Well, Hello 2015!

...and a Happy New Year to you all!!!

Wow!

Another year has flown by in the blink of an eye but I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year with those near and dear to you.

After two months of having either my husband at home or my children off school with illness, today is the first day that I have been home alone and able to get down to some work. So, to kick off my blog for 2015, it's time to look back over the past twelve months and come up with some goals for the next twelve months.

The Year in Review...

2014 was, to put it bluntly, a bit of a nightmare and I am very glad that it's over.

My husband was made redundant at the beginning of the year and then found himself starting yet another new job at the end of the year, which we hadn't planned on, so there was a lot of stress and upheaval in the Rowl household as I'm sure you can imagine. Thankfully everything seems to have worked out for the best but I hope he gets to finish this year with the same employer. My birthday was also a bit of a strange one and we have been plagued by various viruses over November and December, but - touch wood - we are all better now.

Writing proved a massive struggle last year, with my mind elsewhere rendering me unable to focus on projects as well as I would have liked. Amidst all the chaos and uncertainty of those early months, I had to force myself to sit down and write A Girl Called Malice and it took absolutely everything out of me, both mentally and physically as I fought to get Alice's story down on paper. I succeeded in getting Alice's story out within a year of Popping the Cherry, which was my biggest target, alas what turned out to be my biggest triumph of 2014 (and my writing career to date) also turned out to be the most disheartening experience.

For whatever reason, readers aren't picking up my pride and joy. Despite the amazing reviews when readers do give Alice a chance, sales are still in the lower end of double figures (as far as I can tell). I would be lying if I stated that it didn't bother me. My already shaken confidence and wavering self-esteem took a beating which, combined with everything else going on around me, took its toll and I guess I hit burnout or something like that. Needing time to regroup, I abandoned my NaNoWriMo project and decided on a complete break once the revisions for the re-released Christmas is Cancelled had been completed.

I spent the last two months of 2014 doing the bare minimum, instead enjoying time with my husband and children and relaxing (read: recovering from yet another lurgy the kids brought home from school) over Christmas and New Year. I'm pleased to say that the break has done me the world of good and I am finally getting ideas once more, where prior to the break I had nothing. My self-imposed break also gave me plenty of time to reflect on just how much I have achieved in a relatively short space of time so I ended the year on a positive note.

Now with all of that out in the open, it's time for me to continue my annual tradition of setting new year's resolutions for the year ahead but first, let's check back to see what my resolutions for 2014 were and see how I did...

1) Read 26 books

Despite my fears that I wouldn't be able to get much reading done, I am delighted to say that I smashed my small target of a book a fortnight and ended the year having read 60 books. Woohoo!!

2) Get another 'Allie' book published

I managed to achieve this by default with the publication of my short story, For One Night Only, being released as a standalone 'Flirt' in addition to the anthology that was released in 2013. Considering the year I had, I am still chalking this one up as a win even though it wasn't new material.

3) Volunteer at a charity event

2014 saw me hang up my fundraising boots in favour of volunteering yet I successfully completed both in the end. First off, I took part in a 'bag packing' event at a local supermarket in aid of Mummy's Star, which will continue to be my chosen charity for 2015. Secondly, my husband and I accompanied our children as they walked 10K around Tatton Park to raise funds for Marie Curie, smashing their fundraising target so I am very proud of them indeed!

The Year Ahead...

The good news is that I enter 2015 in a much better state of mind than 2014 ended and I am raring to go.

My childrens' birthdays both fall within the next seven days, with my daughter turning 6 and my son turning 8, so my big push to get the new writing year started will have to wait until next week - as ever - but I shall be getting on with research and planning in the meantime. Speaking of birthdays, this year is a biggie for me...yup, this is the year that I turn 40 and I am determined to celebrate it somehow!!!

Anyway, enough waffling, it's time to come up with my resolutions for 2015...

1) Read 50 books

Buoyed by the success of last year, I've raised my game for 2015 and pledged to read 50 books which you can keep up with here:

2015 Reading Challenge

Aurelia has
read 2 books toward her goal of 50 books.

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2 of 50 (4%)

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2) Get at least two books written and released

With two books still under contract for Facing the Music #3 and #4, I am not short of work to be getting on with, especially since the deadlines for both have already passed. [Oops] They are both full-length novels though, so I doubt I will get both of them released this year but they surely can't be as difficult to write as A Girl Called Malice (she says!). 

Now I know that I should make both Facing the Music stories a priority since they are already contracted, however I really don't want to make my readers wait any longer than they have to for the sequel to Christmas is Cancelled, Phil's story, so that is my other main target for 2015 in addition to Facing the Music #3.

Ideally, I'll get a new 'Allie' book finished too, but one thing I've learned from the past 12 months is that sometimes things happen beyond my control and not to beat myself up.

