Best of PBW 2017

On the last day of every year my tradition is to sort through the archives to see how things went, what I accomplished (or didn't) and get some ideas on ways in which to improve things with PBW and my writing life.

I put the blog on hiatus for almost five months this year, which gave me a much-needed vacation from the internet so I could focus on my work. That was probably the best thing I've done for myself creatively in a long time. Unplugging allowed me to get back to what I really love about writing: writing. For the length of my hiatus nothing got between me and the page. I came back with a better attitude, which I needed when I dumped Photobucket as my image hosting site and finally deleted two other static blogs. I have a lot of work to do on PBW to replace the images in the archives, but I'm on that now, and hope to have them all restored in a few months.

Behind the scenes I actually quit all of my freelancing work halfway through 2017 to become a partner in a publishing venture. It was a gamble, but I've been rolling the dice since traditional publishing and I parted ways. I can't get into details, but I'm happy, busy, and have the creative freedom to do what I do best. I hope to keep this job until I retire.

I think 2017 was one of my better years for being creative with my sewing. I took chances and tried some new things, like designing the two quilts pictured in this post, and making my first serious attempt at art quilting. I learned a lot, had fun and added some new techniques to my repertoire. Documenting everything on my Tumblr blog definitely helped keep me motivated.

On the downside, I tried to do NaNoWriMo this year but computer woes, work obligations and life in general forced me to bail about halfway through it. I did get out to four real-world NaNo write-in meetings, and joined a small writers' group I met in the process. My youngest also moved away to attend university, which left me and my guy on our own for the first time since 1989. I miss her every day, but I think I've adjusted fairly well to the whole empty nester thing. Making meals is the biggest challenge -- I've never cooked for just two people, so I'm downsizing recipes and figuring out how to use leftovers creatively.

I also did not lose the last 20 pounds for my ideal weight goal. I had some issues with my arthritis that kept me less active than I would have liked, and pretty much yoyoed between 145-150 lbs. for most of the year. After two years of it I'm also really tired of dieting, so that didn't help. The good news is that I didn't gain back any of the thirty pounds I lost in 2016. As of the writing of this post I am 149 lbs., so I'll say the official loss for 2017 is 5 lbs. I'll keep trying to take off the last fifteen pounds sensibly.

Many things shadowed 2017. Too many. We've all had to live with it as part of our daily lives now, so I'm not going to rehash it. I'd rather ask you that whenever and however possible, be part of the light.

As I did last year I'm going to skip the usual best-of links list. With the way the world is now I'm not investing in a theme or resolution for 2018; I just want to be supportive of my friends and family, do some good and generally not add to the evil and dark out there.

How was 2017 for you? Any plans for 2018? Let us know in comments.

Best of PBW 2016

On the last day of every year my tradition is to sort through the archives to see how things went, what I accomplished (or didn't) and get some ideas on ways in which to improve things with PBW and my writing life.

A lot happened with me professionally in 2016. I successfully negotiated my first publishing contract without an agent, and my work will now be published in French, also a debut for me. I went on my first writing job interview in person since 1989 (which I think is also the last time I put on pantyhose.) I booked ghost writing projects with my clients that will keep me busy writing fiction until Fall of 2017, and probably beyond that. As for the interview, I got the job -- I'm now working as a staff copywriter for a design firm -- and I will be part of a very talented team creating a new quarterly print magazine.

Losing 30 lbs. took almost the entire year, but I did it with sensible, healthy changes to my diet and exercise routine. It was slow and tough, but I hope to keep at it so I can lose the last 20 lbs. I need to shed in order to be at a healthy weight. I also successfully pulled off my secret art project for 2016 with Valerean, my anonymous Tumblr blog, which provided a lovely, private creative outlet. Participating in Library Thing's Early Reviewers Program brought eight free ARCs to my doorstep, saving me $149.27 on my 2016 book budget.

