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| Best 9 of 2018 |
Last year was a doozy! For me, 2018 was a 'hit the ground running' kind of year. For one, my steampunk series, The Blackburn Chronicles was released by my publisher in an unusual way. The volumes dropped in January, February, and March with four novellas releasing between the individual books. They did that because of the cliff hangers and it worked out extremely well, but it was crazy for a while. Like going a little batty kind of busy, but I loved it.
I got to take part in a few really fun author events from a massive campaign for Science Fiction and Fantasy authors via the SFF Roundtable to some more intimate #WIPjoy and #MeetAWriter events on Twitter. It was super fun connecting with fellow #Booknerds or book DRAGONS as we prefer to be called. Meeting other authors and lovers of science fiction and fantasy books is always so encouraging for me. I also got plugged into a great group on Twitter at #WritingCommunity which is the most interactive group of users I've ever encountered. Lots of fun and support there.
As you all know a week after my birthday in the spring, I fell and separated my collarbone from my shoulder. It was not fun and involved a lot of doctors visits and physical therapy. I'm almost completely mended by now, but the whole ordeal did take some conferences I had planned to attend off the table. It was such a bummer as I really was looking forward to hanging out with some lovely authors and readers I'd met last year. I do hope to attend in 2019.
Though the injury grounded me for a bit, I did do some fun interviews over at Radio Retrofuture, Steampunk Radio, Speculative Fiction Cantina, and Lore Haven. One of the highlights of the year was when my article for Speculative Faith about fantasy and grace got a narration treatment from Christian Geek Central on Youtube! That was such a thrill to hear. So grateful.
Subscription box for Christian YA books, Anchor Chest, chose to feature the first book in my series, the Tremblers, in one of their first boxes. A Youtuber named KellysBookSpill did an unboxing and it was awesome. I loved the super cute steampunk swag too!
Heading into fall I was raring to get into the next series tumbling around in my head. So I did a lot of planning towards the end of summer and into early fall. Working out the logistics of space elevators and researching 40's glamor for the aesthetic I was trying to create. I'd been honing the ideas and found that #WIPjoy and all of the prompts really helped me think about what I was needing to fine tune before I started writing at full speed. So there was a lot of false starts with this book.
Finally, in an effort to kick off my new romantic suspense series, I did #NaNoWriMo and got my behind handed to me in like week 2. It was brutal. I started off so promising, but plot problems and that pesky shoulder injury prevented me from being a NaNo Winner this year. However, all was not lost. Taking part in the word sprints over at Realm Makers was fun and I met a lot of other speculative fiction authors and book lovers. If you don't know about Realm Makers you should check it out. Its an amazing organization for Christian speculative authors. They have a yearly conference that is awesome.
So, heading into this new year I am all about the new series. I've done a ton of research and had a blast doing it. I can't wait to share Veridian with all of you!
I'm taking a breath from the massive push that was all of last year and making sure I read...a lot. I need the release and also the fun of diving into a world that I get to watch unfold without a clue as to what will happen. I'm open to suggestions for reads. I plan on tackling my to be read pile with gusto.
Until next time...RB
Follow Charlotte, a young Victorian debutante who must brave a world of air ships and dangerous rouges to stop a deadly plague in YA steampunk thrillers, The Blackburn Chronicles.
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| The Blackburn Chronicles |