A Viking Story...

 

Vikings.

I'm obsessed with them, so is it any real surprise that I'm writing a Viking story?

No, probably not. Now, I've been hinting at this story on my Instagram page (which you should totally follow because I'm planning on blogging a lot less this year and that's where I for the most part post updates) and today is the day I finally reveal to you what it's called, what it's about, and the cover.

So, yeah, it's a very big day.

Time to get scrolling.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

First.... the title.

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

AND THEY ALL BOW DOWN

....
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
....
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
....
....
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
....
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...

Now the cover...

(which was designed by GetPremades)

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

A dragon-taming shieldmaiden and a praetor’s son,

She is cursed to die; he will live forever…

It’s a love that could never be.

Laduga is on the verge of womanhood, she has already completed her trial and now calls two dragons her own. All that is left for her to do before she is given a place in her clan is to shed innocent blood for the first time. Then and only then will she be called a true daughter of Negalta.

However, what should have been an easy query winds up becoming far more trouble than she could have ever anticipated. After she captures a young imperial boy by the name of Marcello, Laduga finds herself cursed for trying to take his life. She has been marked for death, and Marcello it seems is incapable of dying. He will live forever, long past his natural years and survive even when he loses everyone he cares about, a destiny that he finds wholly unappealing.

In a world without the gods, all things unnatural are possible—even curses. And now Laduga and Marcello find themselves in a reluctant allyship as they race against time in a quest to put order to chaos. They’ll do whatever they must to make their curses disappear, even if it takes resurrecting a god. Because in a fortnight Laduga will die, and if she goes down then she is taking the whole world with her.

Set in a brand new land inspired by Vikings and packed with fiery dragons, bloody battles, and slow burn enemies to lovers romance And They All Bow Down is a brand new standalone by author Nicki Chapelway. Embark on this thrilling YA dark fantasy that is perfect for fans of Adrienne Young and Holly Black.

Official Release Date TBD

Pre-Order Now!

The Worlds of Nicki Chapelway: Part Five Varelis

 

I haven't done one of these "Worlds of Nicki Chapelway" posts in a while, but with the looming release of An Apprentice of Death (February 13th is 15 days away!) I figured I should share a little bit about it, namely by sharing a glimpse into Varelis. A place that is arguably the most complex world I've ever created, so with all that said... let's get into this.

Climate and Terrain: 

Varelis is a large land that is divided across eleven houses (the equivalent of kingdoms), I would say that the majority of Varelis is forested or elevated in mountains or foothills, however Castrele is very much a water-locked kingdom. Drasson and Dramont also have their share of marshlands.

Varelis experiences four seasons: frostfall, springtide, eversun, and autumnglade. Although as you may have noticed from the northernmost part of the map, there is a frozen section. That's where a powerful, ancient water mage known as the Ice King found his eternal rest. His dormant magic continues to make the area near where he may be found frozen.

Creatures and Monsters: 

Varelis was originally the home of the elves, of which there were seven races: sun elves, sea elves, blood elves, death elves, kindred elves, dark elves, and wood elves.

At some point however, humans came from the East and settled in the south of Varelis

A time after that, human pilgrims sailed from the north seeking safety from religious persecution. They eventually broke into two houses, the House of Man and the House of Dragons.

Then it was discovered that the land under Varelis was also inhabited by dwarfs.

Now all these factions live together, not at all peacefully.

There are many monsters in Varelis. So much so that I couldn't possibly list them all here. However, I can name a few. There are dragons, of course, majestic creatures that have a special bond with one of the human houses. Goblins and gravellins, which are creatures that are a less intelligent form of goblin, both roam in the caverns under the mountains and the dwarfs are dedicated to keeping them at bay.

And then there are liches and wraiths, two forms of undead creatures. Wraiths are made such against their will and liches are powerful men who seek to use enchantments to help them find a way to cheat death.

