2014 was an eventful year for me.
It didn’t start out so well, with my daughter ill and in a full-time healthcare facility. But as the year wore on, and my daughter became healthy again, and she and her twin sister even graduated from high school, things began looking up!
I went to Loncon3, my first time at such a big con. I met old friends , made new ones, and had a great time. Codex breakfasts, Viable Paradise drinks, SFWA drinks , (as arm candy, but still…J), Dutch sff writers drinks, much yawsg talk…
At Loncon3, I discussed how to tell an American sff writer from a British one. I learned being well dressed is culturally determined.
I sold ten short stories to eleven venues, and one actual novel ( The Wan, forthcoming 2015 with Pink Narcissus Press). I also had about 80 rejections. C’est la vie.
I haven’t yet regretted quitting my job in 2012. I’m poor but happy, following my dream… what more can a person want?
I’ve learned I need to be quite relaxed and quite happy and a lot alone to write at my best. None of these things are completely in my control – if someone you loves get sick, it’s hard to be happily writing away, I have a family, I don’t live in a cave on top of a mountain. My VP buddy Ferrett says: Better learn to write through the depression, because happiness isn’t something you can count on. I’ve still got to learn that.
My favorite book from 2014: it’s a tie between Ancillary Sword(Ann Leckie) and The Peripheral(William Gibson).
I’m convinced I read at least 50 books, but me and Goodreads are still tussling about that. But if it’s true that I read only 45 or so, why? I think it is because I’ve become so sadly, writerly critical, while really I love nothing more than to immerse myself. That’s the one thing about becoming a writer I regret, the loss of innocence about the reading experience.
Best sf movie this year: so far, Edge of Tomorrow ( yeah, surprised me too).
I wish everyone on my friends’ list a great 2015 and I hope to see many of you in RL. Write On!
