2021 was a big year for me both personally and professionally. My bookmark business started taking a backseat to my new author career as I worked my butt off to meet my goal of releasing more books than I did in 2020. Since I only released one book last year, I really just wanted to make sure I could get two books out, as long as they were ready. And even though it came down to the wire for Blind Spot, I still managed to pull it off.
In between releases, I worked tirelessly writing two whole 100k+ word novels (Blind Spot and my rockstar romance releasing in 2022), editing two full length novels (Blind Spot and Let The Light Shine Through), and starting a new project (super secret I can’t tell you about yet). I thought I’d be able to sneak in Let The Light Shine Through’s release this month but I’m so glad I didn’t actually attempt it. This time of year is always insane with the children and school activities and holiday stuff and it would’ve been way too much. My goal for 2022 is to try to release 2-3 books as well as long as they’re ready. I’ve learned a lot about this business but also a lot about myself. I write long but I don’t particularly write fast. I definitely don’t edit fast but I do release books I’m extremely proud of which matters to me more than pumping out books at a faster pace. I’m proud of the work I accomplished this year but also of my own journey in accomplishing it.
Looking at these photos I’m noticing how long my hair grew this year. Wondering if I should chop it off again or keep it long though… I like it both ways!
This year I also made some conscious decisions to spend more quality time with my family. After staying inside basically all of 2020 and not going anywhere or doing much of anything, we went on so many fun outdoor adventures together while also maintaining as much safe social distancing as we could. I did three different railroad excursions, one with my teen son, one with all three of my kids, and one with my kids, hubby, and my mother-in-law when she was visiting. I snuck my daughters away to Connecticut for a couple days and we got to splash our feet in the ocean during lowtide while filling up on some of the best food I think I’ve ever eaten. My hubby and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary so I booked us a quick trip down to Florida for some much needed rest and relaxation. During that same trip, my hubby and I made an ocean rescue when a mother, her daughter, and her grand-daughter got caught in a riptide that pulled that too far away from shore for them to swim back on their own, which gave me a while new perspective on this thing we call life and how precious it really is. Our family went hiking more this year than any other year. We explored caves, we had a petting zoo in our front yard, we had a surprise paint ball throwing fight in our yard, my middle child graduated elementary school, my oldest graduated middle school, my youngest conquered some pretty tough anxiety attending elementary school without her older siblings to help walk her through the halls. We had so many laughs, so many late nights, so many afternoons spent in the pool playing round after round of Marco Polo. My family and I *lived* this year and we did it with purpose, or at least I did, they might’ve just been along for the ride since I planned everything. LOL. Either way, this year was one none of us will ever forget and even though I didn’t get as much done work-wise as I would’ve liked, I have zero regrets. My kids won’t remember if I was able to squeeze in another book release, they’ll remember our uninterrupted times together and that I’m more proud of than anything.
Thanks for coming along on my journey, whether it be here or on social media. I appreciate all the love and support this past year. It makes such a difference on the mostly lonely path of self-publishing.
Here’s to hoping 2022 is better for everyone.
Ashley
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