Personally I think I failed as much as I succeeded this past year. I put off trying to figure out indy publishing in 2015, and I haven't gotten back to that (and with my clients and the new job, I probably won't have a lot of time this year to dabble in it.) I let the pinheads annoy me so much I had to unplug from the internet and retreat to the ivory tower for a couple months to cool down. After more than a decade of blogging daily, and writing free fiction for my readers weekly for the last couple years, I had to curtail my posting to twice a week and back-burner the latest free story. I didn't have time to participate in NaNoWriMo last month. I didn't support my writer pals as much as I would have liked to.

In the big-picture sense, 2016 wasn't all sunshine and roses for most of us. I'm not going to get into why (that would attract more pinheads) but I'm sorry that the dark and evil prevailed so often.

Since I've taken off so much time from the blog in 2016 I'm going to skip the usual best-of links list. I'm also not heading into 2017 with a theme or resolutions or a huge list of goals. We live in dangerous times, and it's easy to see the new wave of dark and evil looming on every horizon. I'm simply going to focus instead on my family and friends, the work, and being part of the light -- however I can.

How was 2016 for you? Any plans for 2017? Let us know in comments.

Best of PBW 2015

On the last day of every year my tradition is to sort through the archives to see how things went, what I accomplished (or didn't) and get some ideas on ways in which to improve things with PBW and my writing life.

I continued my themeless trend of 2014 by not picking a theme for 2015 (or if I did, I can't find the post), but I did talk a bit about ghost writing, and how well my transition to becoming a full-time freelance ghost writer worked out. I finally found the nerve to end things with the agent, which was very tough but also my first significant step toward indy publishing.

Downsides were surprisingly minimal this past year, or maybe they just seem that way by comparison to all the scares and bears of 2014. All of the things that made me unhappy in my professional life vanished once I quit traditional publishing, and 2015 has been one of the better years in my personal life, so I see it as a win/win. While touring colleges for my kid I did get a chance to briefly revisit Savannah, my favorite American city, which made me quite happy. I didn't do too many new things, but the few I tried were fun, like signing up for Library Thing's Early Reviewer Program.

My writing life changed for the better in many major ways in 2015. On my own I managed to build a nice list of clients over the last twelve months. Although NDAs prevent me from talking about my work now, I walloped 2015 for completed writer-for-hire works (around 800K total), rejuvenated my love of writing, saw my work return to several bestseller lists, and established a reliable, livable income. And I didn't have to promote a single thing I wrote all year which, let me tell you, was absolutely wonderful. I also continued to write for my readers almost every week online via Just Write, and completed Club Denizen and Ghost Writer; and began work on Twenty-One, the first SF story I've written since 2009. If I nailed anything in 2015, it was definitely writing.

Here's a look back at what I think were the best posts of 2015:

January: Ban It Ten, Not So Smart, Story Carding

February: Ugly Beautiful, 5 Flickr Photo Freebie Sources, Thumb Rules

March: Blogger SPAM, Falling Up, WFH No-Nos

April: New Venture, Necessary Weapons, Walking It

May: Better Writing Days, Gone Post, Personal Legends

June: Toes and Throws, Secret Covers, Q&A with LJ Cohen

July: Pic Ten, Calendar Recycled Pocket Journal, Yes, Europeople, We Have Cookies

August: Summer at the Shelter, Creative Space, Nom Nom Nom Ten

September: Foot Shot Ten (also the most popular post of 2015 on PBW), Free Pics (Weekly!), Color Week #5: Color Collection Notebook

October: NaNoPrep Ten, Titlepalooza, Everywhere

November: Lost in the Details, Blockbuster Ten, NaNoNag #3

December: Gift Pass Ten, 100, Recycled Gift Wrap #2

Welcome 2016. Since I'm in a good place, may you help everyone else make at least one of their dreams or wishes come true.

Best of PBW 2014

It's the last day of the year, when I traditionally sort through the archives to see how things went, what I accomplished (or didn't) and get some ideas on ways in which to improve things with PBW and my writing life.