Political Atmosphere: 

Varelis has no ruler, there is a high throne, but it is frozen in ice in the Ice King's lands. The eleven houses are all ruled by various rulers from a council to a jarl to being under the commands of the high priest. They operate separately from each other. Some such as the House Fraterya/Fate and the dwarven House Under the Mountain have little to no contact with the outside world, others such as Castrele and Balvlin clash far more noticeably and have been embroiled in a war for a good many years.

Each house is in varying states of decay and all are dealing with their own issues that could very well lead to their destruction.

The House of Death has already fallen and the question is which house will follow it down to the Nethers next.

Magic: 

Each elf is born with a heritage magic that compliments their house. For instance, sea elves are born capable of manipulating water and death elves possessing the ability to cheat death (at the cost of the last person that they touched) and so on.

Outside of heritage magic, there is really only one other form of magic and that is the kind granted to the Royal Blooded (also known as mages in the human tongue), these individuals are chosen by Regala the goddess of magic. One person is chosen from each house so there are eleven such individuals. They are the only ones capable of wielding spells (and the royal blooded from the human and dwarven houses are the only humans and dwarfs to possess any sort of magic), they are also the only ones who can vie for the high throne, due to the fact that they're the only people powerful enough to unite Varelis.

Religion: 

There are several elven gods, eight of the houses are dedicated each to a different god or goddess of the elves. Despite believing in all these gods, the elves and humans of these houses only ever serve their patron god. It is considered a heresy to follow a god outside of your patron.

The humans and dwarfs also have their own religions.

All, however, believe in a common afterlife: the Nethers.

Sound like a world you would like to know more about? Pre-order An Apprentice of Death and dive into the world of Varelis just in time for Valentine's Day!

2023 Goals

 

Hope

That's my word going into 2023.

Hope is our four letter word. Make that money, watch it burn...

There are so many inspiring quotes and scripture verses surrounding hope, and yet what inspired me to choose that word as my word for 2023 was that line from Counting Stars, so yes, I'm going to go reconsider my priorities now...

Goals:

I don't have too many goals for this new year, but I have a few big ones.

I'll start with a small one first though... be a bit more active, I have an unfortunately sedentary lifestyle. I need to remember to get up and stretch my legs more between writing sessions.

But on to my big goal of 2023...I want to break even on my books. Right now, I'm putting in more money than I get out of them. I want that to change this year. Last year was a huge writing year and I made so much more in royalties then than I've made any year previous. I want to build off that. Breaking even is the next big step in having a career as an author.

How do I intend to do that, you may ask?

Well, I'm planning on publishing seven books (for those of you who read my 2023 release post, yes that is one fewer than I originally said, I've decided to push back a couple of my Ruskhazar books because I realized that I was just absolutely flooding you with so many new Ruskhazar series. It was enough to make my head spin and I'm sure it wasn't any easier for you to keep straight).

I'm also planning to put out two new book bundles/omnibuses

I'm not really planning on doing too many more alternate cover editions. they just aren't earning out and I need to focus my time and resources on things that are. I plan on finishing the MTiA series since they all look so nice together. I'm still figuring out whether I'll do book 3 of Of Dawn and Fire in an alternate cover. On one hand, I don't want to not have the series completed, but on the other hand... that series really isn't earning out as hardback and I would just be sinking money in it if I go for it.

I'm also diving fully into Vella, it's my goal to release three books on that platform next year. For those of you not aware, Vella is a serial novelization site where books are updated weekly by episodes.

A few other things that I'm considering this year...

Attend a conference????

Get my book featured in a book box???

Be able to afford not to have to get a second job???

Release a special edition of one of my books??? (which differs from alternate editions because it will have bonus, exclusive content)

Another thing I want to note is that I will no longer be posting weekly to this blog. Since I'm going to be working on Vella stories and trying to write episodes for it weekly (for at least two stories, the other is already written and will hopefully be finished being edited by the end of this week as well) it's really just going to be too much to try to keep up with that all, my other writing schedules, posting on this blog, newsletters, Instagram, and the other gazillion things I have to do like eat, sleep, and live. So, I'm going to be posting less regularly on this blog. I'll start off with an every other week posting schedule and go from there to see what works out for my schedule.

