A Look at 2009 -- A Week Late!

So, last week I inadvertantly jumped ahead a week in my blog topic, so this week, I'm going to write about last week's topic. Sigh. I guess I truly couldn't wait for 2010 to get started!

In looking back over 2009, I'm astounded at how many things changed in my life. I began 2009 as an unpublished author; amazed, excited, and more than a little scared about the release of my first book, A TASTE OF MAGIC, and my second, A STROKE OF MAGIC. I hadn't received my first official review yet, and I'd yet to know the joy of recieving reader e-mails.

Also, 2009 is the year my eldest entered adulthood and left her high school years behind for her first year of college. Wow. I remember the day she was born in perfect clarity: her chubby cheeks, those so small hands and feet, and the terrifying fear that I was responsible for keeping her alive and happy. Scary stuff when you're barely 21! Even scarier when I realize she's now 19, and only two years younger than I was when she was born.

But wow, has she made me proud (and continues to do so).

2009 also brought grief in the loss of my aunt and god-mother: an amazing woman filled with love, kindness, and creativity. I miss her every day, and don't expect that will ever change, but she also gave me so many gifts to treasure.

And, of course, the economy has hit us hard. We've been without medical insurance for over a year now (hopefully, that status will change soon!), and we've really had to tighten the belt around here to keep things going. Weirdly, though, we're also closer than ever before.

Delightfully, my husband sold his first book in a three book deal in 2009. I'm so excited to see him experience all of the firsts that I've already gone through. And it's pretty darn special to share something so awesome with him.

So, as I sit here in the beginning days of 2010, I'm still shocked at all the changes--both the good and the bad, but I'm focusing on the good. My third book, A BREATH OF MAGIC, will be released at the end of April, seeing my second oldest graduate from high school and make the transition into college, and watching my younger two continue to grow and experience life.

I'm happy, I'm loved, and really...I can't think of a better way to end one year and step into a new one.