I don't think I ever officially picked a theme for 2014 (or if I did, I can't find the post), although I did work on finishing a lot of things I'd left undone. I also made my first public appearance as an author and attended my first convention since 2003, and scared the bejesus out of Shiloh Walker by crashing one of her booksignings.

While I had no fun dealing with a cyberattack on the blog this month, the scariest time this year was when my vision began rapidly deteriorating, a fact I kept from nearly everyone until after I had back-to-back eye surgeries. Despite all the stress involved (like the fact that I was completely conscious during operation #2) they not only restored my vision but made it better than it's ever been. I am so grateful to my doc and his crew, my family and friends who looked after me, and for the support from all my online pals. I can assure you I will also be be thankful every time I open my eyes for the rest of my life.

Although there has been plenty more to complain about, I find it very difficult to focus on the negative aspects of my 2014. I saw a wonderful writer and colleague find success on her own terms with a book I absolutely loved. Over the summer I took the road trip of a lifetime with my kid and finally made it all the way to Maine. With my writing I revisited an old favorite and I kept writing in a universe I love. After being unemployed for half the year I found new work opportunities that are interesting and fun.

In the wake of so many heartbreaking losses and tragedies that came along with 2014 I think the writing community needs to remember to be kind to each other, and that everything hurtful, petty and negative can be combatted with laughter and the work. Outside of family and friends those two may be the most important elements in any writer's life.

Here's a look back at what I think were the best posts of 2014:

January: Didn't Got Build, Perfection, You Like Me, You Really Like Me! For £50

February: Argh Ten, Split Seconds, Unlikely Inspiration,

March: Quilt Show Ten, Blast from the Past: Novelworld, Con Ten

April: New Cover Art, Will Write for Kittens, Spark My Story

May: Catching Threads, Floating Comma Hidden SPAM, Dreaming Up Story

June: LJ's Ten, The Art of Journals, By the Book

July: What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Sorry, No Fairy Dust, Blog No-Nos

August: Water? Glass? Both?

September: Job Gen, Crew No-Nos

October: NaNo Ten, Say It Ten, Such a Character

November: NaNoisms Ten, Bonsaing Inspiration, The 29

December: Gift No-Nos, Knock-Off No-Nos, Ten Things I Hate About Your Holiday Story

Welcome 2015. Take it easy on us, will you?

Best of PBW 2013

At the end of every year I sift through the archives to see how things went, what I accomplished and where I might improve things with PBW and my writing life. I think it helps me to reflect, plus it gives me something interesting to post on the last day of the year.

My theme for 2013 was a mystery, and pretty much remained that all year. While I did have some interesting revelations, tried some new things and reached a lovely career landmark, I also wrestled with a bunch of disappointments and challenges behind the scenes. I always tried to reach for the roses this past year, I think, even when I knew all I'd probably get was a handful of thorns.

The summer seemed particularly tough, as it rained almost every day for three months. While I love the rain I could have done without the accompanying lightning, which cut my available computer time in half. I think that was the worst the year threw at me, and for helping me through it I have to thank my friends and regular visitors here. You all kept me working on many days when I really didn't feel like getting out of bed at all. I'm hoping that 2014 delivers fairer skies for all of us.

On the plus side, I began publishing a new series in a new genre with a new publisher; the first novel was released in a new-to-me format. All of that was very exciting and inspiring, as I love to take new roads on the journey. I am exceedingly grateful to everyone who was involved in helping me launch Disenchanted & Co. -- it really was a dream come true for me.