So there you have it, my few and non-specific goals for 2023. Mainly it involves a lot of writing and remembering to stretch my legs. What are your plans for the new year?

League of Thieves: A Character Introduction, A Cover introduction, and... a Second Cover Introduction?

It's feels so strange to be talking about League of Thieves in more than just a passing statement. It also feels strange to be introducing it. It was already introduced five years ago when I started writing it, but that was so long ago and I have been remiss when it comes to this story since then. And it feels even stranger to call it my Kindle Vella story.

And yet here we are. An introduction to LoT, my Kindle Vella story.

So, as I've stated already, this book is a Middle Eastern themed fantasy. I wrote it during my senior year of high school, I was doing world history that year and I was swept away by the history of the ancient Middle East and the rise and fall of nations such as Persia, Greece, Babylon, Assyria, even Rome and how they all affected each other, fought amongst each other, and even conquered each other. So, I created a world that was a big old mixing bowl where I blended together multiple proponents of what happened over the course of thousands of years and made them all happen at once. And so Iriale was born. I'll do one of my Worlds of Nicki Chapelway posts about Iriale someday, so I'll save all the technicalities till then, but what you need to know about Iriale is that it is a desert nation based off Rome and Persia that is bent on conquering the rest of the world.

True to its Middle Eastern roots, this story has a lot of inspiration from Middle Eastern tales and legends. Aladdin and the lamp, the forty thieves, with bits and pieces of Sinbad, and 1001 nights. There are jinnis and djinn in this world based off the ones found in Middle Eastern myths. There is a Library of Alexandira that hasn't burned down (yet). It also derives a lot of inspiration from one of my favorite movies of all time The Mummy (1999).

The story of League of Thieves itself revolves around a group of thieves (as the title would suggest). Evona and her brother Jokar have been petty thieves ever since their nomadic tribe was wiped out by Iriale's ever violent quest to expand its borders.

A picture of Evona, I don't really have a good one for Jokar
(image from Pinterest)

However, they've been offered a job that will be their chance to put their life of crime behind and finally live not just comfortably. They will be lavishly wealthy. All they have to do is steal a lamp for their employer.

However, mid-heist, Evona realizes that someone else got to the lamp before her. She is caught trying to escape and now everyone thinks that she has the lamp. While trying to skip town, Jokar and Evona are caught by the mercenary Radmir, a disgraced soldier who was hired by their employer to make certain that they don't leave him high and dry after they steal the lamp.

Radmir is the definition of burnt cinnamon roll
(picture from Pinterest)

Evona and Jokar are dragged back in front of their employer and since they don't have the lamp, things are about to end badly for them, but Radmir couldn't just let that happen so he stuck out his neck for them, convinced their employer that he needed the siblings to steal back the lamp. Now they have to find the thief who took the lamp in the first place. And this time all their necks are on the line

Which leads into the thieves who actually stole the lamp. A pair of street urchins named Damian and Creyn.

Creyn being uncharacteristically grumpy, he's actually a sunshine child and always joking around
(image from Pinterest)

Here's Damian he's....decidedly not a sunshine child
(Image from Pinterest)

Damian, in case you didn't notice, is sort of the only person here with blond hair and blue eyes. He has no memory of his home or how he ended up in Iriale. Creyn found him abandoned in the streets when they were both boys and took him in. Damian is an emotionless killer, earning himself the title the Pale Death, and the only thing he cares about in the whole wide world is Creyn.

And as you've probably guessed, the lamp that they stole was no ordinary lamp. It housed an imprisoned jinni named Shohl, who offered Damian and Creyn riches. All they need to do to claim it is travel to the legendary Amun Hadir, a hidden palace full of treasures.