3) Get disciplined

I know that I usually have a charity/community theme for my third resolution and I will continue to volunteer for charity events that come up but I feel this resolution needs to take precedence. It is no secret that I am an internet junkie and I will often lose entire mornings or afternoons on social media with nothing to show for it. This year, I need to get tough and be more disciplined. While the kids are at school, I need to limit my 'social' time to short coffee breaks and lunchtime, then use the rest of my alone time to write or research so don't be alarmed if you see a lot less of me between the hours of 9am to 3pm, from Monday to Friday.

Can I just add that this is the quite possibly the most challenging resolution that I have ever set for myself? EEK!!

And if that lot isn't enough...

Way back in September 2012, I set myself a goal of having 'x' amount of books published by the time I turn 40. The 'x' ranged from five to ten so eventually plumped for the middle ground of seven. The good news is that *technically* I have already had six books published, however that includes a re-release so should perhaps only be considered as five which leaves me with just nine months to get two books released.

No pressure then, eh? Ha!!

Over to you, have you set any goals for 2015?

How did your 2014 go?

Related Posts

> Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014
> Summer is over so it's back to work...
> Happy New Year for 2013
> Are You A Goal Setter Too?
> New Year's Resolutions for 2012

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014...

Impossible!

How can 2013 be over already?! o_O

I hope you have all enjoyed a very happy Christmas and wish you peace and happiness for the coming year.

Thank you all so much for taking to time to read my blog and following my journey. I feel like I have come a long way in the two and a bit years I've been writing and cannot believe I have already celebrated my first anniversary of becoming a published author.

Time really is flying by though and I intend to embrace it, saving my weekends and school holidays for family time, then knuckling down during school hours to get my work done rather than fritter it away online.

The Year in Review...

2013 saw the launch of Allie A. Burrow and the publication of my Young Adult/New Adult series but it has been a steep learning curve as I had to battle with writing to demand, rather than writing the story that is shouting the loudest. I really need to get disciplined and not be so distracted by the internet though; social networking and promotion is a major timesuck and before I know it, a whole morning has passed. Oops.

Way back at the start of the year, I set my usual challenge so what were my resolutions for 2013 and how did I do?

1) Read 50 books

I am absolutely thrilled to have achieved this and actually had a month or so to spare. Writing commitments meant I had to squeeze in reading time in clusters, going long spells without picking up a book and then having a major binge, but hey, I did it. I reached my goal without having to count 2-in-1's and 3-in-1's as separate books ;-)

2) Self-publish my first novel

Alas, I didn't achieve my goal of self-publishing but only because I landed a book deal with a major publisher so I'm not in the slightest bit disappointed. I'm still waiting on some legislation to go through Parliament that directly affects the Peer Pressure series I am writing anyway. I had also hoped to finish Their Last Goodbye but this is still stuck in the pending pile due to getting on with my Popping the Cherry series.

3) Take part in another sponsored event

I smashed this one by taking part in not one, but two sponsored events. First was my inclusion in the On Yer Bike event for Brain Tumour Research and then came the biggie with my skydive to raise funds for Rainbow Trust. I was also a volunteer for one of the Race 4 Life events, rather than a participant, which was incredibly rewarding.

The Year Ahead...

I am coming into 2014 with another book deal under my belt and a lot of plans. Not only am I contracted for Popping the Cherry books two, three, and four, 2014 also sees Christmas is Cancelled switching publishers and being relaunched in time for Christmas. I'd also really like to get the sequel written rather than making readers wait until 2015!

With all of this in mind, it is time to come up with my resolutions for the year ahead, sticking with my usual personal, professional and community themes, so here goes...

1) Read 26 books

I've had to really cut back on my reading challenge for 2014 as there is just too much writing to do and deadlines to be met. If I can average a book a fortnight though, I will end the year happy.

2) Get another 'Allie' book published

Although Allie isn't my main writing persona, I would like to at least keep it ticking over by releasing a minimum of one book a year. Looking ahead at my writing schedule, I'm not sure where I will fit it in but I will give it a darned good go.

3) Volunteer at a charity event

You'll be relieved to know I am hanging up my fundraising boots for a year to give everyone a break from my 'please sponsor me' posts. I have already chosen my charity for 2014 though, Mummy's Star, will assist them in any way that I am able. I would like to volunteer at another charity event during 2014 and if that is on behalf of Mummy's Star then all the better.

So there we have it!

Over to you, have you set any goals for 2014?

How did your 2013 go?

Related Posts

> Happy New Year for 2013
> I'm Throwing Myself Out of a Plane
> On Yer Bike, Aurelia
> New Contract Signed!
> Signed, sealed, but not quite delivered
> What is 'The Call'?
> Time for an update...
> New deal and changes afoot

I'm Throwing Myself Out of a Plane!

