A Year in Review, A Year Ahead

I’m writing this post on New Year’s Day from my parents’ house in France, which looks–quite fittingly–like something out of a fairy tale.

My New Year’s Eve…

A lot of people tell me I’m brave for being willing to up and move across the world, to take my roots with me or trust in them to hold, but my parents are truly inspiring. My father has been a Type 1 diabetic since he was a child, and was told he’d never see 50. This past year he turned 66, is in better health than most people half his age, and followed a dream he had since his 30’s–to buy a home in France.

My mother, who didn’t speak a word of French (though she’s learning), agreed to pick up her entire life and go with him, to help make that dream happen. If that’s not bravery, I don’t know what is.

Looking back at *my* year, it certainly had its own adventures.

I finished a graduate degree at the University of Edinburgh, and earned a Masters of Science in Medieval Art History.

My Tor editor, Miriam, and I spent a week in Edinburgh celebrating ADSOM, plotting the final installment…

…and toasting our new four-book deal!

I finished SPIRIT ANIMALS, A GATHERING OF SHADOWS and THIS SAVAGE SONG.

     

I got a tattoo to mark the things I’ve already accomplished, and those still ahead.

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC took 2nd in the Goodreads Choice Awards, right below NEIL F*CKING GAIMAN.

I read a whopping 104 books:

I celebrated the release of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC on two continents. And that book would go into 5 printings in the first month. It would sell in Brazil, Germany, Poland, and China. It would become a major success. I, of course, had no idea.

I fostered a crazy Pyrenees puppy named Zeke.

I fell madly, deeply in love with Scotland.

And I bought my very first apartment in Nashville.

Whew.

I don’t know how to top that in 2016. I don’t know if it’s possible. But here’s what’s in store.

In 3 weeks, A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC hits shelves in paperback.

In 7 weeks, A GATHERING OF SHADOWS will come out in hardcover. In 7 months, my new YA, THIS SAVAGE SONG, will hit shelves in hardcover.

With AGOS, I’ll go on my first major publisher-sponsored tour.

Over the course of this year, I plan to finish writing the ADSOM series. I plan to write the sequel to THIS SAVAGE SONG. I hope to finish the sequel to VICIOUS, as well as a new MG project.

I’m setting another 100-book reading goal, because I honestly feel like that intense immersion in words and styles was an education unto itself.

My two words for the year are DISCIPLINE and SANCTUARY. At first they might seem incompatible, but both are essential for a sane and productive environment. I need to hold on to my writing discipline, but I also need to carve out safe and healthy mental space. That means not looking at reviews, not engaging in toxic or self-destructive behavior, not ego-surfing or dwelling overly on things out of my control. It’s going to be a challenge, but I hope I can rise to it.

Overall, I am simply hoping for a healthy, productive year. And who knows, maybe a few adventures around the bend 😉

 

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