Shohl being as fabulous as ever
(image from Pinterest)

With Shohl as their guide, Damian and Creyn set out to find this treasure. Evona, Radmir, and Jokar meanwhile need someone to help them track down these thieves. Which is where Sahir comes in.

Sahir AKA the pretty one
(image from Pinterest)

Sahir is a cocky smuggler with an ego the size of an island. He and Radmir have worked together in the past, and every time they've crossed paths Sahir has betrayed Radmir. So needless to say, Radmir is not too keen to trust him again, but unfortunately Sahir is the best there is. Nothing happens on the seven seas without his knowing it. And if anyone can track down Damian and Creyn it is him.

And that leads to our final main character. Adilah a female assassin who has been posing as a man for the past couple years so that she can get hired. She's been sent to kill the Pale Death and anyone he may be working with and get the lamp back for the man who hired him and Creyn to steal it in the first place. She's tracking Evona, Radmir, Jokar, and Sahri as they're tracking down Creyn and Damian. And it's basically a very complex game of cat and mouse.

Here's our stabby girl herself

(image from Pinterest)

So, there you have the whole crazy cast and the gist of the story. A bunch of thieves, smugglers, killers, and other unsavory sorts all want a lamp. Only what they weren't counting on was the fact that their greediness was going to unleash a terrible evil. One that they can only defeat if they learn to work together (and stop trying to kill each other, I'm looking at you Adilah and Damian).

This book was my first time having a ton of different POVs and main characters (the story is told from Adilah's, Radmir's, Evona's, and Damian's POVs). Of course, RLtG did come around and make this one's 4 POVs look like child's play, but this was my first introduction to having a bunch of main characters.

Also... League of Thieves has a new cover. It was designed by GetCovers and I'm so excited to finally be able to share it with you guys!.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

This is going to be a trilogy and my current plan is to release all three books on Vella first. For those of you wondering when it comes out in print, I hope to release book one in the summer of 2024. I actually have the cover for the print version as well. It was designed by Maria Spada and is way too pretty to keep secret till next year...

So here it is!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It’s the heist that broke the world.

 

When Evona and her brother fail to retrieve the lamp they were hired to steal, they realize that they weren’t the only ones sent after the object. Now in over their heads, with their employer threatening to remove said heads for failing him and every guard thinking that they have the lamp, Evona and her brother have one last chance to save themselves. They are given the task of tracking down the other thieves and stealing the lamp back. Aided in their journey by a disillusioned soldier turned mercenary and a smuggler who definitely can’t be trusted, they set sail to take the lamp back.

 

Damian and Creyn thought they were stealing a lamp, it turns out they were actually taking a jinni. One that claims she can lead them to the legendary treasure of the hidden palace Amun Hadir. They set out in search of the treasure, only to learn that they are being tracked and soon it becomes a race between the two groups of thieves to be the first to claim the treasure.

 

Forty thieves, an assassin in disguise, and traps within ancient temples that have not been unearthed for a thousand years all stand in the way of these thieves. But unbeknownst to them all there’s a dark presence lurking in Amun Hadir, waiting for someone to free it so that it can unleash its malice on the world. Do they have what it takes to give up on the treasure they so desperately desire, or will their greed destroy the world?

 

The rollicking adventure of The Mummy meets the cunning heists of Six of Crows in this Middle Eastern inspired YA fantasy about thieves, monsters, and finding family. With hints of the tales of Aladdin and the Lamp and Sinbad, embark on this action-packed story about a group of antiheroes who must learn to care for more than just themselves.

Until then, this story is releasing weekly on Vella! The first three episodes are always free. League of Thieves | Kindle Vella (amazon.com)

Which character sounds the most interesting to you? Who do you think is going to come out on top in this tumultuous mix? There are three ships in this group, can you guess them? Comment your thoughts below!

A Look Into My 2023 Publishing Schedule

2022 draws to a close, leaving the question... what does 2023 have in store?

Well, I cannot answer that question broadly, but as far as my publishing plans for next year go, I can share those.

