A Look Back at 2012

The new year is almost upon us here on the East Coast in the USA. I just put the baby to bed and opened a bottle of champagne with my husband! It’s been an absolutely amazing year, and I wanted to take a few minutes to give thanks and reflect on all that has happened both personally and professionally.

The best part of 2012? I had a baby!!! The moment I first kissed his beautiful little head was the best moment of the year. Maybe my whole life. Of course, the pregnancy was tough with Gestational Diabetes and high blood pressure. Labor was nearly heart-breaking. I had prepared for months to have a natural med-free hypnosis birth, but Andrew just wasn’t cooperating. After 30+ hours of natural labor and a fading heartbeat from the baby, I finally gave in to meds and sadly ended up with a c-section. It was an emotional experience, to say the least, but one that ended in sheer joy as I held my healthy baby boy in my arms.

Publishing the final 2 books in the Peachville High Demons series was also emotional for me. I wanted so badly to publish Demons Forever before the baby came in June, but I couldn’t think clearly about the story and had to push it back. I lived in a fog for a while after he was born, happy but exhausted! When I finally got back to work on the book, I realized the words weren’t coming as easily as I’d hoped. Pushing the book’s release date back was a tough decision and one that broke my heart, but my fans stood beside me and supported me all the way. That was truly one of the best parts of 2012!

Demons Forever finally released December 21, 2012, and I have been so grateful for all the amazing reviews and for the great sales. The first week of its release, I hit the highest Amazon sales rank of my career at #184 and was on top of many lists, including Teen Hot New Releases! This was a dream come true for me!

Rival Demons, published in January, also made Amazon’s Top 100 ebooks of 2012 for Kids and Teens! I couldn’t believe it!!! So many exciting things happening!

 

And I can’t forget the publishing contract I signed this year with Sea Lion Books!!!! They are already hard at work on the graphic novel adaptation of Beautiful Demons, and I can’t wait to see the first images. It’s going to be so amazing!!

I also wanted to give a shout out to my favorite reads of 2012. I didn’t have as much time to read fiction this year as usual, because I was spending all my time reading books about babies and pregnancy, haha. I am setting a goal to read at least 20 books in 2013!! Here are the best 5 books I read in 2012:

1. WOOL (omnibus) by Hugh Howey – This is an absolutely amazing book!!! It blew me away and had me up all night reading. I love dystopian futures and I actually love to read about people living underground. Don’t ask. I have no idea why I love it, lol. Maybe it goes back to my love of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm? Several of my favorite video games take place underground too (Arx Fatalis!), so the setting of this book already had me from the start. What unfolds beyond page 1 is pure edge-of-your-seat awesome. A must read. And it’s an Indie title! Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes
2. GRASPING AT ETERNITY by Karen Amanda Hooper – I adored this book!! I have always been interested in past-life romances and reincarnation, so I was dying to read this book. It certainly did not disappoint, and I highly recommend this young adult romance. I read this book while up in the middle of the night with the baby and found myself staying up to read it even after he had fallen asleep! Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes
3. ANATHEMA by Megg Jensen – I loved this book. It drew me in right from page one. I had to know what was going to happen to Reychel. Can you imagine living as a slave your whole life and never really knowing what was going on in the outside world? Having to shave your head every day? Having to be branded by your master as his property? I completely sympathized with Reychel and wanted desperately for her freedom. The book is full of twists and turns. This series is actually complete and I am looking forward to reading the rest of it next year. Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes 
4. MATCHED by Ally Condie – This is another dystopian future book. It had some elements that were reminiscent of books like Divergent and Delirium, but I actually liked this book better than those other two. The voice was beautiful and simple and felt real to me. I also felt the romance was more believable than in some other dystopian books. I have the full autographed set of this trilogy but haven’t had time to read books 2 and 3 yet. I hope they are just as good! Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes
5. THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin – I actually had a sort of love-hate relationship with this book. I loved the original story, but I super loved the story that began way in the future when the world had fallen apart and the vampire-ish creatures ruled the land. I am intrigued by stories about government experiments and such, so this was right up my alley. What I hated was that it did feel like two different books. I liked the first story and wasn’t ready for it to end so abruptly and take me so far into the future. Still, I have to say it was one of my favorite books I read this year. I know book 2 of this series, The Twelve, released recently, and I hope to read it soon. Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes

 

What were your favorite moments of 2012? Favorite books?

Thanks again to all my fans who supported me through this year! Here’s to an amazing 2013 with lots more wonderful books to enjoy. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!