Wow. Where to begin?

2017.

A year of devastating lows and exhilarating highs (okay, okay, I’m a writer, I like to be dramatic. But still, seriously). It’s hard to believe around the same time last year, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life after leaving my former school, USMA, in December. The decision to leave was one of the most heart-wrenching choices I’ve ever made, but in the end, also opened up an incredible array of opportunities.

Looking back at 2017, I am forever grateful to my family for welcoming me back into the home and supporting me through a hellish spring/summer filled with (medical) lab work and going College Hunting Version 2.0. It was also around this time I dubbed myself a “quasi student” as I continued dabbling with online courses without actually, well, being an official student. Which brings me to Tina’s Whole New World: W R I T I N G.

With a whole semester + summer’s worth of time on hand, I dove into the deep end of the writing realm and (to my own surprise) managed to churn out three novels in four months. The first, after much polishing and critique rounds and sweat and tears and the blood of a newborn lamb, I’m proud to say is now on track to be published in October 2018. The second, I ultimately scrapped (but hey, at least I got another 80,000 words of practice writing!) And the third is currently out with the agents, so we’ll see where this one goes.

Finally, I am oh so forever grateful to the friends I’ve made this year, from my new family at Blaze Publishing, to my critique group (let’s go #teamlandingeagles), to my fantastic roommates (thanks for putting up with my weirdness—such as pouring the milk in before the cereal and spreading the jelly on before the peanut butter), and everyone who has illuminated my life both IRL and online. You guys are the best, and I love you all  ❤

2017 Top Ten Highlights (in chronological order)

1. Signing on with Blaze Publishing
2. Finding an AH-mazing critique team (and the gif wars that somehow always seem to end up in the roundtable discussion threads . . .)
3. Choosing to attend Temple University as my next school
4. Finishing and polishing my first YA Time travel Sci-fi
5. Meeting a dear cousin IRL at BookCon AND in Philly after 4 years (and yes, there was a Legend reference 😉 )
6. Instantly clicking with my roommates—I can’t imagine my life without them now!
7. Falling in love with Philadelphia (and eating my first Philly cheesesteak)
8. Slowly introducing running back into my life after going almost an entire year unable to do one of my favorite activities. I’m slow. I can’t run for long. But I’m working on it, and am determined to be back to where I used to be. (#I’llGetThereEventually)
9. Meeting a fantastic writer with the coolest lavender hair and the fluffiest Siberian kitten
10. Learning the importance of focusing on the “what might be”s rather than agonizing over about the “what might have been”s. (<- there’s the obligatory cheesy quote of the day/year for ya)

2018 What To Expect Top Five List (in no any particular order)

1. A cover reveal for Of Silver and Stars happening in March! (I’m sooo excited to share the gorgeous artwork with you)
2. More bookish Instagram posts (I must admit, ever since I got an account last year, I’ve been hooked)
3. Of Silver and Stars teasers as the release date draws near (*remembers she needs to pick out the teaser quotes still* panics)
4. More giveaways! I had a blast hosting #ActOfKindness giveaways this past year and gifting an ARC of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Batman: Nightwalker, and hope to be able to do more in 2018. (Seriously, seeing what everyone did for their act-of-kindness brought a smile to my face)
5. An over-caffeinated Tina ready to take on 2018 like this

Or maybe more like this . . . only time will tell.

Goodbye 2017, hello 2018. Let’s slay this year!