Here's a look back at what I think were the best posts of 2013:

January: Title Logic, Writerisms, Journaling Small

February: Just So We're Clear, Booksigning No-Nos, Ten Author Collaborations We'd Like to See

March: Ten Things I'd Like to Write Before I Kick the Bucket, The Never Read Library, Lost and Found

April: The Hours, Be Happy We Work at Home, 750 Words

May: Another First, Inconveniences, Because Sometimes You Need a Prompt

June: Secret Rooms, Story Improvement, When I Can't Write

July: If Ideas Were Alligators, Ten Things Writers Say (and What They Really Mean), Golden

August: Aftermath, Recycling Books in 1892, SPAMmed Again

September: Building with Books, His Lordship Ten, Recycle X 5: Bookmark Keeper

October: Laws of Physics? Need Not Apply, Way of the Spinyback, Raised by a Barn

November: Trust Issues, Push, To Drawer or Not to Drawer

December: Sword of Unimaginable Annoyance, Gift No-Nos, BNE1

Welcome 2014. May you be as lucky for us as we all hope.

Best of PBW 2012

Every year I look back through the archives to see how things went, what I accomplished and where I might improve things with PBW and my writing life. It's a helpful exercise and it always surprises me in some way.

As I mentioned yesterday, my theme for 2012 was coloring outside the lines, and I made some serious progress with that by stepping outside my comfort zones, trying new things and pushing myself almost daily to be more creative. I was also very public about it, which is not the usual thing for me, but I think it helped to share the process. I can't say I was 100% successful in always coloring outside the lines, as I ended up dodging a few things I really intended to do, but overall I'd say I did well with the challenge.

Several people have mentioned to me that I wasn't as funny this year on the blog as I have been in years past. With all the self-improvement projects I've been working on (and the related stress) I think I probably have been too serious. Thus one of my goals for 2013 is to remember to be more entertaining on a regular basis.

The world didn't end in 2012, so a lot of Doomsday theorists have egg on their face. I'm proud to have been one of the people who lobbed some eggs. The world did change, however, and not always for the better. No year will ever be entirely happy, and we shouldn't expect that. What I hope is that what caused so much hatred and ugliness in 2012 will inspire us to come together in kindness and generosity, and do what we can to help each other more often. Silly, I know, but a girl can dream, right?

To summarize the rest, here is a list of:

Ten Things I Did in 2012

Lost a friend and an inspiration.

Decided to make a thousand pieces of art in a year (and did it.)

Discovered my fiction had become reality again.

Laughed at myself.

Read lots of great books.

Resurrected the second series I've had killed by a publisher.

Snapped some neat photos.

Sold a new series in a new genre.

Survived yet another Apocalypse.

Took an online art class.

Wrote a novel, and posted it online while I was writing it, and won NaNoWriMo in the process.

As for the blog, here are the posts I think were the best of PBW 2012:

January: Mistake Me For, Depression, Despair and Do Nothing, Domain Explained.

February: The 8-Track Mentality, The eBrush, Fiction Becomes Fact II.

March: Shopping for Vampires (guest post at Silk and Shadows blog), Carry On, Next Stop Irony.

April: Ten Things That May Indicate You've Written a McQuery, Unveiling Your Characters, EuroSPAMmed.

May: Ten (Weird) Things That Happened Last Week, Balloons, City in the Sky.

June: Ten Excuses for Your Paranormal Heroine Not to Have Sex with Your Paranormal Hero, Short Story Sins, Seeing Story.

July: LEGO® Logic, Ten Things That May Indicate You've Written a McOpener, Ten Things I Saw on My Trip to Savannah.

August: Wordsmithing, See for Yourself, Must Chuckle.

September: Poetry Sparks, Writers Visual Dictionary, Rio.

October: Mr. Ray Persists, Ten Things I Hate About Cover Copy, Making It Work.

November: Character Art, Making It, Battling.

December: Dreaming in Emerald, You Might be a Writer if . . . , Creative Collisions.

Welcome 2013. May you bring more good luck than bad for all of us.

Best of PBW

2011 altered my life in a lot of ways, so it was definitely a year of change. I said good-bye to my dad, which broke my heart, and saw the end of his many years of suffering, which helped me let him go. So did the many kindnesses shown to me by my family, friends and colleagues during those terrible weeks at the end of his life.

