I hope the New Year is treating everyone well. I’m coming back to the blog feeling energized and excited about 2014. It’s shaping up to be a busy year and I’ll be sharing why at a later date (nothing like starting the year with a teaser 🙂 ). I’m keeping my writing in the bubble for a little while longer (it seems to be working), but I can tell you I’m making progress on several manuscripts. Yay!

You’re probably sick of all the best of 2013 lists and this is what happened in 2013, but I had a great year on the blog and wanted to share a few tidbits with you. As much as I enjoy my space here on the Observation Desk to share my thoughts, it’s even better when you share as well, whether with a guest post, in the comments, or by helping spread the word on social media. So thanks to all of you, my blog readers, for coming by and joining in the shenanigans.

I was tickled to see the most active day on the blog was April 16th, the anniversary of my sister’s death. It’s always a hard day and I find comfort in sharing a little piece of her with as many people as I can. On that day, I posted Thinking of Kylene and it was among the top view getters in 2014.

The announcement of Elixir Bound coming out in paperback received the most views of all the posts. It has been such a joy to have so many supporters share with me in the good news and milestone mark in my writing career. BTW…Elixir Bound is now out in paperback and ready for purchase (gotta plug my own work here) at the MuseItUp bookstore, IndieBound, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. I’ll hopefully be setting up some local signings in 2014 and will keep you all posted. For you non-locals, I can send personalized bookplates to put in your copies. Just send me a note with the contact me page. 

One of the reasons why this year was so successful was because I was more consistent posting content than in any other year, with two posts most weeks. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without guest bloggers. Thanks to all the wonderful guests who shared their stories and wisdom. Among the most viewed guest posts were Scott R. Caseley’s Twice in A Millennium Inspiration post, Anna Staniszewski’s post on writing middle grade, and an interview of Erin Albert on her debut YA fantasy The Prophecy. I’ve already got some great guest posts lined up for this year and am always open to hosting others (contact me here).

I always get a kick out of seeing some of the stranger things people have searched to come up with my site, so I’ll end with my favorites: “am i crazy or in love? how to stay grounded?”, “sweatpants say i’ve given up on life”, “i’m sorry i kicked you lilo and stitch”, “how dare you bind and gag me?”, and “stardust blowing at you”.

Happy writing and living in 2014!