Year in Review, Next Year in Preview

Is it really almost 2013? REALLY!? This year flew by SO quickly, and it has been such an amazing one.

Personally, because we moved into our first real house. We got health insurance. We potty trained out youngest two children. Our oldest son is going to school all day without one on one help in the class room! (YES!) We got a dog. Our cat abandoned us for greener pastures. (we tried to get him to move with us and his response was basically: you’re not my real mom!) We went on our first real family vacation! (Disneyland!) And my husband is making the transition into being a stay-at-home dad. (Which means he’s going to be working harder than he ever has in his life!)

And professionally…

I had 7 books and 2 shorts out (mainly in the UK). I sold my Silver Creek series to Berkley! (Woohoo!!!) I got the offer to participate in Lori Foster’s charity anthology coming out with HQN in June and I accepted so fast it would have made your head spin if you were there!

I wrote some books this year that pushed me hard. (A Hunger For the Forbidden, out in December US, August UK, & Her Little White Lie, out now in the UK come to mind.) With those books particularly I had to reach really deep emotionally. I had to stop being afraid and just write. I wrote my first single title length book and held my breath as the word count climbed over 50K. And I realized I could do it, when I’d believed for a long time I couldn’t. I wrote novellas. I thought, for sure, that I would hate writing novellas. Turns out, I love it. I wrote four of them this year, and every one has been such a joy to write.

I learned a lot. I learned I could write books that were different lengths! (as evidenced above)And books that were different from each other. I learned that not everyone is going to like me, and that’s okay. I learned that Golden Retriever hair gets everywhere and you will never be able to clean it all up. I’ve learned I can do more than I think I can. I’ve learned having friends who understand you, and what you love to do, is invaluable. I’ve learned the support of family is incredible, and something I should never take for granted.

So…what’s up in 2013 for me? Lots! I’m going to be at the Romantic Times convention in May, and I’ll be giving a panel with several other category authors on which Harlequin category is right for you! I’ll be at Lori Foster’s reader even in June, signing and having fun. I’ll be at RWA in July in Atlanta doing the same, and in August I’ll be in Fremantle, Australia giving a workshop at RWAus! *wipes sweat off brow*

I’m also in the process of making my first book trailer with the help of my husband, who has written/recorded/engineered an original song for Unbuttoned, my Silver Creek novella that’s out in June.

AND I’ll have a newsletter this year! I did a trial run newsletter in December, but I’m going to try to kick it off in ernest in January, so if you’re inclined, sign up for that on my home page.

As far as releases go…there are many. I think I’ve tallied ten for 2013 so far. Some are untitled, but I’ll give you a quick rundown.

At His Majesty’s Request – January

Heir to a Desert Legacy – April

Heir to a Dark Inheritance – May

Lori Foster Anthology novella – June

Unbuttoned – June

The Couple That Fooled the World – July

Unexpected – August

Ajax and Leah – TBC

Zafar and Ana – TBC

A Hunger For the Forbidden – December

o_O Well, so…that’s a lot of things! And no ear in review/next year in preview would be complete without me telling you all how much I appreciate you. Readers of my books, and the readers of this blog. You guys make it all possible. Thank you for letting me share my stories with you.