Last year, I published 5 books. This year it is my goal to release 8 print titles and three Vella.

I always feel a little leery sharing my publishing plans, since there are many things that could happen to throw them off that are entirely out of my control, but as far as it is in my control, this is what I intend to do next year.

I'm planning to bring two of my YA series to a close with the release of Of Dawn and Fire and An Era of Evil, Dragons, and Dark Lords. As these two series come to a close I plan on introducing two brand new YA series, An Apprentice of Death and Seer's Tapestry.

As far as adult fiction goes, I have three releases lined up for that for next year, The Gods Created Monsters and Ancient Gods and Dead Girls which are both books set in Ruskhazar, my adult fantasy world. Harbinger of the End is also getting a sequel.

And then I'm diving into Vella with both feet. I have three books that I plan on releasing through that. The continuation of League of Thieves, Awoken my first Gaming Lit/Lit RPG book, as well as a Ruskhazar story that I'm currently calling The Magicker and the Monster which is a part of The Assassin's Guide to Cheating the Gods (in case any of you remember that story I introduced a few years back).

February 13th

My first release of next year is the book one in my upcoming YA high fantasy series following the journey of a Death Elf assassin and the elite warrior who she is supposed to kill... You can pre-order this title now to have it delivered to your Kindles just in time for Valentines Day.

March 15th

Then we have the next installment in the Ruskhazar saga, this is the start of a whole new series, but it is also the next chapter in the unfolding story of the end of the world. It can be read with or separate from Rage Like the Gods and my other Ruskhazar installments. This title is also available for pre-order.

May-June

Of Dawn and Fire (Of Dreams and Nightmares Trilogy book 3)

The thrilling conclusion of the ODaN trilogy then comes out late spring/early summer of this year. Cover reveal and pre-order information will be coming soon.

July

In December I plan to finally bring my My Time in Amar series to a close with the epic finale An Era of Evil, Dragons, and Dark Lords.

August-September

Strings Kings and Dead Things (The Seer's Tapestry 1)

The first in a YA series with enemies to lovers, charming and attractive villains, and a dark academia setting.

October

An Apprentice of Death novella

In October I'm planning on releasing an Apprentice of Death novella.

December

The End of Kings

The much asked-for sequel to Harbinger of the End, Britannic legends and Norse myths mix as Loki under the guise of a sorcerer named Merlin trains up a young King Arthur and Sigyn desperately seeks a way to make certain that Ragnarök is stopped once and for all.

As well as publishing these books, I also have a plan on releasing the A Glimpse into the Unkown book bundle in print and Kindle. I'm also hoping to release my Return to Amar Omnibus in print.

And on top of all that, there are also the books I'm releasing through Kindle Vella.

League of Thieves

(Temporary cover by CK Beggan)

I've already been releasing episodes of LoT, my middle eastern heist novel, on Vella, you can catch up on them now. New episodes come out every Friday.

An Assassin's Guide to Cheating the Gods

This standalone prequel set in Ruskhazar twenty years before the events of Rage Like the Gods about an assassin lord, an elf ranger, and a young magicker all unwittingly pitted against each other as they are strangely connected through the curse of vampirism. I plan on releasing this in three different seasons, to go with the three POVs of this book. My current plan is for Season One to be about Bryn, the magicker who finds herself falling in love with her boss. Hoping to have this story start releasing by February/March!

Awoken

My LitRPG/Gaming Lit novel Awoken will be releasing on Vella soon. I don't have a set date when I'll start putting episodes up, but I'm hoping sometime this summer. Then when it starts going up I plan on releasing it on a weekly basis as well.

Well, there you have it. My 2023 publishing plans.

Some of you may already follow my Schedule page so none of this will be new to you. If you don't already follow that page I suggest you do, it is the best place to find news for my publishing plans. I do my best to keep it up to date, although since I'm talking about years from now (I go up to 2025), obviously my plans shift and change sometimes. Still, it's the most accurate glimpse into my current publishing plans.

