Looking Back at 2013

As the year comes to an end, newspapers and television reports give us the "best" and "worst" of 2013. In world news as well as our personal lives, we tend to remember more of the bad than the good. Or maybe it's our Puritan ancestors still whispering in our ears that to talk, or write, about our accomplishments violates the 11th Commandment (Thou shalt not brag).

We made all those resolutions--or set goals--back in January. How long did they last? Many of mine fell by the wayside. A few went beyond expectation. And some events happened that I never anticipated.

Here's a few of my best and worst of 2013:

Best: built a house and moved close to our grandchildren
Worst: packed the contents of a house where we lived for 14 years; unpacked hundreds of boxes and tried to find a place for everything

Best: welcomed two great-nephews into the family and a new nephew-in-law
Worst: lost another uncle

Best: released two books--Switched Resolution and One Red Shoe
Worst: haven't finished The Chameleon, an Outer Rim novel (soon, I hope)

Best: invited to be a regular contributor to 2 blogs--The Roses of Prose and Paranormal Romantics; joined a monthly blog hop, Insecure Writers Support Group; blog "tours" for new releases
Worst: coming up with new topics (LOL)

Best: discovered Doctor Who
Worst: watching Doctor Who episodes (ad nauseam, according to Hubs--who gave me Seasons 6 & 7 on DVDs)

Best: supportive family, friends, and readers
Worst: (none)

There are many more events that I've either forgotten or didn't share. I've worked hard to further my writing career, yet dropped everything to play with my grandkids or go to a movie with Hubs. I'm trying to find balance in my life. Not always successful, though. On the whole, I've been very blessed.

And I still haven't done anything with hundreds (thousands?) of photos still in shoeboxes. Maybe in 2014.

New Year's Eve

Tis the end of another year. Is it just me or are the years going by faster and faster?

As the year winds to a close, it seems like a good time to look back at what we've done. Did you fulfill all your resolutions? I didn't. Not all, anyway. Some of the goals I set back in January fell by the wayside. As usual, I over estimated what I can accomplish. Other things I’d planned to do morphed into different, better ones. 

The way I see it, goal setting (or making resolutions) is like a road map. Great so you have direction but not if you have to rigidly adhere to it when you hit a road block. Or find an interesting detour. Flexibility is the key. Capitalize on what’s going right is my new motto.

Last January, my first self-published book Switched had been out for six weeks. And what I didn’t know about marketing would fill volumes. I joined online author groups and from them learned a lot about self-publishing, marketing, utilizing social media and so much more. I met many wonderfully supportive authors who eagerly shared their experiences so us newbies didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. I’ve tried to be as generous in my support.

Releasing two more books this year (Switched, Too and The Pilot) increased my confidence while the outpouring of support from family, friends and fellow authors was humbling.

As we say farewell to 2012, instead of regrets for what I didn't do I’m counting my blessings. My family is safe and healthy. My writing is going well. Now I’m looking forward to 2013.

What one thing are you proud of that you accomplished this year?

I’ll wait until tomorrow to wish you a Happy New Year when I’m participating in the New Year’s Blog Hop (along with over 200 other authors). So come on back. There will terrific Grand Prizes and I’ll be giving away an Amazon gift card.