2017: A Year in Review

Farewell, 2017. The door is barely shut behind us, and already we are looking ahead to all that 2018 promises. I thought it would be fun to do a 2017 recap before we fully dive into all the plans and excitement coming in the months ahead.First of all, how did I do on my 2017 Writing Goals?Well, I finished editing Minstrel's Call, though I have not yet hit the "publish" button.I wrote the rough draft of Turrim Archive book #2.I began outlining Turrim Archive book #3.I didn't even look at my Cinderella retelling... but my illustrator has been working hard on the illustrations, and that is motivating me to want to polish that up.I wrote several short stories, and one children's book.I did write and edit more diligently... but everything took longer than I had planned. Getting distracted by cyber-space is still an issue... but I'm working on it.I sold 157 e-books and 23 paperbacks of my books.2017 ReadingI read 66 books in 2017! That's... a LOT more than I had planned. But it was fun, and I plan to do a Top Books of 2017 post in the near future.2017 BloggingSome notable blogging events happened here - despite quite a few months of being quiet.I kicked off the year with February is Fantasy month and it went amazingly well. That will be returning this year, for sure!Then there were the Silmarillion Awards in July, which were super fun. Nominees were nominated, votes were tallied, awards were presented... it was a blast. I hope to do them again this year.It was not my best blogging year... but it was still in the top 3, which is fairly solid despite all the breaks and hiatuses... hiatusi...? I took throughout the year due to Grayden and editing and looming deadlines. Here are a few notable stats:10,727 pages viewed.My best month was July, with over 2,000 views. (Thank you, Silmarillion Awards)My top post for the year was when we opened the nominations of the Silmarillion AwardsMy top 10 most viewed posts for the year were:Nominations Are Open2nd Annual Silmarillion AwardsFebruary is Fantasy Month ReturnsFantasy Story ChallengeSilm Awards Phase 2Secondhand LionsA Hobbit Birthday PartyAnd the Most Nefarious Villain Is...Draven's LightTolkien CelebrationHowever, none of these have yet knocked my #1 most viewed post of all time out of 1st place... which was: Ring Around the Rose: Beauty and the BeastPeople found my blog through searches, and these are always entertaining. Some of the most interesting from this year were:

• Tauriel
• Rose.Writing
• What is a pirates murdered
• Monster Bed
• Anne Hathaway Hair Ella Enchanted
• Unpronounceable names of fantasy books

The top three searches that bring people to my site are:

• Rose
• Fairy Tales
• Boromir

2017 Life HappeningsThe most notable life-happening of the year occurred on April 2nd when Grayden Erebor was born into our family.We bought a piece of land and have been working on house plans.My girls took Irish dance and had a recital.Leiana learned to swim, and Nathalie learned some of the basics of swimming, as well.We traveled to Chicago, Nashville, and Arkansas.Derek and I made new friends, played games, watched movies, and sat up late in the evenings discussing Turrim Archive, world-building, outlining, and marketing ventures.All in all... it was a pretty good year.How was your year, dear Reader? What are your hopes and dreams for 2018?