If you don't see your anticipated release in this blog post, first of all I'm so sorry I wish I both had the time and money to put out all the books I want to next year but alas. But if you don't see your anticipated release listed here check that page and see if it is listed there. For instance, Rage Like the Gods 2 is coming out in 2024 because it's way too long of a book and there's no way I could get it done in time to publish this year.

Happy New Year to you all. And happy reading!

Ending the Year With a Bang

Last year, I started out the new year with a bang with the cover reveal of Harbinger of the End.

Whelp, I thought I would do something a bit different this time around and end the year with a bang. So here we are, at the tail end of 2022... and I have an announcement to make.

But first I just want to take a moment first and thank you all for all your support for Harbinger of the End and taking a chance on my portrayal for a very beloved (and occasionally controversial) character like Loki. Your excitement and love of this book has truly warmed my heart and I've been loving seeing your reviews as they roll in. While my readers all have differing opinions on certain things, there seems to be a very specific consensus between them when it comes to this book.

A. They like Loki's voice (which makes me very happy)

B. They like Sigyn and Loki together (which also makes me very happy)

C. They want a sequel (which left me with mixed feelings because I was very much planning on not writing a sequel)

Here are some snippets from reviews I pulled from Goodreads, to show you what I mean.

Anyway, this book is perfection, and its only failing is that it was too short.

-Jes Drew, author of Embrace of Shadows

Wow! What a book! Can we get a book two?

-Addison S. Goodreads reviewer

WHY ISN'T THERE A SEQUEL. excuse me, I NEED more about Loki and Sigyn, please and thank you.

-Miranda Sylvester, Bookstagrammer

And the reviews aren't all, I've had people DMing me telling me how much they loved the book... and how desperately they need a sequel. And while I agreed with my readers, there was definitely potential for more Loki books (I mean, one does not just say that they'll only ever write one Loki book and be done with it), I didn't really have any real ideas for a sequel. Still, the demand for one was very real and as I was brushing my teeth one night, trying to think up some short story to write for my newsletter that would be full of Loki and Sigyn fluff so that I could satisfy some of the people who wanted to see more of them and not have to commit too much... I got an idea.

An impossibly brilliant and terrifying idea.

And it wasn't for a short story... no, I finally had my idea for a Loki sequel.

So, yes, that's my announcement.

Surprise!

I'm writing a Harbinger of the End 2.

What's it about? Well, on my Instagram I've been doing a little game to guess the title and plot using image prompts. Let's see if you can guess correctly...

Title:

And what it is about:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Well... if you guessed that the title was The End of Kings and that this will be a retelling of the legend of King Arthur with a Norse mythology twist then you would be absolutely correct!

Loki is back and mischievous as ever, this time he has rashly made a bet with Odin, trying to prove that he doesn't unleash chaotic decay on everything he touches and that he is capable of creating a great hero without destroying his life. Now under the guise of a mysterious sorcerer named Merlin, Loki takes young Arthur under his wing to teach him to be the greatest hero Midgard has ever seen.

Sigyn meanwhile is desperate to find some way to ascertain that hers and Loki's love for each other has indeed stopped Ragnarök or if the horrible things that she saw in her visions of the future will be her destiny after all.

But the Celts have their own gods...gods that won't take kindly to meddling immortals.

Unleash the gods of Norse mythology on Briton, unleash the Anglo-Saxon hordes, and unleash the heroic knights of old. The End of Kings is coming December of 2023.

2022 Wrap-Up

Was 2022 a good year?

Not by a long shot.

But compared to 2020 and then 2021 this basically felt like a walk in the park. So, I'll take a win where there is a win and just be glad that I didn't lose any more jobs or close friendships and that both my dogs are healthy and happy😌👌🏽

We actually had vacations this year. I haven't left Ohio soil since like 2017 and was beginning to think I'd never get out, but I actually made it as far as northern Kentucky this year so yusss, it's a win. I was able to breath non-Ohio air for a little while.

