As the title implies, 2017 was a flaming bag of hot smelly dog turds for a lot of reasons, mainly political. Oddly enough for me, however, it was actually a pretty great year on a personal level. Let’s do a point-by-point rundown:

• The Kickstarter for Steampunk Universe funded and backers received their ebooks
• I started a Patreon where you can read my stories for just $1 a month
• I entered and was a finalist in the Green Ronin Lost Citadel contest
• I had a great time creating my first roleplaying game supplement
• One of my reprints got great reviews in a book called Memento Mori
• I wrote my first collaborative story with the amazing Maurice Broaddus, which will be appearing in print in 2018
• I sold 3 or 4 other reprints that will be appearing in 2018
• I started a really kickass D&D group
• I got a job I love, teaching eighth grade
• I visited Toronto to see the At Home With Monsters Exhibit

Big shout-out to ADHD medication, which I started in January 2017, and without which this list of accomplishments probably wouldn’t exist.

Of course, none of these things involved Getting A Novel Published, which has been my focus all year. But I am halfway through writing my young adult horror novel, and I’ve gotten some excellent feedback from pros I really respect, so I will finish it this year. It’s hard, when you have ADHD, to keep your eye on the prize where long projects are concerned. I’m constantly tempted to do other things, because switching is easier than seeing it through. But I’m going to finish writing this YA novel, and then I’m going to go back and do some edits to my first novel, and then I’m going to start submitting them both to agents and publishers.  Here’s to laser-like focus in 2018.

What are your plans for 2018, dear friends?