Professionally I gained a new editor who has been a dream to work with; I published my first YA novel, started writing a new series and ended another one. There have been some unexpected negative moments as well, mostly behind the scenes, and nothing I particular care to dwell on. I definitely bid farewell to the last illusions I had about the biz, but I also learned some valuable lessons, and I'm glad I did. I needed them.

I don't really like choosing the best book of the year anymore because I have so many great authors that I read, and I don't want to pick. I will say the most surprising novel I read this year was Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughhart, recommended here on PBW by Cloth Dragon. It was a completely delightful read from cover to cover. Which only goes to confirm my belief that we should all listen to our visitors and read what they're reading because so often they do recommend gems like this one.

Despite all the troubles I've dealt with over the last twelve month, I am looking forward to 2012. I see it as a chance for a personal renaissance, a time to set aside the old and get moving in new and different directions. I hope it's going to be a very creative year for all of us.

I've sifted through the archives and put together a list of what I think were this year's best posts on PBW:

January: Got ISSN?, Know Thy Hub, The Book Wubbie, 28th of Snowfall, Year of the Vulture.

February: Bad News, Worry and Death, Just. Not. Ready., Ten Signs That You May Be Writing a Literary McNovel, Writers Hospital.

March: Writer Math, If Manuscripts Were Lovers, You Know You're an Older Writer When . . ., Character Trading Cards.

April: Self-Publishing 911, Color Idea Cards, The Third and Seventh, Productive Task Listing

May: Writer Excuses for the Digital Self-Publishing Age, Promo No-No Ten, Apocalypse Not Now, Taking Shelter

June: Name Clouds, Facebookless, Novel Series Outlining, Butterfly People

July: Ten Things I Hate About Your World-Building, Reinventing the Bookmark Idea #3, Hunting Metaphors, Characters R Us

August: Green Journal, Character Keywords

September: Peace, Symbols and Words

October: You Are My Fire, Color Reference Notebook, NaNoWriMo Prep I: The Mountain, NaNoWriPrep II: Stand-Out Characters

November: SPAMcam, Ten Things Women Do Only in Novels, NaNoWriMo: Writing Your Dragons, Google Street View Weirdness

December: Ten Things I Would Like for Christmas, The Holiday TBR, Baggage

Adieu, 2011. Hiya, 2012.

Best of 2010

Toward the end of December I always catch myself thinking about what sort of year I've had. There are landmarks like my blog and my work backups that chronicle my writing journey, which is ever an interesting one. Often I count the number of personal art and writing journals I fill up in twelve months to measure how often I needed to retreat and work things out in private; I used twenty-three for 2010 (about average; a bad year can result in forty or more.)

In some ways it was a year of losses (something we're supposed to get used to as we get older, but I don't really see how one does that.) We lost another brother to cancer, and two more family members became gravely ill. We sent one kid off to university, and while that is exactly as it should be, it's been a difficult adjustment. I joined in NaNoWriMo, but losing my sweet boy Jak hit me very hard, and I didn't finish my November novel.

While I won't call it a loss, I finished StarDoc, the foundation series of my writing career, with the release of Dream Called Time in August. Not everyone was happy about the end of the series, but it was quite painful for me to let go, too. You won't find many midlist science fiction writers who are able to publish a ten-novel series; support from my loyal StarDoc readers gave me that privilege, for which I will always be grateful.

One of them more vile events of the year was when a reader alerted me to the fact that Scribd.com was using my work without my permission as part of their scam to swindle readers into paying for something I've provided for free for the last ten years. Even here on the blog I was ridiculed for going public with this information, but as it ultimately caused Scribd.com to back-pedal and allow their users to opt out of the scam, I think it was worth it.