(I say this facetiously, of course, I'm well aware of the fact that it is all Ohio and always has been)

(from Pinterest)

Now for the rundown of my accomplishments for this year. Here are my 2022 goals for those of you wondering if I stuck with them.

Hobbies:

Whelp, the good news is that I started reading again! Not the hundreds of books I did in Middle Grade and High School, sometimes I would go a couple months without reading, but I was reading. I started taking ARCs again and I even read some books for fun. It's certainly a struggle still to feel motivated to read, but I'm so happy to have that part of me again. I've missed devouring stories and not just limiting myself to movies and TV shows as my media.

I didn't find any new video games to obsess over, very sad. But since I tend to get inspired to write books off of the video games I play (An Apprentice of Death, Domain of the North, and all of my Ruskhazar books are inspired by video games) that's probably for the best because I have too many projects as it is.

I did get out of the writing groove sometime over the summer. Still working on the balancing act that is called life and more often than not it was my art that knocked off my to do list to make room for other things.

My on repeat songs (at the time of writing this post which if you look at my dashboard you will see that it was a little bit out), but I doubt my music taste will have changed that much by the time this post comes out.

Life:

This was the first year since I started working all the way back in 2018 (because I'm actually a baby who has not been in the work force very long) that I didn't have a huge job change. I've only been in the work force for four years and yet I'm on my fourth job, and can I just say how thankful I am to still have that job by the end of the year? Oh, my word, I could cry, a gal needs a little stability now and again and I have not of late had that stability in my career choices.

I started going back to my church after taking a short break from it and boy is it good to be back to the place I attended for 20 plus years. Been able to reconnect with a lot of old friends and aquaintances through that.

My word for 2022 was CREATE... when I had first made that goal, I had been thinking of all the books I had to write. Of drawing and pursuing my imagination... I had no idea how that single word would spill out over the rest of my life. I've not only been creating storyworlds, but also a business and a career as an author, I've created a brand and platform, but most importantly I've created connections and friendships in my pursuits.

In 2021 I was coming off a huge heartbreak, a very close friendship that went awry (which was built off a different friendship that was destroyed in 2020). Neither of those friendships ended by my choice and I was afraid to open up again because I had no idea how to stop something like that from happening again. But now I look back to all the lovely people who I have connected with this past year, to all you guys! And I realize... I'm not scared anymore.

Writing:

I finally got around to creating my author website. That is something that has been on my list of things to do for some time.

In a lot of ways, my writing has changed this year. I've come to regard it and treat it more as a business than a hobby and in many ways I've seen it take off as a business. I seem to say this every year, but this was definitely my most successful writing year by far.

I can no longer keep track of all the words that I write in a year. There are too many projects and too many drafts and I am no longer capable of keeping track of them so I think it is time to bring a close of my tradition of counting how many hundreds of thousands of words that I wrote...

And just say that I wrote a lot.

I published five books!

This was quite the ambitious goal and there was a part of me that wondered back last year when I set it that I would even be able to keep it. And yet, here we are and these books are out in the world.

On top of that, I have reformatted and released my books in multiple formats that I was only just branching into at the end of 2021. I released 9 of my books in audiobook format.

I've also released eight of my books as alternate cover hardbacks.

And I put out two book bundles. One a collection of the entire Winter Cursed series now all in one tome.

And the other is a collection of three of my YA novels I released for my newsletter subscribers. Although I am planning on putting this one out in print as well sometime next year.

And finally, I also started releasing League of Thieves through Kindle Vella. I'd begun to think I would never do anything with this story so I'm pretty darn excited to finally have it out there in the world.

(cover designed by CK Beggan)

I'm sure there are other things that I'm missing, I've done so much this year that I'm probably forgetting half of them. But there you have a quick wrap-up of the year 2022.

How did this past year treat you? Which of my newest releases are you most excited about? What are you looking forward to going into 2023? Comment below!