Well, my first year of being a full-time mom and part-time author is officially under my belt! Needless to say, it's been an adjustment 😂While I definitely had high hopes of getting a bit more accomplished over the past twelve months, I'm also incredibly proud of myself for carving out time to keep this business and passion of mine going. I absolutely love being a mom, and while it would have been easy in many ways to leave my former life completely behind, I'm so happy I didn't. Storytelling is a huge part of who I am, and I would have been a bit lost if I'd let it go.
Thank you all so much for taking this journey with me. You have no idea how much it meant over this past year (and continues to mean) to have your support! 💙💙
Without further ado...
My Top Author Moments of 2021!
1. Published The Dragon and the Queen!
I'm absolutely in love with this third installment of my The Raven and the Dove series - and more importantly, all of you seem to be as well! I cannot express how thrilled I was when the reviews began to roll in. I was working on book four at the time, sort of feeling like I would never ever be able to finish it (my daughter is a terrible napper, haha) and all of your reactions really lifted my spirits and helped reinvigorate my writing. While my work is done alone at my desk, it truly is a team effort and this series would not be where it is without all of you!
2. Continued to expand the audio editions of The Raven and the Dove!
For the first time, one of my audiobooks is available as a physical CD! I love being able to show it off on my shelf :) The rest of the series will eventually be available in CD form too, which is so exciting! I'm hoping I can get them in a few libraries.
The Hunter and the Mage also published in audio this past year and The Dragon and the Queen is almost finished...I promise! Look for more info on that in my post tomorrow, haha. Sarah Sampino is simply wonderful, and I can't express how incredible it is to hear her bring these characters to life!
3. Revealed the cover of The Godborn and the King (and finished the manuscript)!
There were times I thought this manuscript would NEVER be finished. Times when it took me an entire week to write a single page. Times when I was writing complete chapters in the dark on my iPhone while I held my sleeping daughter. Times when I worked until midnight without even realizing because it felt so amazing to be doing something just for me...and for you. I laughed while writing this. I cried. I screamed a little, I'm sure. And now, here I am. The manuscript is off to my beta readers, and my time with these characters is almost complete. It's bittersweet, to be honest, but I'm also so excited to share this final chapter in their story.
The cover reveal was a blast, and I also revealed the two character cards for the pre-order giveaway. Coming really soon I'll have the complete book description for you, plus a whole lot of teasers leading up to on sale. I can't wait!
And those are my top author moments of 2021!
As always, I also want to include some of my favorite reads to wrap-up the year.
I usually list a top five, but in many ways, 2021 was the year I rediscovered my love of reading. I mean, I never stopped loving reading, but it's been a while since reading felt like a lifeline to me the way it did when I was younger. That all changed when my little girl was born! Books became my escape again. During countless 3am nursing sessions when I couldn't keep my eyes open, I turned to books. During those long afternoons when my daughter would only nap in the comfort of my arms, I turned to books. During the few precious hours I had to myself when I was too tired to write but still yearned to connect to my creativity, I turned to books.
I read far too many wonderful books to list/review them all, so instead here are all my 5-star reads for the year! I had an eclectic year, haha, but hopefully one of these will catch your eye!
My 5-Star Reads of 2021!
See you in the new year!
