for 1-2 books per month again, not including any submissions I have to read for Anaiah. I read quite a bit in 2022, and I'd forgotten how much I love to get sucked into a story. I will attempt to read every night before bed.

BALANCE: SLOW DOWN & LOOK AROUND

I'm forever making lists of things I need to do, setting deadlines, and basically working as much as I possibly can. This past year, though, I'd taken a Mother-Daughter vacation (which is going to become an annual thing), and I can't tell you how much fun I had exploring, spending time with my girls, and laughing. I want to do more of that in 2023 -- So, I'm hereby giving myself permission to slow down, look around, and just enjoy life. I'm not getting any younger, my kids are starting to spread themselves farther apart, and I'm to the point in my life where I feel like I've earned the right to really start enjoying all that I have. While I will always keep writing, publishing, and editing, this is the year I find a better balance between my professional and personal life. 

What will you do in 2023?

For the Love of Writing - Genetic or Learned?

As I was writing my goals post earlier this month, and I was reflecting on what I've accomplished, I began to think about how I got to this point in my life. Where did my passion for writing come from? I can easily point the finger at my Great Aunt Betty.

When I was younger, my mother and I would take a yearly trip to Buffalo and spend a week with my aunt Betty. I loved these trips. Not just because I got spoiled rotten on them (I am an only child after all) but because my mother and I would sit for hours and listen to aunt Betty talk about her writing. She would tell us stories of the stories she was writing. She'd embellish tales of her writers group and what they were up to.

I remember one year we visited and aunt Betty presented us with an anthology that her writers group published.

Aunt Betty has two stories included, both of which are non-fiction, memoir type pieces.

A Little Ole Candy Bar is about my maternal grandmother, Jane, who passed away when I was young, so it was nice to get to know her through this story.

Not only did I have the wonderful influence of my aunt Betty, my own mother influenced me a lot. She's a writer, too. God love her though, she's stuck in the eighties. See what I mean?



Yup. My mother doesn't own a computer and handwrites everything! But she has such a passion for it, she doesn't mind. Unlike aunt Betty, my mother has never been published and she has no desire to be. She writes because she has a story to tell. And she's happy, so really, what else matters?

Then, of course, there's me. I've written a lot and have been fairly successfully with getting my stuff published. At home, I'm always either writing or reading. I'm discussing my career with my husband. I talk books with my oldest daughter, who has more books on her shelves than I do. We make trips to the library and the bookstore. And I even drag my kids to the office supply store -- it's like a grown-up toy store for writers!

Anyway, I digress. Recently I've noticed my eight year old daughter is constantly writing short little stories and drawing pictures to go along with them. She's always snagging my notebooks and asking for paper. It's cute, and it warms my heart to see her enjoy it so much.

Shailynn & Mrs. Hogan

However, what truly prompted this post was my twelve year old daughter, Shailynn. Her English teacher gave an assignment in which she had to write an essay. The topic: What Patriotism Means to Me. My lovely daughter -- who thinks the world revolves around boys and cheerleading -- forgot about the assignment. So, not wanting to get in trouble for not having her homework done, she wrote it on the bus on the way to school that morning.

Turns out this "assignment" was actually a voluntary thing hosted by our local VFW. It's the Patriot's Pen Essay contest that offers prize money and scholarships. Well, much to my surprise, Shailynn's essay was chosen as a winner!

She won at the local level, district level, county level, and even had her essay sent to Albany for the state level competition. At the end of December, we were invited to attend an awards banquet. Here's my daughter with her awards:

During this banquet we learned that Shailynn placed 3rd in the entire state of New York!! Woo hoo! (Yes, I'm bragging. I won't apologize. I'm a pretty proud mom right now!) In March we will be traveling to our state's capital so that Shailynn can once again be honored for her achievement and receive a small college scholarship.

So, what's the point of all this you ask? Well, I'm wondering...is this legacy of writing passed from generation to generation genetically? Is there something in our DNA that predisposes the women in my family to write? Or is this simple case of a child's surroundings, their upbringing, influencing their beliefs and actions? I'm curious what everyone else thinks. Share your thoughts in the comments.