From 2014 to 2015
At the end of every year I look back on what I did in the past year and what I’m looking forward to in the next one. I’ve tagged these posts taking stock if you want to see how the last five years have gone. Books and Stories Published
Last year I didn’t have a new novel published, but the paperback edition of Inheritance came out in the US in September. In the UK/Australia/New Zealand, the entire Adaptation series (including Adaptation, Inheritance, and the ebook novella Natural Selection) was released.
I also had one new short story published: “The Twelfth Girl,” a retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” in the anthology Grim (edited by Christine Johnson, published by Harlequin Teen).
Finally, my story “Good Girl,” which was originally published in Diverse Energies, was reprinted in the anthology Futuredaze 2: Reprise (edited by Erin Underwood and Nancy Holder, published by Underwords).
Places Visited
In 2014 I visited New Orleans (for the first time) for Romantic Times; Orlando for LeakyCon; Indianapolis (for the first time) for a book event; Seattle to visit schools and libraries; Tulsa, Oklahoma (my first visit) for the Nimrod writer’s conference; and Austin for the YALSA Literature Symposium. I also spent a week in Wyoming at the Launchpad Writers Workshop, which was a fantastic week of astronomy lessons for writers. Oh, and I visited Colorado, which I do every year because my parents live there.
Life Online
I spent a lot of time in 2014 working on Diversity in YA, both the website and on tumblr. The blog posts I’m most proud of are my statistics posts for the year: an analysis of book challenges and how they affect diversity and my annual LGBT YA by the Numbers. Meanwhile I spent even more time on my own tumblr and wrote 6,000 more tweets.
The State of My Writing
My biggest accomplishment in 2014 was finishing another novel. I posted a picture of it on instagram. This was a very different kind of writing experience for me because the novel is a contemporary realistic story — no magic or science fiction! — and I wrote it by feeling my way through, scene by scene. I knew from the beginning how it would end, and I simply aimed at the ending and experienced the story unfurling in that direction.
That is basically the opposite of how I’ve written everything else, and it was an eye-opening experience. It was a hard book to write, but it was also the easiest thing I’ve ever written. I can't say more about it right now, but I want you — my readers — to know that I’ve been writing something for you. This book won’t be coming out in 2015; it’s too late in the publishing calendar for that. I hope I’ll be able to tell you more about it soon, but the fact is, publishing is really really slow. Just remember that even if you don’t see something new from me right away, I haven’t stopped writing.
I say this because sometimes I get messages from readers that say, “I love your books please don’t stop writing!” And I want to assure you that I won’t. Good things take time, and I want to give you something good. Meanwhile, thank you for your patience.
(And I should add: If you want to know the minute I have something new for you to read, you can sign up for my newsletter.)
Looking Forward to 2015
I will have something new for you to read in 2015, though it won’t be a novel. My first short story for adults — or at least, not written for YA — will be coming out this spring/summer, and I’m very excited to share it with you! It’s a crossover between historical and horror, and it’s something I never thought I’d write. When I have information on where you can get it, I’ll let you know. It will be available for everyone to read.
There will also be something more from me next year, but right now I can’t say anything about it. So stay tuned! I’m really excited about this thing.
I think that 2015 is going to be a really great year. Happy new year, everyone!