On the upside of 2010, I wrote five novels, sold three more, moved into a new genre and will be writing new stories of the Darkyn, the bestselling series of my career. A generous reader turned one of my free e-books into an app; another created a beautiful and haunting video envisioning my characters. My German publisher has been producing a constant stream of gorgeous cover art for my work, and made the very first publishing video for my work. The cover art gods have also smiled upon a couple of my upcoming 2011 releases.

That, together with all the laughs, surprises and other bright spots helped keep me moving forward instead of wallowing in despair. Maybe the most valuable thing that 2010 taught me that there is always something to get you through, as long as you take the time to look for it, and appreciate it, and make it part of your daily life. PBW is one of those things, thanks to you guys.

I've gone through the archives, and here are what I think are the best posts from the blog for 2010:

January: Wordling Poetry, Ten Things That Indicate You and Your Story Should Part Ways, and Why God Must Be a Writer

February: Mash-O-Matic, Where's the Mothership?, The Backstory Cafe, and Is This Your Query?

March: Ten Things You Might Catch from Other Writers' Books, and Lady RaRa's Rules for Self-Promotion

April: Ten Holidays for Writers That We'd Like to See, Ten Things Writers Say About Their Books (and what they really mean), and Your Writing Horoscope

May: Coyote Con Chat Questions, and Character Therapy

June: Ten Things You Will Not Find In Dreamveil, In Character, and Ten Things I've Resolved to Do

July: Write Noise and Cloud Profiles

August: Ten Things I've Never Told Anyone about StarDoc

September: Six and a Half Weeks and Follow the White Rabbit

October: The Ten Grave Precepts of Writer Zen, e-Pestered, and Runaway Trains Part I and Part II

November: Hold the Apps, Please, Writing Gremlins, and Ten Things I Don't Want for Christmas

December: Ten Things Writers Say, and What They Really Mean (Holiday edition), Holiday Karma, and My Holiday Wish

I thank you all for stopping in to talk shop, share the laughs and keep me motivated even in the darkest times. My wish for all of you in 2011 is that you move forward, try new things, and help each other when you can. Look for the light, and wherever you are in your writing, your career and/or your life, it will find you.

Best of PBW 2009

Thanks to the economy 2009 was a tough year all the way around. Too many friends lost their jobs; too many businesses closed their doors (although I and a bunch of non-writer friends were able to help keep one from going under.) Publishing had more than its fair share of new problems along with the usual turmoil and squabbling. I don't think I'll be alone when I happily kick 2009 out the back door for good.

On the career front I had many blessings: wrote six books, sold rights to five, finished two novel series (Darkyn and StarDoc), began a new series (Kyndred) and am now working on a novel trilogy in a new-for-me genre that will debut in 2011. I'm grateful to my guy, my kids and my blogpals and visitors for helping me stay upbeat and focused on what's important.

Memorable moments from 2009: Cole joining the family, me joining Genreality, having a book rank in the Times BSL top twenty for only the second time in my career, photographing stuff for my year-long art project, PBWindow.

Unhappiest moments from 2009: not receiving the original, beautiful cover art I was shown for Rob's book, having eye surgery and the aftermath, having to give up LB&LI, nursing my kid through H1N1.

Weirdest Moment of 2009: No contest there, it was definitely discovering that a bird had nested in our grill.

My favorite PBW post of the year was Publishing 911, which also proved to be one of the most popular with everyone who stopped in during 2009.

The book that was the most useful to the writer me in 2009 was definitely Sage Cohen's Writing the Life Poetic. I hate to pick favorites in fiction, so I'll just say the most surprising novel I read in 2009 was Trick of the Light by Rob Thurman.

