Greatest Hits from 2014

My 8-year-old son summed it up the other day when he was reminiscing about the New Year's Eve party we attended with family friends last year.

"Wow," he said. "2014 really flew by, didn't it, Mom?"

Exactly. I know I say that every year, but this year truly did fly by, and not without its up and downs. Our family faced its share of adversity, from the back windshield of our SUV shattering right before we had to drive home after a week's vacation at the beach to a pretty devastating job loss. I won't get into it all here, as I covered it pretty well in this post at WOW! Women on Writing, but on the eve of New Year's Eve 2014 I can't say I have too much to complain about as far as my writing career. Here are a few of my "greatest hits" from this year. (For a glimpse of me a year ago, see this post.)

Non-Fiction Writing
I continue to work as editor of Little Ones Magazine (recently celebrated three years!) and write regularly for Lake Norman Currents and Today's Charlotte Woman. I've come so far since working on the very first issue, but I know I still have a lot to improve upon.

Fiction Writing
This is probably where I've made the most strides. I'm almost done with the latest round of revisions on the YA novel I've been working on for the past few years. I took it to the SCBWI Carolinas Conference this past September and got some wonderful feedback on the first 10 pages from a YA novelist and literary agent, which really boosted my confidence. I hope to begin putting together an agent wish list in the next two months and start the submission process. I still need to work on revisions for my MG novel, and those are going to be pretty massive, so that's been put on the back burner for now. I participated in NaNoWRiMo 2014 and completed 50,000 words of a NEW contemporary YA novel. I'm super excited about this latest one and can't wait to get back to work on it.

Blog Tours
I continue to work as a Blog Tour Manager for WOW! Women on Writing, and a spectacular job it is. I've met so many authors I probably never would have met and formed some great relationships and professional connections, not to mention had opportunities to review and promote some fantastic books!

Blog Posts
I contribute to The Muffin, the blog for WOW! Women on Writing, and had the chance to get nice and creative this year. Here are a few of my favorite posts.

ADWD (Attention Deficit Writers Disorder)
Why I Love My Job as a Blog Tour Manager
Preparing Your Author Platform
Literary Heroes

Honestly, I can't wait to see what lies ahead in 2015!