The Good and Bad of my Blogging Hiatus

“Life can be like a roller coaster…
And just when you think you’ve had enough,
and you’re ready to get off the ride
and take the calm, easy merry-go round…
You change your mind, throw your hands in the air
and ride the roller coaster all over again.
That’s exhilaration…that’s living a bit on the edge…that’s being ALIVE.”

–Stacey Charter

Here’s some news from my recent blogging hiatus:

The Good News

Breathe was listed in RT Book Reviews magazine as a must-have from RT readers alongside some of my favorite authors and books. The mention (on page 3) was part of the very exciting feature article “It’s Raining Men: Tackling The Torrents Of Male/Male Romantic Fiction Flooding The Market.” Huge thanks to all who mentioned the book to RT!
The Happily Ever After blog at USA TODAY featured the trailer for TAKE ME HOME. Thanks to author Robin Covington for the mention!
TAKE ME HOME placed first in the Erotica category of the 2012 FTHRW Lories Best Published contest.
TAKE ME HOME also won first place in the Contemporary category of the 2012 Oklahoma RWA’s International Digital Awards.
For the first time, books from digital-first publishers won in the Romance Writers of America RITA awards.
My friend and critique partner’s first book Fairyproof is out this week (print is out now). Congrats, Constance Phillips! So proud of you!

The Bad

I lost my writing buddy in July. He held on for almost a year since his bad crash the vet thought he wouldn’t make it through. For most of that year, he did really well, so it was hard to see him lose all his strength and energy in the very end. He definitely wasn’t ready to go, and I wasn’t ready to let him. It’s not quite the same in my writing room anymore. I kept plugging away on the final edits for How to Save a Life (and it was nice to have something else to focus on), but it also made the moment bittersweet without him there.

Good-bye, my bubby. You made every day special in so many ways. Writing sure is lonelier without you.