Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year! Pippa's Journal

Happy New Year! Was the old one good for you?

I don't, as a rule, make resolutions as I've never kept those I did. At the start of 2012 I set myself a list of hopes and dreams for the year ahead, so I thought I'd look back at it. Funny to think this was only a year ago, and interesting to see what did, and didn't, happen. :)

My hopes -

1.That Keir will do well when it's released on the 7th May (or at least not get too many poor reviews). So far, so good!
2.That I will finish editing the sequel in good time, and that my editor and publisher will like it. No, yes, and no. The fate of Keir's Fall remains undecided, but at least it's finally finished.
3.That Gethyon will find a home with a publisher, even if that turns out to be myself via Amazon. Gethyon is due for release with Champagne Books in June 2013. :)
4.That my sfr short will be accepted into the anthology. This was Misa Buckley's proposed Andromedan Dreams which sadly never came to pass. However, I self published the story - Terms & Conditions Apply - in November 2012, and it's had good feedback so far. Also, this dream is still current, as I'm waiting on news for my entry for the SFR Brigade anthology. A bizarre coincidence...
5.That I will get my other scifi short completed and up on Amazon. Um, yes and no. After feedback on CritiqueCircle, that particular short - Samaritan - is still classed as a WIP, and goes back on the list for 2013. However, Terms & Conditions Apply filled the gap.
6.That I will figure out the rest of books four and five which are still a little hazy in my mind. No. Instead my crazy muse gave me two more drafts of one-off stories for NaNoWriMo, which are now three potential novellas.
7.That I won't run out of ideas and that my writing will just keep improving. Yes on the first and...well, judging by feedback I'm also managing the latter too.
8.That my friends and family will be happy and healthy, for this year and many, many more to come. Yes, but still on the list as a permanent wish.
9.That I will do more reading, and help clear a pending list of reviews. Sigh. Not quite.
10.To get into some kind of fitness routine to counteract the amount of time I now spend on my bum in front of this computer! Definitely not, so back on the wishlist...
11.A late addition, but a scifirom with succubi has got my muse all in a tizzy and I've already done 5K words on it, so I hope the fuzzy idea I currently have is going to settle down into a proper story. It's not quite my usual thing, so a bit nerve-racking, as well as exciting. This was Tethered, now complete and being looked over by my editor. I have hopes for this story. :)

2012 was a glorious year on the #amwriting front, and I'm expecting even better of 2013, and myself. You can check out my highlights here.

Christmas was an enjoyable and relaxing time with my family - and look what they bought me! A handy lap table for my notepad pc, something that's going to make the imminent edits for Gethyon a far more comfortable task.

Not my best side, lol!

Happenings

Carrie-Ann Ryan's New Year Blog Hop is happening right now, from the 1st-6th January. Aside from getting a cocktail recipe to celebrate the occassion, you can also win your chance at a $5 gift card from me by telling me your favourite New Year tipple and way to celebrate, be it champagne and a party to a cup of cocoa and an early night. The latter is my personal favourite. ;)

Champagne Diva
The closing date for entries to the SFR Brigade anthology has been extended until the 31st January. The Brigade is still looking for a few more entries, so I urge you to dust off that old short you have tucked away in your files, or scribble down that latest scifi romance idea that's been brewing over Christmas. Don't let the anthology fall! *begging*

It's been proposed to do a SFR Brigade-specific style blogging ring similar to Six Sentence Sunday which sadly finishes at the end of this month. More information will be posted in the Brigade Facebook group, once I've got my head around it. The suggestion is to post a paragraph around the 150-200 word mark on a Friday night. For the time being, this will be run as a test, and it is reliant on participants to make sure their post will be live and active on time - no one will be patrolling the links to check, so it's in your own interests to be up and ready. Stand by!

Bookshelf



Last year, I took on the challenge of reading SFR titles, partly to get to know my chosen genre better but also to learn more about the talented members in the SFR Brigade. I've not done as well as I could. At thirteen books, I've only achieved Earth level, and my TBR pile continues to grow faster than I can clear it. There's just too much excellent stuff out there! And I haven't managed to review all of them either. *slaps self* Highlights for the year were Even Villains Fall in Love by Liana Brooks, Unacceptable Risk by Jeanette Grey and Ambasadora by Heidi Ruby Miller. You can check out the rest of my list here, and also the reviews I have managed to get down for the majority of the titles. One New Year resolution for me is to dive into my TBR pile and get some more reviews up. For the year ahead, I'm looking forward to Misa Buckley's Tin Cat, a sequel to EVFiL, reading my copy of Downside Girls won from Jaine Fenn, and hoping for release dates on story drafts from Liana Brooks and Laurie Green that I've been lucky enough to get an early viewing of. What books are you hoping to see in 2013?

Ping pong

Gosh, what a year it's been for the crew of Spacefreighters Lounge! Two debut novels, two signings with agents, and yet more Golden Hearts! I'm so proud to have been a part of it all.  A round of Billins to celebrate! :P

I'm afraid this post is a little patchy - I still have my three little monsters home for another week, and once they're back to school, I have a list of tasks even longer than my TBR list. Eeeek!

May the New Year bring you all you dream of!

7 comments:

  1. I would be very interested in participating in a SFR six sentence. My one concern is the number of reads and comments a participant needs to make. Reading and commenting on more than ten or so blogs can get time consuming, especially if you want to leave more than "Good Six!" type comments.

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  2. Hi Melisse,
    Yep, that is a valid concern which is why we've decided to limit it to 20 entrants at the beginning, on a first come/first served basis. We'll see how that works, and how much interest there is. I'm sure there will be other SSS type groups springing up.

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  3. Thanks for the shout out :D TIN CAT seems to be eagerly awaited by a few, so I'm hoping it'll pay off.

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  4. You're welcome, and I can't wait. Nothing like some pre-release buzz to kick off with. :)

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  5. Love the recap of your resolutions, Pippa. You done good! What a year you've had.

    I'm also looking forward to the SFR Brigade Presents...(or whatever it's finally dubbed) version of SSS. Hope to actively participate in this one. Being given a week to comment with a max of 20 entries per week should be much more doable for me. And probably most writers.

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  6. Thanks Laurie. Next time I feel like I'm not getting anywhere I need to look at those and remember how much I did get done while feeling like that, lol.
    I think we've had enough interest in the blog ring. Need to decide on a title next week so I can set up for it!

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