I've been thinking a lot about what to write in this post. Everyone has been sharing their accomplishments in 2024 (how many words written and books published...), and well...my year was not as full of accomplishments. 2024 did not go as I planned, to say the least. Long covid ruined just about every plan and goal I set for myself and left me frustrated and disappointed and angry. I didn't manage to publish one book, let alone the two I planned. *sigh* But I did work on To Know a Dragon Spy, and I'm making progress, so I'm holding on to that. I have book-related goals for next year, though I'm almost scared to put them out there. I will say that I plan to finish Dragon Spy and get it into your hands as soon as I can. And I plan to give myself all the grace and kindness I can as I do.

2025 is going to be a tough year for all of us. But we have each other to rely on and we have romance novels with their happily ever afters to comfort us, and we'll get through it together. I wish you kindness and love and joy in the new year, despite it all. And I hope you find lots of amazing books to read and lose yourself in. Some of my favorites of 2024 are below.

I don't know about you, but to me, it feels like 2023 absolutely flew by! I blinked and the whole year disappeared. And yet, a year ago, also feels like a long time ago—maybe because so much happened this year and the world is kind of on fire. I've been thinking a lot about what to write in this 2023 wrap up post. I keep seeing posts in which people list all their accomplishments, the million books they published and everything, and I always feel like my own aren't quite enough. And I have to remind myself that I have accomplished things this year! I finally published To Love the Dragon King, which I am very proud of for many reasons—because I finally finished after so long of difficulties writing, because it's my first self-published book and I did so much of it on my own, because I think it's pretty damn good book. Then I got started on the second Dragons of Ivria book and playing with ideas for a new cozy witchy series.

I'm getting more on top of things little by little. My newsletter is going out regularly, and there are more posts on this blog too. I loved doing more in person events this year, too, including Rainbow Book Fair in NYC and GRL in Virginia. It was wonderful to meet so many readers and other authors. I hope to meet more of you in the coming year! And in not writing events, I also went on a long-postponed Italian adventure with my best friend, which was absolutely amazing.

There were setbacks and disappointments too. I didn't accomplish everything I wanted, and my first (and hopefully only) bout of covid and the lingering struggles with fatigue after it derailed some of my plans for the end of the year. But I'm going to continue to try to be kind to myself (which is difficult!) as we move into a new year.

After the last few years, I hesitate to even say what my 2024 writing goals are for fear of jinxing myself, but my hope is to publish both the second Dragons of Ivria book and the first witch book. Fingers crossed.

Finally, I'm sharing some of my favorite reads of 2023. Some of these books were published in 2023, some are older, and as always, it was tough for me to narrow it down.

Happy New Year, my darlings! I know a lot of authors are doing lists of their writing accomplishments to end the year, but, since I didn't hit my goals this year, I'm generally going to skip that. Mostly, I'm going to say thank you. Thank you for reading and reviewing and talking about my books. Thank you for looking forward to what's coming next (I promise I'm working on it!). Thank you to everyone there for making my first GRL in October so much fun. I was so thrilled to meet you all there.

The past few years have been...well, I don't think I actually need to say. As this year ends, I'm looking forward to the next and hoping for good things in 2023 (without actually trying to predict what will happen!). To Love the Dragon King finally out in the world. More reading, more writing. My second GRL. A little travel and adventure. I wish health and happiness and wonderful things for you in 2023! Lots of love to you.

Some of my favorite reads of the year (not all of them published in 2022, but all of them first read by me this year) mostly in the order in which I read them:

The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian (m/m historical cozy mystery)
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (m/m historical fantasy romance)
The Windsor Knot and All the Queen's Men by SJ Bennett (cozy mystery)
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (historical fantasy)
For the Wolf and For the Throne by Hannah Whitten (m/f fantasy romance)
The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley (f/f Regency romance)
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P Djeli Clark (alt-historical fantasy novella) 
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (YA fantasy)
In the Ravenous Dark by AM Strickland (queer YA fantasy)
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (YA fantasy)
A Rake of His Own by AJ Lancaster (m/m fantasy romance)
A Little Blessing by R Cooper (m/m paranormal romance)
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (queer YA fantasy)

What were some of your favorite reads of the year?

As this posts, 2022 is only a few hours away...and I think I'm still processing 2020, let alone 2021. When 2021 began, I never thought as another new year started that we would still be in the middle of a pandemic, and I'm sure I'm sure I'm not the only one. Time has been funny this last almost two years. I've been thinking back about this whole year, and time seems to have gone both very fast and very slow. The beginning of last year seems like so long ago—I keep getting surprised that certain things actually happened in early 2021.

I almost didn't do a yearly recap because I felt like I didn't have a lot to list as accomplishments. With regard to writing, I'm still working on the book I was writing this time last year, which is the book I began in early 2020. I don't remember the last time it took me so long to write a book, certainly before I was published! I'm still working on it, though, I promise—for anyone who is still interested after so long! There's romance and happily ever after, of course, and magic and dragon shifters. I'd planned for it to be out a year ago (and I have a gorgeous cover by Natasha Snow waiting), but I'm hoping you'll have it soon and I'll move on to the next Tournai book. I hesitate to make too many writing plans for next year in case 2022 decides to mess them all up, but I have tentative plans and hopes for what I'll be working on next.