Does anybody remember item three of my New Year's Resolutions for 2013?

3) Take part in another sponsored event

I've been caught by the bug and would like to raise funds for a worthy cause again this year. It is currently a toss-up between doing the Race For Life again, or doing the Manchester Midnight Walk. I have to say, I really fancy doing the midnight one, and then maybe volunteer to be a marshall or carry out some other role for the Race For Life.

Well, this year, I'm really going for it, and...umm...I'm a little bit terrified!

EEK!

This July, I will be taking part in Jump in July! and doing a charity tandem skydive to raise funds for Rainbow Trust Children's Charity; a charity that I desperately hope I will never need, but feel buoyed knowing that they are out there, should the worst happen.

Rainbow Trust is a national charity that offers tailor made emotional and practical support to families with a child that has a life threatening or terminal illness. Since the charity was founded in 1986 they have supported approximately 15,000 families all over England.

Rainbow Trust relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and through the outstanding generosity of its supporters is able to help over 1,300 families a year throughout England. However, this is just 12% of the families that could benefit from its help. The charity’s vision is that one day all terminally ill children and their families will have access to a Rainbow Trust Family Support Worker.

Supporters like me... as well as a host of celebrity supporters including Austin Healey, Linford Christie, Alan Titchmarsh, and Trish Halpin (Editor of Marie Claire).

I have never done anything like this before, and I don't even like heights so this is a real challenge. Gulp! Not to mention the fact I don't generally take risks, preferring the safe and sensible, two feet on the ground kind of life. I'm trying really hard not to think about what 'could' happen and scare myself even more.

If you could please consider sponsoring me, it would make it all worthwhile. I need to raise at least £500 in sponsorship to be allowed to jump. You can text ROWL99 £5 to 70070 to sponsor me or go to my JustGiving page, where you can donate in a choice of currencies. 

Every single pound, Euro, and dollar helps, and your donation could make all the difference in getting me to my fundraising target, so please dig deep for this very worthy cause.

And of course, this is your once in a lifetime chance to make me to jump out of a plane, so what are you waiting for? 

Related posts

>> Happy New Year for 2013

IWSG: What a Difference A Year Makes

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time for...

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Seeing as it's also the start of a new year, I thought it would be good to look back over the past year.

If you'd have told me twelve months ago, that I would be published by Christmas and have a second contract under my belt by this time, I'd have probably laughed. Quite possibly, hysterical laughter, bordering on maniacal. Not because I didn't believe in my writing, but because it has all happened so fast, without the mass rejections I'd prepared myself for beforehand.

This was my goal as we entered 2012:

"I have two manuscripts on the go at the moment, 'The Masquerade Must Die' and 'Love in the Aisles', and I intend to finish the first draft of at least one of them during 2012.

Ideally, I will also revise and edit one of them and get my first query letter sent out but I don't want to go as far as making that a resolution - I would much rather wait until I had a worthy manuscript than rush it off because of a self-imposed deadline. Maybe I'll have it ready in time for next year's Mills and Boon New Voices competition and can go down that route instead, maybe not. I'll just have to wait and see how it goes."

So how did I do?

Well, The Masquerade Must Die is now called Pussy Kat, Pussy Kat (Where Have You Been?) and it will be book two in my self-published Peer Pressure series. Although this story is fully outlined, I suspect it will be 2014 before I can really get stuck into this one. What of Love in the Aisles then? Sadly, that too is languishing 'in the pipeline', having been shoved aside by one project after another. I will get to it, but it isn't one of my priority projects.

Instead, I started Their Last Goodbye and got 35,000 words into it. I even sent off a chapter and synopsis for the Mills & Boon Romance Fast Track, but wasn't at all surprised when it was rejected. Until I heard back from M&B, it was stuck in limbo as I couldn't really proceed in case I completely needed to change the heat level to suit them.

Then came the submission call-out for Christmas themed stories and it got rudely shoved to one side. It was almost like a switch flicking on, and I suddenly got it... writing, I mean. Overnight, my writing improved dramatically. Christmas is Cancelled became the first manuscript I ever typed 'the end' on, achieving my goal for the year. It was, of course, snatched up by Breathless Press (not to mention the contract I turned down from another epublisher) and meant I finished the year as a published author.

After that, I got the idea for my Peer Pressure series, but rather than go into that again, you can read all about it here. Now, it's back to Their Last Goodbye as the characters are getting upset at being ignored, and a dog barking inside your gets a little bit irritating. The story has already been back on the cutting room floor once, with the first couple of chapters getting a complete overhaul, and reading much better now as a result.

