2023: A Year in Review

[osprey_archer]

Ten Things I Did This Year

1. My niece was born! (Admittedly I personally had no hand in this happening, but nonetheless it must be included.) Nowadays she likes to click her tongue and beam when the grown-ups click back. The big people are speaking her language!

2. Published The Sleeping Soldier.

3. Quit my job at the library.

4. Set out on a two-month long road trip.

5. Hit $20,000 lifetime earnings from my writing. It only took five years! (Okay, ten years if you include the Jennifer Montgomery pen name, but in fact almost all of the money comes from Aster Glenn Gray, which launched in 2018. Like, you could take out all the money I made from previous pen names, and I would still have reached $20,000 in the same month.)

6. Finished a draft of Sage, henceforward to be known as Diary of a Cranky Bookworm, which I intend to release sometime in 2024, although it may take me some time to finish edits, because…

7. I’ve been hired for a new job!. I will begin work as an academic advisor at Purdue University on January 4!

8. The New York Times included The Sleeping Soldier on a list of the Best Romance Books of 2023. This sold quite a number of copies, including, curiously, an unusually high percentage of paperbacks, and also resulted in my third-ever thousand dollar month. Five months after my most recent release!

9. Moved into a new apartment.

10. Got a second cat! Baby Boy was being bullied by another cat in his house, so now he lives with me and Bramble. Bramble and Baby Boy like to play-tussle and boop noses.

Comments

[troisoiseaux]

Congrats on all of the things!!!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you!

[landofnowhere]

Congrats on the job and the NYT rec!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you!

[konstantya]

Congrats to everything, but especially 7 and 8? Definitely all worthy of celebrating, though!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you! Yes, lots of cause for celebration this year.

[asakiyume]

OMG! YOU HAVE ARRIVED!! CONGRATULATIONS ON NO. 8 OMG OMG!

[osprey_archer]

Haha yes, now that the NYT has officially recognized me I do feel that I have Made It.

[oracne]

Congratulations on the NYT and on the new job! And the new cat! And the new niece! And everything!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you! So many new things this year!

[asakiyume]

Oh yeah, and in the most recent missive from me I asked about how things ended up with Baby Boy, but now I see! Hurray! (Honestly the stars in my eyes took about 15 minutes to clear from no. 8)

[osprey_archer]

Baby Boy is settling in well! Yesterday he sat with me on the chaise while I read.

[asakiyume]

**thumbs up**

[philomytha]

That all sounds like a most excellent year! *pops champagne*

[osprey_archer]

*clinks champagne glass*

[rmc28]

Many congratulations, especially on 3, 7, 8 & 10 :-)

[osprey_archer]

Thank you!

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, congratulations on many of the things, especially getting actual earnings out of your writing! And another cat, of course, because cat. ♥

[osprey_archer]

Thank you! It feels like cheating slightly to get earnings out of my writing tbh. And the cat is a sweetie pie. He's found a favorite place on the rabbit fur by the window.

[phantomtomato]

Congratulations! And good luck with the academic advising; students are amazing and also quite trying. 😅 Purdue is a wonderful school, so I’m sure you’ll get to work with great kids!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you! Yes, I think students at all ages are amazing and also quite trying, but perhaps they reach peak on both levels at college.

[regshoe]

That is a good year's worth of achievements, congratulations :D The cats sound adorable, and I hope the new job goes well!

[osprey_archer]

Fingers crossed for the new job! I start in just a few days...

[galadhir]

Congrats on the new job and the NYT mention! That's quite an achievement. Also on the niece and cat! :)

[osprey_archer]

Yes, it's been a big year!

[ethelmay]

Ooh, congrats all round! An old college friend of mine works for Purdue, so I have good associations with the name despite knowing little about it.

[osprey_archer]

Yes, I feel that way about some places associated with my friends. Must be good if X is happy there!

[lucymonster]

Congrats on an awesome year, and especially the new job and the writing success! A NYT rec is HUGE, wow.

[osprey_archer]

Thank you! The NYT rec blew my tiny mind.

[rachelmanija]

8: WHOA!!!! How exciting!

Er. The cat is exciting too. SORRY CAT. You get an icon!

[osprey_archer]

Yes, I was thrilled by the NYT rec!

Your cat icon is spot on for the cats in question. Bramble is a black cat and Baby Boy is a brown tabby! (I'm not mad keen on the name Baby Boy, but that ship may have sailed.)

[littlerhymes]

Congratulations!! You did so much this year <333

[osprey_archer]

It was a very full year!

[minutia_r]

Oh hey, congratulations!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you!

[skygiants]

I feel like I have not seen anywhere near enough photos of Baby Boy!

[osprey_archer]

I really should put some on DW but it's SO cumbersome to upload them... however there really ought to be at least one, shouldn't there. And a Bramble picture, as I'm not sure I've ever posted a photo of Bramble to DW. Maybe there should just be a Meet the Cats post.

[ladyherenya]

Adding to all the congratulations -- that's quite a list of good things!

I hope starting the new job goes well.

[osprey_archer]

I do too! First day tomorrow... we'll see how it goes...

[silverusagi]

Congrats on the new job!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you!

[lokifan]

Nowadays she likes to click her tongue and beam when the grown-ups click back. The big people are speaking her language!

Cuuuute!

Congrats on The Sleeping Soldier (which I really wanna get to, such good reviews!) and the earnings - that's such an amazing accomplishment, as is Best Romance Books!!!

Baby Boy was being bullied by another cat in his house, so now he lives with me and Bramble. Bramble and Baby Boy like to play-tussle and boop noses.

:melts:

[osprey_archer]

She has also just started babbling! I have heard tell that she said "Dada," but tbh I think this was fortuitous and not an actual attempt to say a specific word.

However, she IS definitely waving on purpose, and will often wave back if you wave at her. (I suspect we may be confusing her by waving at non-goodbye times, just because it's so cute to see her wave.)

[msilverstar]

So glad you escaped the bad job sitch and found another one where you can do good!

[osprey_archer]

Well, it wasn't a bad job by any means, but sometimes one is simply ready to try something new.