Welcome to the 2022 blog roundup!

As is the tradition since the start of my blog in 2017, I’m rounding up the year that was, as well as my December!

This year felt like it went by so fast that it’s hard to remember getting anything done. I did, though. In fact, I released a book for the first time in 2 years!

The third book in my YA urban/contemporary fantasy series, Blackbirch: The Ritual, came out in August. I’d been working towards publishing it since 2020, so it was a great personal goal to finally release it. The Ritual was the hardest book I’ve written so far as I struggled to get the story balance right in my early drafts. This led to conflicting feedback from betas and months of frustrating re-writes on my part as I tried to make what I had into something cohesive.

Thankfully, the feedback from readers on the published version has been great and so far all the reviews are 4 and 5 stars, so even though I doubted it at the time, I did pull it off, which was/has been a huge relief. I had very seriously considered giving up on the book altogether, but it’s done and I’m proud of it.

I’ve since spent the rest of the year getting the fourth and final book written/edited. I’m currently on draft 7 and looking to publish it next year, which will bring the series I’ve been working on since 2001 to a close. I have no idea what I’ll write after that, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

Another fun thing I did this year was attend my first Writer’s Retreat. It was with some very talented writers from the #6amAusWriters on Twitter. I worked on The Ritual while there, and if we have another one in 2023 as planned, I’ll use the time to work on book 4 and to feed my addiction to cheese.

On a personal note, this was the year COVID finally caught up with me. I also waited most of the year for a surgery that had been pushed back so many times it was comical. Then, when I was finally at the hospital this past September, my surgery ended up being canceled as I sat in admissions. If you missed the saga in previous roundups, basically the delays to my surgery of the last few years had allowed my endometriosis to grow around my internal organs and it was decided that any further surgeries would cause more issues than it would fix. I’m now trying non-invasive methods, which despite some frustrating side effects, have taken my pain to manageable levels and now it’s just a case of monitoring things with a specialist.

My family and I also got to go back to my hometown of Sydney for the first time since 2019 to see my extended family at Easter. We’ll be doing the same this Christmas too, and we’re very much looking forward to it.

When I’m back in the new year, it’ll be to achieve what I can with what I’ve been given. It’s something I’ve really learned the meaning of this year and I hope it’ll serve me well in 2023.

As for the final month of 2022, this is what I got up to…

What I’ve Been…

Writing

Blackbirch 4 – I might not have published this book like I’d planned to at the start of the year, but I am closer than ever to finishing it. I started writing this manuscript in 2017 and the bones of that draft are still there as I currently fatten them up with the new things I’ve learned about my own writing skills, the characters, and the overall story.

In December, I managed to write/edit my way through 25 chapters. It was slower than I wanted, and frustrating at times, but progress is progress.

Watching…

Wednesday – This was the only non-Christmas piece of entertainment I watched this month and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a fresh take on the Addam’s Family characters, and that Jenna Ortega did an amazing job as Wednesday. When Wednesday is suspended from yet another school, she’s sent to a boarding school for teens who have mythical powers, in a town run by normal people. The fun of having supernatural elements combined with the real world is something I love, so this made the series something that’s right up my alley. The final twist, and the red herring to cover that twist, may have been totally predictable, but it was still fun. As was the cameo from the Wednesday I grew up watching, Christina Ricci.

Assorted Christmas Content! – I like to get into Christmas movies in December, and thankfully streaming services cater to this! If you’re looking for something to watch, I can recommend: Your Christmas Or Mine?, Christmas With You, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Holiday Special, and The Santa Clauses. I’m also looking forward to capping off the festive season by watching Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas To All! and the classics my household watches every year: Christmas With The Kranks, Die Hard, and Four Christmases.

Reading…

Since December is an extra busy month, and reading and reviewing books for my blog takes time, I decided to take a break from written reviews for the festive season.

As I’d already met my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal for the year, and inspired by The Midnight Club Netflix series, I started re-reading the works of my favorite author, Christopher Pike, for which I’ve just been leaving star ratings.

In the new year, I’ll continue to read Pike’s books in chronological order and star rate them on Goodreads, as well as read and review other books I pick up, so I will have more book reviews coming in the new year.

2022 – Picks

Looking back on what I read and watched for 2022, the movies/shows that stuck with me were Coda, Locke and Key, Yellow Jackets, Stranger Things, and Dead To Me.

The books I enjoyed the most were the Fortune’s Well Series (Hangman’s Revenge and Project Pandora) by Chantelle Atkins and Sim Alec Sansford, and We Who Hunt The Hollow by Kate Murray.

Taking Photos Of

Christmas! Dash and Luna love it when the Christmas tree goes up. Usually, they sit under the tree on a tree skirt, but that was getting way too furry, so this year, it was replaced by a wooden box. Not as fun for them, but I love it.

Top 9 Instagram Photos

And here are my top 9 Instagram photos for 2022! Thank you to everyone who sees my posts and leaves a like or a comment. Instagram engagement might not be what it used to be, but I love taking photos and it’s the first author social media account I started, so I’m sticking with it.

On The Blog…

In case you missed any of my posts, or want to read them again, here are the latest blogs.

• November 2022 Roundup
• Free Holiday Gifts For The Writer In Your Life

2022 Your Favorite Blog Posts

Thanks to the magic of WordPress stats, here are the top five viewed posts in 2022.

• 5 Ways To Avoid Info Dumping
• 5 Writing Ideas To Transform A Boring Scene
• Grieving A Writing Life
• Five Ways To Give Your Characters Emotional Depth
• Writing A Book: 6 Ending Types

2022 My Favorite Blog Posts

Here are five blogs I had fun writing this year.

• Writing Routine Helper: Daily Notes
• What To Do When Your Writer-Type Stops You From Writing
• Preparing To Be A Guest On A Podcast
• 3 Essential Reminders For When (You Think) Your Manuscript Sucks
• Things To Accept When You Put A Book Into The World

The Blogs That Kept Me Entertained In 2022

These are the blogs I look forward to reading when I scroll my WordPress feed. If you’re not already following these talented bloggers, be sure to check them out.

Stuart Danker

I met Stuart in my comment section and started following his blog not long after. Not only does he offer some excellent writing advice, but life lessons, too. He shares all he’s learned as a creative and as a human, mistakes and all, with humor and a touch of fun.

Renard’s World

I’ve only just discovered Renard’s blog this year, and it’s been such a helpful one to follow. He blogs about blogging, but also WordPress and I’ve gained many a tip from him that I didn’t previously know. He also blogs about the topics that fascinate him, and even if it’s not something I’m passionate about, I still find his take on the matter interesting because he’s so interested in it.

Jan Sikes

I’ve been following Jan’s blog for a few years for her Monday Motivation posts which include a meditation video and a tarot card reading for the week ahead, which I always find a great way to start off the week. She also posts about book tours, new books, and reviews.

Onto 2023…

With 2022 coming to a rapid close, I’m looking forward to finishing lifelong goals, starting new dreams, and moving on from the things that weighed me down and took up way too much mental space.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and the others written this year. I hope you’ve gotten something useful out of them, and I want to thank you for the feedback, comment section conversations, and for sharing my posts on social media. It’s very much appreciated.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

I’ll see you again in January 2023!

— Kate

You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.