2013 - A Year of Firsts

2013 was an amazing year – my debut year, one full of firsts, fears, and felicity.

In January, I revealed the cover for my debut novel, Reclaimed. I was so pleased with how it turned out, and the entire experience was surreal. That is another thing 2013 was – completely surreal.

The book went up for pre-order in March. Seeing my name on Barnes and Noble and Amazon was strange, like that person was completely separate from the one I am.

In May I had another first when I flew to NYC to attend BEA. Signings posters was incredible, as was getting to meet authors I admire, but the best part about BEA was getting to hang with all of the friends I’d met online. I can’t wait until we’re all in the same city again. Shenanigans!

In June I learned that Reclaimed had received two blurbs from authors I admire (Tiffany Schmidt and Mindi Scott). There was much jumping and squealing. Again, the idea that people whose writing I love also love mine was (and still is) so hard to grasp.

Kirkus gave Reclaimed a lovely review in July. I’m still not sure I believe that one.

August and September were ridiculously busy getting ready for Reclaimed’s release. I’m so grateful for my editor, my publicity team, and the Reading with Me girls.

October. My favorite month. The month Reclaimed begins. My birthday. Falling leaves and cooler temps and magic. And the release of my debut. It was a magical month indeed, full of author events and Twitter support and live chats. I saw my book on bookstore shelves. Finally, after three years, the characters I loved now no longer belonged only to me. It was so gratifying and humbling to hear that readers loved them too.

December has been a pretty exciting month as well, for reasons. J

 

The one regret I have this year is that I didn’t read as many books. I normally average around 100 books a year. Last year was my lowest at 62. This year was so busy that I read fewer than 50. But I read some great ones. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Eleanor and Park and Fangirl, both by Rainbow Rowell (This was the year I fell in love with Rainbow Rowell.)

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (I read this in March. I’ll re-read when/if I ever recover from it.)

 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab (And did you hear the movie news?)

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (I loved The Raven Boys, but I think I liked this one even better.)

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr (I love everything she writes.)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart (I know, I’m kicking myself for taking so long to find this one.)

 

2013 was a truly phenomenal year, and though I may be a bit sad to see it go, I am super excited about what 2014 will bring. There are so many great books just waiting to be discovered, and so many others that I’ve been waiting what seems like forever to read. My own writing is going well, and I have plenty to keep me busy in 2014. I’ll run my seventh marathon in February. I have exciting things planned for March. And I may just finally get to take that trip to England I’ve been dreaming about since I was in high school.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Can’t wait to see where this road takes us.