Later this year, my youngest starts school full-time so I will be able to make the switch from hobby to career, and I have to be honest, I can't wait. I even have my office ready and waiting so I can physically 'go' to work. In the meantime, I have to remember to make the most of her whilst she is at home as I will miss her enormously when she's at school all day. For now then, my writing time is limited to the two hours she is at nursery school and evenings, with the occasional weekend.

After the reaction, reviews and response I've had to Christmas is Cancelled, I am really starting to believe in myself - albeit in a paranoid, what if I can't match it, kind of way - but I know I am writing some good stuff right now and look forward to sharing it with the world.

Bring on the next twelve months!

Happy New Year for 2013

Another year gone in the blink of an eye, so that must mean it is Resolutions time again.

Okay let's start of with the recap, so what were my Resolutions for 2012?

Um... uh-oh!!

1) Shed that extra stone

I haven't got a clue if I've achieved this or not, as I haven't weighed myself in months. I doubt it very much, but my clothes fit well and I feel good in myself, and I certainly don't think I've gained either. I did at least do the Race For Life, albeit walking a lot of it, AND I jogged the Sport Relief 3-mile fun run with my year-old son, raising hundreds of pounds for very worthy causes.

2) Read 100 books

This one was cutting it very close, and resulted in a reading marathon to hit that elusive '100' on Goodreads.

2012 Reading Challenge

Aurelia B Rowl has
read 60 books toward her goal of 100 books.

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60 of 100 (60%)

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3) Complete the first draft of a full manuscript

Well, I did a lot better than that, wouldn't you agree? My first completed manuscript was released eleven days ago, and my second completed manuscript was also contracted and will be released this Spring under my other alter-ego.

Two out of three isn't bad - especially as I stomped all over that third one, which is partly why the others didn't do so well.

So what about my resolutions for 2013?

I'm sticking with the three - one personal, one professional and one other...

1) Read 50 books

After cutting it so close last year, and knowing the number of writing projects in the pipeline, I think just under one book a week should be plenty. If I read more, hooray, but I'd be happy to reach fifty anyway.

2013 Reading Challenge

Aurelia has
read 0 books toward her goal of 50 books.

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0 of 50 (0%)

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2) Self-publish my first novel

This year I want to finally finish Their Last Goodbye, and get that submitted, and then I want to return to Bye Bye, Black Sheep (Peer Pressure #1) and get that self-published this year. Obviously from September, I can treat writing as my job rather than my hobby, and my productivity will hopefully improve dramatically.

3) Take part in another sponsored event

I've been caught by the bug and would like to raise funds for a worthy cause again this year. It is currently a toss-up between doing the Race For Life again, or doing the Manchester Midnight Walk. I have to say, I really fancy doing the midnight one, and then maybe volunteer to be a marshall or carry out some other role for the Race For Life.

So what about you?
What goals have you set yourself for the year ahead?

Related posts:

> New Year's Resolutions for 2012 (13 December 2011)
> Off topic: Race for Life 2012 - for Nan... (18 January 2012)

> Off topic: Sport Relief 2012 (26 March 2012)
> My Poor Neglected Blog (29 June 2012)
> Update: New Year's Resolutions 2012 (20 July 2012)

Are You A Goal Setter Too?

I don't know about you, but I tend not to get into the short-term goals. I don't give myself a daily word count or a task that I must complete every day, or even every week, as I know I will fall off the wagon and struggle to get back on. But I do like longer-term goals...

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos

At the end of the 90's, I came up with a short list of things I wanted to have done before the year 2000, which included things like going to a football match and going to a concert, that kind of thing. I ended up cutting it pretty close but scraped in with the concert in December 1999. Phew! Next came the things I wanted to do before I was 30 and so on. Now another milestone is drawing ever closer...

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos

Yep, the big four-oh. GULP!

Top of the list of things to do before I'm 40 at the moment, is to have 'x' number of books published but I can't decide between a conservative five or a more ambitious ten. Or am I just setting myself up for a major fall by even thinking about it?

I should point out that I still have just over thirty-six months to do it, and writing will become my 'job' from next September when I have both kids at school, rather than something I have to try and find time for. And, of course, I have the first one is in the bag already. So what do you think, five or ten, or don't-go-there?

Are you a goal setter too? 
What kind of things would make it onto your 'Things To Do Before I'm 40' list?

New Year's Resolutions for 2012

It's coming up to that time again when I think about my resolutions for the New Year so I suppose I should assess how I got on with 2011's ones before I leap ahead into next year's ones.

So, what were they and how did I do?

I only made two resolutions this year so this will be brief - the first was to shed the extra 2-stone I was carrying post-baby (that I didn't manage to shift in-between pregnancies either); and the second was to read 50 books during the course of the year.