The month of January I am the Author of the Month on Carol Kilgore's web page. I'll be giving away books. Come check it out!
I'm terrible about New Year's resolutions. I don't make them because I don't keep them. Instead, I'm going to touch on the more memorable moments of 2014.
January: Although technically it came out on December 30th of 2013, I'm going to say that Anansi and Company made a it's debut in January.February and March were mostly about Anansi.
April: The A to Z Challenge was all about Anansi and though I had a really nice time, for some reason it took it's toll on me and I'm still not sure if I'm going to do the challenge this year. (Although I do have a tentative theme, just in case.)
Took May, June and July off to recover and work on my next book, A Lizard's Tail.
August: Introduced Marvin, lizard hero extraordinaire.
September: Went to the Netherlands! A week or so after I was in the hospital for a few days.
October: A Lizard's Tail was published and Marvin finally met the world.
November: Was in the hospital for a couple of days... Began work on my grandmother's cookbook.
December: All quiet on the Western Front.
So, despite some health issues, I didn't do too badly.
Another way to look back on the year is to revisit what I read. Only got 39 books finished in 2014, mostly because several of them were quite long and I'm a slow reader... Some books just take longer than others.
It's interesting to note that I began and ended the year with books about abused and neglected kids, both by blog friends. I like the mix of fiction/non-fiction, adult/juvenile.
1. Christine's Odyssey by J. L. Campbell
2. Gilded by Christina Farley
3. To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
4. Bestest. Ramadan. Ever. by Medeia Sharif
5. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
6. Open Minds by Susan Quinn
7. The Quintessence of Absence by Sean McLachlan
8. Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
9. Parched by Melanie Crowder
10. Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
11. Going Over by Beth Kephart
12. Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana
13. Double Vision by F. T. Bradley
14. The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
15. Blackbird by Melanie Schulz
16. Snip, Snip Revenge by Medeia Shrif
17. The King's Swift Rider by Mollie Hunter
18. Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
19. Polish Your Fiction by Jessica Bell
20. A Medal for Leroy by Michael Morpurgo
21. Doll Bones by Holly Black
22. Paperboy by Vince Vawter
23. One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
24. The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
25. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
26. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill
27. Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
28. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
29. Bones of the Master by George Crane
30. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
31. Rock 'n' Roll Princesses Wear Black by Kelly Polark
32. Bloomability by Sharon Creech
33. Lords of Trillium by Hilary Wagner
34. Zompoemz by Catherine Johnson
35. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
36. The Girl with the White Flag by Tomiko Higa
37. A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond
38. A Language Older than Words by Derrick Jensen
39. Vitamins and Death by Medeia Sharif
What were your high points of 2014? Do you feel you accomplished what you wanted? Did you read a memorable book?
Other than the two hospital stays, it was a great year.
ReplyDeleteSorry the Challenge wiped you out. I think it did that to a lot of people last year. This year will wipe me out, as my book releases right in the middle of it all.
Hope this year doesn't include hospital visits. I agree with Alex, otherwise it sounds like you had a great year.
ReplyDeleteNo hospital visits this year!
ReplyDeleteKeep working on the cookbook. I am here to help you with it when you're ready.
Well, that was a full year, wasn't it? Good for you--now just avoid the hospital in 2015, okay?
ReplyDeleteI hope 2015 turns out to be a great year! I like your idea of hitting on the high points (I'm bad about resolutions and don't really make any either :).
ReplyDeleteA to Z is a big challenge and really wiped me out in 2014 but I had a lot of other things going on at the same time to do with my personal life which meant I was feeling very emotionally drained at the time.i hope you have a great 2015 :)
ReplyDeleteHere's to a healthy year for you. Two books last year is a great accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of reading! Plus two books. Great going, Bish!
ReplyDeleteMy high point was no where near your great ones! But I did finish my novel but did not want to continue revising. Too much overhaul for now. Moving on to a more productive one. ☺️
ReplyDeleteWhaaaaat? Now books about wormholes made your list? Just kidding. Happy New Years to you!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I accomplished pretty much everything I wanted to in the writing career last year. However, I only read 4 books and those were on vacation.
ReplyDeleteHere's to 2015 and Grandmother's cookbook!
Hi Bish .. yes your hospital visits were anxious making and frustrating ... I hope everything is settling down in that direction.
ReplyDeleteAh yes .. Anne reminded me about your Grandmother's cookbook - sounds a brilliant idea and I know I'll enjoy reading it ... good luck with all your plans for 2015 - cheers Hilary