Some other fun posts from 2009:

January: Ten Things to Explain Why You Can't Update Your Blog

February: Ten Things Your Romance Novel Heroine Should Never Do, The 22 Immutable Laws of Publishing

March: Hate-Mail Fun, The RITA Drinking Game

April: Warning, Writing with the Stars

May: Cafe Temptation

June: The Seven Deadly Writing Sins, Writer Jeopardy, Ten Things I Hate about Your Antagonist

July: Phalluses and Fallacies, LBL&LI Virtual Workshop #5 -- Art Vs. Life

August: Mawked by Dawkness

September: What Goes Around, Ten Things You Probably Shouldn't Ask for During Contract Negotiations, The Promonator

October: Ten Chinese Cookie Fortunes, and What They Really Mean for Writers

November: The Last NanoPost, Ten Things That Appear in Your Novel, and What They Tell Me, Ten New Terms for Writer Woes

December: Ten Things I Don't Want for Christmas

2009 was my eleventh year working as a pro, and while a great deal has changed for every writer, too much in Publishing has stayed the same. I'm looking at 2010 as a year of opportunity for me and the industry, and I hope we're both up to the challenge.

What will you all remember from 2009? Let us know in comments.

From the Archives

Before we start celebrating the new year, here's a link-look back at the best of 2008 here at PBW:

Spring
What not to say to your crit partner: Critique No-Nos
Tell me why I can't claim TUMs again?: Writer Fantasy Tax Deductions
Coming soon to BookTV: Make Me a SuperNovelist

Summer
Another backyard drama: Way of the Fledgling
Then Leto turns into a giant penis in book four: Ten Knockoffs I Will Never Write (and Neither Should You)
Retrospect Minus Sominex: Ten Things I Hate About Your Backstory

Fall
Because there is always some reason to stop: 25 Reasons to Keep Writing
The pasta sauce of writing: Past Perfection
Terribly wonderful temptations: Unemployment Fantasies

Winter
Lecturing this year's NaNoWriMo'ers: Pro-to-NaNo
La-la-la-la, I'm not listening: Ten Things Authors Don't Want to Hear (But Frequently Do)
Dolls for the rest of us: Alternative Barbie

Over at Sean Lindsay's 101 Reasons to Stop Writing is without a doubt my favorite interview I gave in 2008 (I'd say my favorite of all time, but Sean's head is big enough already.)

One of the most complicated and time-consuming projects Tom and I worked on during 2008 was the Friday 20 Index. We spent about three hundred hours altogether, half on the phone, while we were sorting through, indexing and coding all the links.

John and Marcia had some fun this year, too. They played hide-the-stupid-euphemism (My Sweet Savage Salami), talked quite a bit (Taggedy) and even got revised (Reviserable).

During the Left Behind & Loving Virtual Conference 2008, I broke all the workshop rules by having my character Akela from Red Branch and Black Queen teach World Building I. Now all of my other characters are jealous and want to do one next summer.

Best Generator of 2008 is no contest -- the ultra-cool Wordle, created by Jonathan Feinberg, which allows you to create and customize your own wordclouds (link originally found over at Elizabeth Bear's LJ.)

My favorite giveaway of 2008 was this one (winner and answer to the mystery here.) It must be all those Nancy Drew novels I read when I was a kid. The most popular giveaway of 2008 was this one, which I really didn't expect that many people would like, which just goes to show you how clueless I am when it comes to my own giveaways.

I transferred my library of free e-books over to Scribd* back in January and have since published twelve more new e-anthos, e-novellas, e-nonfic as well as lots of small how-to documents. I'll have more to report on how well this has worked for me and the readers next month when I hit the one-year mark on Scribd. *Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. My free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.

I wrote my dangerous book, and I sold it, and I published it, all in the same year. I don't think one NY-published e-book entitles me to call myself e-Paperback Writer, but it was a good learning experience and the completion of a big personal goal.

It helped to laugh with you guys at surely what was the worst professional disaster of the year, and then laugh about it again with you and my characters.

You guys also made this a great year by stopping in, joining the discussions and offering your views. You are as much a part of PBW as I am, and I thank you all for taking the time to visit, talk shop and share your love of books.

And that wraps up another year here at the blog. So, what were some of your defining moments in 2008? Let us know in comments.