I survived. That’s probably my biggest accomplishment, and one I’m proud of, but wish I didn’t have to be. But it’s been one heck of a year, hasn’t it?

I started out the year with a plan of attack. Not having an agent, I threw myself into querying two projects: TREE GODS and FLIPPING. TREE GODS had been on query before, and after my last agent, I certainly questioned everything about that project. Most of all, I questioned my own ability, and a lot of other things about myself that I won’t go into here. But FLIPPING had showed well in Pitchwars, although it wasn’t a pick. I felt really good about it.

Almost immediately on query, I got a lot of feedback that FLIPPING was awesome in this way or that way, but never enough in all ways for an agent to pick it up. I even got a revise/resub on it once. But nobody seemed ready to take on a ghost romcom any more than they wanted a fantasy romance with trees or a dwarf with Dragon fire.

I applied to Write Mentor with an upper middle grade project, TEETH, a story about a fairy henchman and his struggle to overcome a Fairy Godfather, which I’d written to amuse myself over the winter. To my great surprise, it was chosen as an entry. Although that project has yet to receive any great love from agents, I think it has a lot of potential.

Then in August, I got a surprising email. City Owl had read FLIPPING and wanted to acquire it. As this project was the one getting mixed feedback and a great deal of agent ghosting (which is funny in retrospect, as it’s a ghost story!) I did some thinking and decided to take the offer. FLIPPING comes out on July 28, 2022!

About a month after that, a project I’d sidelined, IRONSFORK, attracted the attention of another small publisher, Fractured Mirror. It’s coming out on July 26, 2022.

Somehow, both books found homes and I’m having book twins this summer. I’m still a little shocked about that, quite honestly.

In addition to the publishing and mentorship opportunities, I redrafted several books in the IRONSFORK and TREE GODS series, and wrote a new middle grade fantasy, SWAMP GUTS. I also drafted a new, very Shrekulative fantasy rom-com, GRUMPY OLD WITCHES.

Between all that, I somehow wrote or rewrote just over one million words this year.

I survived.

My books thrived.

Given the rest of 2021, I think that’s pretty darned good.