This year, like last year, has been tough for all of us. I think what I've had to work on most was being kinder to myself. About what I did and didn't accomplish. How productive I was or wasn't. About my mood in general. I think we all need to make sure to be kinder to ourselves. What else happened this year? I did some decorating in the home I moved into in late 2020—lots of wallpaper and making the living room the perfect cozy space I wanted. I did a lot of baking (this is not new) and cooking (this is not new either). I planted herbs out on the patio for the first time, and ended up with some flourishing sage and basil plants. I went on a lot of walks. I took up embroidery as a new hobby. I got my covid vaccines and booster. And I got to spend my 40th birthday with my best friend/soul sister, who made it so special.

Reading has still been tough for me—so, so frustrating for someone who has always escaped into stories for comfort. A lot of what I read this year was rereads, books that have been comfort reads for me for a long time, and a lot of those rereads were done in audio while walking or cooking or wallpapering. My TBR has grown so much because there are a ton of new books I want to read, and my brain just hasn't wanted to settle into all of them (I'll get to them...). But I read a few new books I especially enjoyed this year, many new installments or final books in series I love.

Subtle Blood by KJ Charles: The final book in the Will Darling Adventures and just so good. But I'm ridiculously sad this is over.
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles: A delightful standalone historical romance.
The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian: The first book in a new series. Very much looking forward to the next.
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell: I listened to the audiobook of this sci-fi romance and loved it and the characters.
Peregrine by Piper Scott and Virginia Kelly: I've been waiting for Perry and Sebastian's story for much of the Forbidden Desires series!
A Veiled & Hallowed Eve by Hailey Turner: An excellent conclusion to a series that got better with each book.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet: A recommendation from a friend and so thought-provoking.
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang: An absolutely charming graphic novel with a lovely story and beautiful art.
Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper: This fall, I was all about reading witch books and this f/f romance was my favorite of them.

I hope 2022 treats you kindly and brings you wonderful things and good books to read and much happiness. Love to you all. Happy New Year!

...And good riddance. I'm not sure quite what to say about this year. My usual wrap-up doesn't quite feel right. There were absolutely good things this year, but as a whole...I'm happy to see it over and cautiously hope for better in 2021. I had so many plans for 2020—writing plans, travel plans, plans of all kind—and very few of them came to pass. Obviously this year did not turn out as any of imagined. I realized recently that this is first year I haven't written a whole book in a long time, certainly since I've been published. It's not a good feeling, but I'm trying not to be too hard on myself. This has been a year filled with anxiety, fear, and trauma, and that calls for more kindness and patience with ourselves and others. 

I did write part of a book (not the multiple books I'd planned, but...), and I'm determined to finish it as soon as I can in the coming year. I'm going to self-publish it (and I already have a gorgeous draft cover for it), so hopefully it will be in your hands sooner rather than later, but no promises on the timing. I still love the characters and the story (more dragon shifters!) even if the writing is very slow right now.

The major writing accomplishment of the year is the re-release of the first four Chronicles of Tournai books with all new covers by the amazing Natasha Snow and the release of book eight in the series. They're all so pretty, and it's lovely to see them together. And despite this year's lack of writing progress on the series, I absolutely intend to write more in the series.
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So many thanks to all of you, for reading and reviewing, for talking about my books, and for keeping in touch this year. I'm grateful to all of you. Much love to you all and wishes for health and happiness in the year to come. 

Happy New Year, everyone! It's the Roaring Twenties again! (And why didn't I think of the idea of throwing a 20s themed New Year's party? There's a lost opportunity.) I've been thinking a lot about this past year and this past decade. Both had their ups and downs. This year, the world has basically been on fire. Between that and the Dreamspinner fiasco, my ability to write was severely impaired. I only finished writing one new book, but I published two—The Spymaster's Secret and A Harmony of Fire and Earth—and I love all three. I also took editing passes through three of the four books I got back from Dreamspinner in preparation for them being republished by NineStar, and I'm finishing up the same for the fourth book now. I had a fantastic time at a couple of conferences and read wonderful books and was lucky enough to go to France and Spain.

This past decade has seen a lot of changes, big and small. I've lost people I loved and made new friends I cherish. I changed jobs a couple of times (and careers!). I moved from North Carolina back to New Jersey. I traveled to some amazing places. I resolved to get serious about being published and, with hard work and luck, was. I wrote thirteen novels (and started a couple of others) plus a couple of short stories and some flash fiction, had a bunch more ideas, and saw nine books published. 

This year (and this decade), I'm hoping to write more—finish more—than I did last year. I'm hoping to see my first four books back out in the world and new things too. I'm hoping to spend time with the people I love and read more fantastic books and maybe see more of the world too. As the new year begins, I want to say thank you to all of my readers for reading and reviewing and supporting me and my books. I'm so grateful to you all. 

