When I sat down to do this 2016 roundup, I realized it’s been a hell of a year. People have been tweeting and blogging about the extensive shit of the year, from all the celebrity deaths to “he who must not be named” getting elected president. As I’ve sat here and reflected on the year, though, I realized that it hasn’t been nearly so bad for me. I’ve been incredibly lucky.
Here are some of the highlights from my 2016:
2016 Roundup: Highlights
- Polyamory. Although I’ve been having this conversation with my husband informally for some time, this was the year we actually invited a third into our bed and into our lives in a more significant way than a one-night stand. It’s not a relationship in the traditional sense. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what we would call it if we were forced to define it. Defining whatever-it-is feels limiting more than freeing, so I’m not going to do that. But we opened up to someone else, and that was the most life-altering part of my year.
- Slices of Pi. This year, I published a trilogy with Pocket Star: Even Odds, Tied Score, and Single Player. Getting this trilogy from concept to publication was the single greatest achievement of my writing career thus far. This undertaking took discipline the likes of which I’d never attempted, and I’m so pleased with the result. People seem to enjoy the books, too, so that’s a wonderful side effect.
- The 365K Club. I have been a member of 10 Minute Novelists for about a year now. Last year, I missed the signups for the 365K club, so I participated independently. For an entire year, I managed an average of 1000 words a day. This involved several 2k/day months, like January when I was drafting Single Player and November when I was completing my sixteenth NaNoWriMo. It also included giant swaths of not writing at all, like weekends when I was entertaining my new bestie and the whole month of December when I was drawing instead of drafting. Even so, I wrote over 415,000 words of original content this year.
- Master’s Degree. This isn’t something I’ve discussed much on the blog, but I finished my master’s degree this year! I did three years of pretty much continuous work with Southern New Hampshire University online to earn my master of arts degree in English literature. I’m quite proud.
- Sex Toy Reviewing. I’ve always wanted to get into this field, and I’m so pleased that this year I just went ahead and pursued it. I’m working with companies I really admire, like Tantus and Fun Factory, and I’m looking forward to expanding that list moving into the new year.
- Travel and Adventures. I saw cool things this year! I spent a week in Quebec City for winter festival, including a trip to a Nordic Spa when it was only 5 degrees fahrenheit outside. In July, i spent five days in San Diego for the Romance Writers of America’s national conference and ate lots of awesome food with a friend of mine. I was back and forth to New York City a number of times, including seeing the Rockettes on Christmas-Eve-Eve.
So yeah, it was a pretty awesome 2016 for me overall, despite the tragedy of the outside world. I’m aware that I’m incredibly privileged to get to say that, to be insulated from the tragedy in this way. I’m mindful of all the people who couldn’t escape the horrors of 2016.
Anticipating 2017
So, with 2016 fading away by the minute, what’s next?
- Podcasts. I’ve recorded the first episode of “Come and Play,” a geeky, kinky podcast that will launch in the next few days. Stay tuned for more information about that, which I’ll definitely post soon.
- More Books. I’ve drafted most of the sequel to Purely Professional, which I’m aiming to finish, edit, and prep for publication this year. I’m also drafting a polyamory trilogy which stalled at the end of 2016 but which I will finish this year.
- More Blogging. I’m aiming to get this blog on a more regular schedule in the coming year. This will happen as I publish podcasts and do more toy reviewing and writing.
- 365K, again. I’ve officially joined the 365 club this year, and I’m aiming to write 365K again in 2017. Here’s to consistency!
- Personal goals. I’m setting a number of personal goals this year, like most people do. None of them have anything to do with my weight. I’m going to stay fat in 2017, dammit, and be happy about it. No, my goals have a lot to do with deliberate indulgences and quality where it matters: meaningful experiences, good food, good beverages, beautiful clothes, makeup, and hair. Less time indulging in small, insignificant indulgences that don’t add up to anything meaningful.
I’m looking forward to the near year and to seeing what 2017 brings.
What are your goals and hopes for the new year, readers?
