What a year it’s been!

I started out the year with a manuscript in hand, a posse of great Beta Readers, and a lot of high hopes. I found an outstanding cover and interior designer, and in April, it was Cover Reveal Day for BLUE.

From there, I took a breather and hammered away at another manuscript, and also managed to publish three novellas and two novels in another genre under my alter ego pen name.

Summer arrived, along with a return to in-person book festivals! I had a great time at The Festival of Books in the Alleghenies and the Collingswood Book Fest. I look forward to returning next year!

The fall brought an in-person book signing event with my fellow SCBWI authors at Aaron’s Books in Lititz, PA, followed by another terrific SCBWI author event at the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts 2021 Conference.

Finally, the ARC copies of BLUE went out, the reviews started rolling in, and I let out that breath I’d been holding since that manuscript left my sweaty, little hands. Whew! They liked it!

In November, I had a wonderful book launch party at the best Indie Bookstore in the Philadelphia area, Towne Book Center! That was followed by a book signing at Barnes and Noble Wyomissing, and then the announcement that BLUE was a 2021 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite in Young Adult Fiction. Wow! What a way to end the year!

What’s in store for 2022? That, my friends, is the subject of another blog post. For now, I’ll rest and ruminate and count myself fortunate to have had such a year. Thank you to everyone for your part in it!