This is my year in pictures and links. I tried to stuck to two or three links per month but there were times when there was so much going on it was difficult to follow my own rule.
You won’t find much soul-searching here; 2013 was a truly fabulous year.
January
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| Amazing what low light can do… |
- I complete the seventh draft of Hild.
- I take a selfie (unusual for me, that, but for some reason I’d been getting lots of requests).
February
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| The finished cover ends up looking even better, I think |
- I become a US citizen and it is surprisingly moving.
- Hild cover reveal. (No, it’s not me!)
- I get new author photos.
March
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| The SCOTUS hearings go so well I just want to send everyone flowers |
- US v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry (but even before it happens it is obvious to me how it will go).
- Good lesbian sf novels (though I also make it clear there’s no such thing as a lesbian novel, of whatever genre)
April
- I win the Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize–and am delighted!
- Fun with Hild ARCs: Hildhenge!
- I take stock of the personal consequences of growing up queer.
May
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| Photo by the incomparable Jennifer Durham |
- Kelley and I go to BEA, where I go beserk doing things. Personal record? Five events in one day.
- Kelley and I get some new photos.
- Hild is a Buzz Book.
June
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| Photo by Tony Valenzuela |
- My night at the Lammys. (Later, I talk about it in Slate.)
- 25 years to the day I met Kelley, SCOTUS strikes down parts of DOMA
July
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| Photo by Christine Doyle |
- Kelley and I go to Sacramento where we’re co-Guest of Honour at the wild and wonderful big tent of Westercon 66.
- I’m beginning to feel the work. What follows is the day of mass delete and general apology.
August
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| Photo by Karina Melendez |
- I play with my toys: my ukulele and bow.
- I get my first fab review for Hild, in Kirkus
September
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| Photo by Jennifer Durham |
- Kelley and I get married
- The blurb that puts me over the edge: a fantastic endorsement from Neil Stephenson and other Hild morsels
October
- I have an excellent adventure at the PNBA, in which I discover it’s just like a science fiction convention, and sign my first copies–about 200!–of Hild.
- The whole month is about Hild. Lots of reviews and interviews start to go up.
November
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| Photo by Jim Berg |
- Hild is released; I have a splendid party at Hugo House. (Video of same here.)
- Among other fabulous reviews, one from NPR sends Hild rocketing up the charts. And people start sending me pictures of their cats reading Hild.
- I am not feeling too good, and decide to cancel my trip to Miami’s Book Fair International.
December
- The Hild audiobook is out–my very first.
- My MS flares and I must cancel many things, including trips to the midwest and San Francisco.
- But, wow, Hild sales look like this:
As I say, it was a great year. I posted less than usual because I was overwhelmed with work. Overwork is probably what triggered the MS exacerbation, too. But it could have been the sheer excitement. Even exhilaration is physiologically stressful.
I’m getting over it–though still not willing to travel for a few weeks–and I’m pretty sure 2014 will be amazing, brilliant, and marvellous for me and Kelley.
I hope 2014 brings you all you dream (and plan, and work) for.
Glad that you are on the mend, and wishing all the best to you and Kelley in 2014. Do you take Vitamin D?
What an amazing year. And it was fun watching from the stands. I'm so happy for both you and Kelley, and wish you continued success in 2014!
jeanne
I do. I take 6,000 iu daily, have done for years. And my levels are only mid-range.
Thank you. It's been an absolute blast. And even more rewarding to have people to share it with.
What an amazing year! Congratulations. It was wonderful meeting you at BEA this year and thank you for writing my favorite book of 2013! Here's to a healthy and happy 2014!
Ryan
Thank you, yes it was–the meeting and the year. And 2014 is shaping up nicely. Happy New Year!
Awww, I teared up reading this!
You both look sooooo sweet in the May pic!
The relief of finishing a book must be great but also overwhelming, hope you feel better soon… *big hugs*
Have a great New Year!!!
James
x
Sounds like a fun year! I have just bought Hild and look forward very much to reading it. Happy New Year, and here's to dual nationality (as a political message to the UKIP isolationists, I just got German citizenship to add to my British one).
Thank you. It turns out that finishing a novel is just the first chapter of the saga, the beginning of the work…
I hope you like it.
As for citizenship, if I could I'd add twenty countries or more to my list…