2014 | Nicole Evelina – USA Today Bestselling Author

Hi everyone! I emerged from the writing cave yesterday with a first draft of my next book weighing in at 107,000 words. It’ll get smaller as I edit it, but that’s two weeks away.

For now, I thought it would be a good time to look back on 2014.

Favorites
Moment: Meeting Deb Harkness and my WISH sisters at Hedgebrook Second place: Meeting Elizabeth Gilbert
Book: Tie between Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell and Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
Blog Post (on this blog): There were a lot but these two rise to the top: General: Hell Yes, We Need Strong Female Characters and Historical: The First Black Friday, 1869 – Stocks, Not Shopping
Memory: Getting the words “write” and “create” tattooed on my right wrist
Music: Book writing music: The score to Belle, composed by Rachel Portman. General music: Wrongchilde’s Goldblooded.
Quote: “Historical fiction writers are just as qualified to write about the past as historians, if not more so.” Deb Harkness
Unexpected Occurrence: Joining the Romance Writers of America. Never thought it would happen, but I’m so glad I did it. Oh, and connecting with Sarah Kennedy, Patricia Bracewell and Nancy Bilyeau via the Historical Novel Society was pretty cool, too.

The Year of “Bloom”
On January 1 of this year, I declared it the “Year of Blooming.” While I didn’t bloom publicly like I expected to, it was still an appropriate choice for the growth and confidence I gained this year. The goals I outlined were (and progress actually made) were:

Delivering book 3 and another non-related book I’m working on to my agent by the end of June. I did this. Book 3 is still in a first draft that needs work stage, but at least I’ve got my ideas down on paper. The non-related book was He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, which went to her on time. I also delivered 80% of a non-fiction book and its proposal, which I haven’t talked much about because…reasons. I’m still hoping you’ll see it someday. I just have no idea when.
Finally being able to announce when Guinevere book 1 will be available to the world. I really shouldn’t have made this a goal because it’s out of my hands. I still don’t have any news here, but please know I haven’t given up on making it happen.
Researching and beginning writing another Celtic era historical fiction novel. This was put on hold in favor of the 19th century American novel I just completed.
Attending the Sirens Conference with several of my writer friends in October (and possibly speaking there if I can come up with a topic and get it approved). I decided not to do this because of lack of funds. But I was able to speak at the Lit in Lou festival here in town, so I consider that a win.
Finding balance in my life between my day job, writing and all the other demands of life. *snort* I don’t think writing three books in one year along with working a full-time job is considered balance according to any definition.
Getting healthier so that I can have more energy to devote to the things I love. Not so much. See above.
Being more active on Facebook. (I’m already on Twitter all the time.) This kind of happened. I scheduled weekly posts all year on Facebook, although with as much as they monkey with who gets to see it and who doesn’t, I really wonder about the value.
Traveling for research (cross your fingers that I’ll have an announcement on this soon) for book 3 and my current non-related book. Travel for Book 3 didn’t happen, but instead I got to take a week-long creative writing class from Deborah Harkness at Hedgebrook, which honestly, was way more beneficial. I did get to travel to Chicago to research He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not and I will share some of that with you as soon as the book gets a contract – whenever that may be.
Continuing to find new ways to use this blog to reach out to Arthurian/Celtic fans, book lovers and writers. Honestly, I’m not sure what I had in mind for this one. I didn’t do a lot of Celtic topics, but there were a few that came out of the non-fic book.

Writing
If I have learned one thing this year, it’s that trying to write three books in a year while holding down a full-time job is INSANE. That’s not a feat I aim to repeat again. At least not until I can write full-time. But it is really mind blowing to think that one year ago today, those three books didn’t exist; all I had to my name was the three Guinevere novels. Now I have:

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (romantic women’s fiction)
The non-fiction book
A first draft of the 19th century strong political woman book (histfic)

Reading
Goodreads told me that I read 70 books this year, but that doesn’t include the five I’ve finished since they put out their tally, nor does it include the 30 something research books I used for the non-fic and the 19th century book. So my total is more like 100. How did I do it? A lot of audiobooks (sometimes two at a time), along with reading every spare moment. That’s about it.

Blogging
I know I was a little sporadic in 2014, especially toward the end of the year, but I’m coming to realize that when I’m focused on finishing a book, blogging is just going to have to take a back seat. I love you guys, but there is only so much of me to go around. BUT, I’m hoping the quality of content I give you weekly in between will make up for it. WordPress did this silly little year in review thing for my blog, so here it is in case you want the details: http://nicoleevelina.com/2014/annual-report/.

So I think that’s about it. Is there anything else you want to know about my 2014? I’ll be back tomorrow with another blog and several more this week, so stay turned!

Happy New Year. Let’s make 2015 the best yet! I love you all!

2014 is the year our lives will bloom. Photo by Lee Safar. Used with permission.

They say that what you put out into the Universe becomes your reality. That’s what I’m doing in this post: setting my intentions and goals for the new year, putting them out into the Universe.

My friend Courtney had an interesting idea. She suggesting picking one word for the year, defining it and writing a personal statement about it. I liked that idea because it forces me to distill all the amazing things I’d like to accomplish down to a single concept.

The word of 2014 for me is: Bloom.

I got this idea from a tweet from my dear friend Lee Safar in which she said “2014 feels like the year that flowers will bloom!” The more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized how appropriate it is for where I am in my career and life. I’ve spent the last several years sowing the seeds of success. Last year was definitely one of sprouting seedlings and watching them grow. Now it’s time for them to bloom.

In 2014, I will see my career as an author and various things in my personal life bloom and come into fruition, bringing with them beauty and joy into the world.

Now, I can’t just sit back and wait for it to happen. I have to work at it with all my might. To that end, I have a series of goals for things I want to achieve this year. They include:

Delivering book 3 and another non-related book I’m working on to my agent by the end of June.
Finally being able to announce when Guinevere book 1 will be available to the world.
Researching and beginning writing another Celtic era historical fiction novel.
Attending the Sirens Conference with several of my writer friends in October (and possibly speaking there if I can come up with a topic and get it approved).
Finding balance in my life between my day job, writing and all the other demands of life.
Getting healthier so that I can have more energy to devote to the things I love.
Being more active on Facebook. (I’m already on Twitter all the time.)
Traveling for research (cross your fingers that I’ll have an announcement on this soon) for book 3 and my current non-related book.
Continuing to find new ways to use this blog to reach out to Arthurian/Celtic fans, book lovers and writers. (You may see some new topics from me this year out of this goal.)

That may seem like a lot, but it’s all interrelated. And it’s what I’ll be focusing on over the next year as my life blooms. I hope your year is wonderful in every way possible.

What are your goals for 2014? What is your word for the year?

Comments are closed due to spam.