​May we all have a new year and new decade filled with hope and love and good health and better things than have come before. 

Happyy New Year, my dears! I've been trying to think of something profound to say, and I don't think I've managed that at all. 2018 was a difficult year for many of us. The world has felt as if it's burning down around us, and last January feels as if it was eighty years ago. For me, personally and professionally, the year had its ups and downs, and I'm trying not to dwell as much on the bad parts and the losses right now, trying to start the new year with hope and optimism. 

2018 saw two of my books published. I love and am so proud of The Merchant's Love and A Dance of Water and Air, and I'm so happy they're out in the world where you can enjoy them too. These stories and characters have a special place in my heart. I also wrote two books, though for a while I wasn't sure I would ever finish the second. Writing was difficult the second half of the year, maybe the whole year. But, A Harmony of Fire and Earth, the sequel to A Dance of Water and Air, and The Spymaster's Secret, the next book in the Tournai series, were both finished somehow. Harmony is already in edits and should be out in March. I submitted The Spymaster's Secret to NineStar just before Christmas. I took a writing break after that, to clear my head and clean the house and get ready for the holidays, but it's time to start writing again—and it's felt very strange not to be writing for so long! I have a contemporary royalty romance on my agenda and also Tournai 8, which is Griffin's book (with more dragons). We'll see what happens from there. I'd love to write more this year...I have far too many ideas that want to be written.

Sometimes I feel like the accomplishment is that we survived 2018 with our sanity mostly intact. I hope 2019 is a better year for everyone, that it's kind to us all, that it brings health and happiness and love and wonderful new books to read and so many good things. That's my new year's wish for all of us.

I'm a bit later than I meant to be writing this post, partly because I'm buried under deadlines and will be for most of January (more about that another time!) and partly because I wasn't sure exactly what to say. 2017 was a difficult year for most of us, for many reasons. There were so many good things too—for me, I saw The Dragon's Devotion out in the world, something I wasn't sure would happen about a year ago. I'm thrilled with it, and so happy that it's out there for you to enjoy too. I wrote two books and signed contracts for both of them. And I love those stories so much, as difficult as it was to write. But 2017 was hard and discouraging and scary too. I feel like I fought for every word I wrote, and sometimes not to just hide in a blanket fort with my books all day. I am so grateful for the authors who wrote all those books that kept us going, and I am so grateful for you, dear readers, for reading my books and being here and for all your kind words. They've brightened my year more than I can say. 

I'm determined that 2018 will be a better year than 2017 was. I'm holding on to hope that it will be—I'm fighting for it to be and a lot of other people are too and that gives me more hope because there is still good in the world. So, yes, the word will be hope this year. 

Now I need to get back to work. The last words I wrote last night were a first kiss. Seems like a lovely way to end the year, and now I can pick up right there in a new one.

I hope 2018 brings you joy and love and wonderful new stories to discover and all the good things in the world. Happy New Year!

I meant to write this post ages ago, to say something profound, or at the very least list out some of my favorite reads of 2015 for you because that's always fun (favorite book lists provide me with so many more books to add to my wishlist - if only my budget could handle buying them all), but time got away from me. Which I suppose is appropriate because time seems to have gotten away from me a lot in 2015. It's a bit of  theme. I can't quite believe it's New Year's now, which is a sentiment you're probably tired of hearing from me. I feel like as seasons changed and holidays popped up I always felt behind this year. And things got away from me too sometimes and I scrambled a bit to catch up. In any case this would be why my post today is a bit less impressive than I'd hoped it would be.

But I do want to take a minute to reflect some on the year that just ended. 2015 had its ups and downs, its wonderful moments and not so wonderful ones. I'm very grateful for so much that happened this year and very proud. I signed my first publishing contract and saw my first two books published. Signing that first contract was a giddy, brilliant feeling I never could have imagined before. Holding my books in my hands was amazing too. I dove into the process, worked hard, and learned a lot along the way. And acknowledged that I still have a lot to learn. I'm proud of those two books, and I'm grateful for everyone who has supported me in my quest to become a published author and everyone who has bought my books, read them, reviewed, let me know you enjoyed them. You are all wonderful. I'm grateful too for all all the wonderful books I've read that have given me hours of enjoyment and all the new authors I've discovered. Which if I wasn't so scattered I would have listed for you here. (Can I blame the craziness surrounding the holidays and a book release? Or would that just be excuses?)

And now I'm looking ahead to a new year. I have one book slated for publication in 2016 already, and I hope to have more. I hope to write more books than last year. Actually it would be great if I could manage to write a little faster, or at least procrastinate a little less. It's something I'll work on this year, right along with not letting time get away from me so much. I'm not one for resolutions because they're so easy to break, but I do like the idea of starting new in a new year. I like the feeling of hope that a new year brings. I always have. I'm hoping for good things in 2016, for me, for you, for everyone.

So happy new year. I wish you happiness, health, and all good things in 2016!