I find it hard to believe that another year is about to come to its close.
However, the calendar indicates that a New Year is about to begin, so I guess it’s true. I also find it hard to believe that it’s going to be 2010. I remember when the year 2000 rolled around, rearing its Y2K face with a bright and somewhat sardonic smile. It’s hard to believe that ten years have already passed since then.
At the end of 2008, I had said that I was going to slow down. Instead, the opposite seems to have happened and I went full speed ahead, all pistons moving, into 2009. It has been an incredible year for me, personally and professionally. Taking a look back over the year, it’s a wonder I had time to stop and smell the roses, figuratively speaking.
The year started off with a bang. The Written Word Book Two: Silent Communication was published in April of 2009 with The Written Word Book Three: Demons following in May, The Other Book One: Tempting Darkness in June and The Written Word Book Four: The Silence of Sound in July of 2009, all from Cobblestone Press.
But I wasn’t finished yet. Oh, no. Far from it. You’d think I would have learned to slow down after 2008 where I had nine books published, but apparently not.
Cupids Delight was published in August of 2009 from Breathless Press and garnered me some of the best reviews of my career. Then one of my pieces was included in Book: The Sequel in May of 2009. Following on the heels of those two books, I wrote a novella for the Three Day Novel Competition during Labour Day weekend in August of 2009.
Now, a normal author would stop there. That would be enough to fill up a year right? But oh, no, it seemed I was only warming up.
After taking part in the Muse Online Writers Conference, I decided to self publish all of my previous workshops in ebook format so that they would be available for writers or aspiring writers who wanted to try their hand at the craft of writing. So, in September of 2009, I self published Write Now, The Muse, Serial Lives-Serial Stories, Short Stories-Tall Tales and How To Promote When You Don’t Know How. I even offer them for free on my web site. Gotta help people save a little money in this rough economy, right?
In October 2009, I self published a book that I am incredibly proud of. I had always wanted to do a book that was a compilation of my book reviews. Books have always played a bit part in my life, obviously, and I had wanted to do a book of book reviews for quite some time. So I went ahead and did it. The book consists of over one hundred reviews and I’m still chuffed that I’ve written that many reviews and more.
I figured that was it for my year, but the year had other ideas for me. In November of 2009, Breathless Press published Starlight Starbright and The Awakening. I also took part in National Novel Writing Month, where you pledge to write 50, 000 words of a novel in thirty days. My books don’t run anywhere near that length and the longest novel I had ever written was just under 30, 000 words. However, I persevered and I actually did it! I won NaNoWriMo with 53, 000 words and I’m still writing the novel. I can’t believe that it’s not done yet! It’s now over 55, 000 words and climbing. I hope to finish and edit it in 2010.
December of 2009 has been an incredible month. Cobblestone Press published Chasing Beauty and Breathless Press published Hard. Hard has been an incredible experience for me. Breathless Press published it as their first m/m romance and it is the first book to be published in their new m/m line. I had never had a book lead a whole line before and am incredibly honoured.
Even better, it’s a best seller! It’s now sold just over three hundred copies and has climbed from the Number Ten to the Number Six spot in the All Romance EBooks Best Sellers list! A fantastic way to end out the year, don’t you think? Even better, I turned in Harder, the sequel, to Breathless Press and it’ll be coming out in January of 2010! Woohooo!
In total, that’s a staggering seventeen books published in 2009, not including my NaNoWriMo titled Witchcraft and Anchovies or the Holiday novella Yuletide Magic that I wrote for friends and family this year.
I have never had such a productive year and I hope I don’t have another one like that. Though incredibly satisfying and gratifying, I didn’t have a moment to breathe. Between writing, editing, working on book trailers for Night Wolf Design, writing articles for The American Chronicle and The Examiner and working full time, I didn’t have a moment to spare.
Most people who interview me ask me how I’m able to accomplish everything I do. The truth is, I don’t know. I just do it and keep doing it. But I mean it this time: I’m taking 2010 to write. I have a few ideas that I want to work out on paper and I want to take the time to breathe, to appreciate everything I have.
That may not happen, and I know that, but hopefully I’ll get a little breathing time. Right?
Personally, the year has been full of ups and downs. My husband, Robert, and I celebrated our third year wedding anniversary on June 9th, 2009. It really doesn’t feel like we’ve been together that long (and trust me, in the gay community, three years is like forever). But you know what they say: when you’re with the right person, every day feels like the first day.
I also moved around a lot in my work. I started out the year working for Public Works and Government Services, moving to The Treasury Board Secretariat, then on to Citizenship and Immigration. From there, I went to work for Elections Canada again, and then to where I find myself now working for Health Canada. Oh the joys of contract work. But I’ve been able to work on some lovely projects, achieve some incredible things and work for and with some wonderful people.
The Husband left a job he hated and moved on to something he loved, which is lovely. In the end, if this year has taught me anything, it’s that it’s not the money that matters; it’s whether or not you’re happy doing what you’re doing.
My memoir, One Step at a Time, was supposed to be published in November by Bluechrome but it seems they went belly up and disappeared. I do hope to have it published in the future, but that really took a lot out of me. I do hope to see it published some day, but I do know that things happen for a reason, whether I like it or not.
Thankfully I love what I do and I love that I get to write. Even better, there are people out there that love what I write, which is the greatest gift a writer could receive. I have a family that is supportive, a loving Husband, a flourishing writing career. So in the end, I have lots to be thankful for.
This makes the bad stuff of 2009 seem all that much less difficult, thank goodness. Here is hoping that 2010 brings new highs, new happiness and new things to cheer about!
Happy New Year!
Jamieson
Happy New Year!
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For the last two years, I have spent the start of each year at an artist
residency in America on a residential fellowship. This year, I'll be at
home. Coun...
6 hours ago













