Reflections on 2011 and a Thanks

So, this is the last day of 2011. Wow. So much has happened this year! Let me sit back a moment with my coffee and just...let it wash over me. 

We all have goals in our lives, whether we admit to this or not, realize this or not. Sometimes they are detailed and definite, other times they're simply open-ended. And then, there are times our goals involve more than what we thought and we tend to re-evaluate our desires.

Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a published writer. Let me amend that. Not just a published writer, because I could pay any vanity publishing house to print out my writing. No, I wanted a contract, an editor, a publishing house that would accept my stories and then I would be paid for this awesome event. 

I diddled with this for many, many years. A few years ago, I became super serious and knocked out a couple of stories - beginning to end (and let me tell you, this is a major feat in itself). I finally clicked with one particular story. My best friend, Marie Harte (hi Marie!) encouraged me tremendously. Truthfully, she nagged the hell outta me ("don't do anything but write!" she'd admonish me at our weekly get-togethers). She helped me understand about the e-publishing world and suggested reputable publishers to submit my story. 

So I submitted. And submitted. And submitted. I received rejection letter after rejection letter. But they were good, as far as rejections went, by giving me helpful advice and words of further encouragement. I took several of these notes to heart, polished up my story and finally, in late 2010, received the elusive contract I'd wanted for most of my life. Total E-Bound had accepted The Deciding Factor, a contemporary erotic menage story. It's release date was January 17 of this year, kicking 2011 off to a fabulous start!

About this same time I was submitting a short story to some other publishers. Changeling Press took my submission into their Shamrock Challenge Contest and in the spring of 2011, I found out I'd finaled in the contest! Talk about a big boost to a fragile writer's heart. This story, Malathix Soul: Soulless, became the first in a series of tales (Broken and Jagged followed) about strong, shifting, beastial futuristic aliens. A bit darker than my contemporary, but something I had so much fun writing. 

When calls for a Christmas story wended its way through the grape vine, I jumped on board and Emmy's Wish was born - my latest release with Changeling Press.

This makes...five published stories this year alone. 

If truth be known - this number is actually seven. I have two very, very short free reads in Changeling Press' Encounters. 

Still. Wow, I say again. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that I'm published sometimes. Especially as I look into 2012. I'm thrilled to say I already have a tentative project lined up with Total E-Bound (story is written and submitted; just waiting on a contract), and four projects - minimum - lined up with Changeling Press. But I'm already scrambling to push this number up. Not drastically. I honestly don't have the time to write full-time. But I could conceivably write anther story or two this year. Push my number up to seven or eight or nine. Not to mention I've toyed with the idea of writing a non-erotic story. Pure fantasy maybe. I don't know yet - this one's still knocking around in my brain.

I've learned a lot this past year and made a lot of new friends. I've discovered groups and events and sites I'd never dreamed were real. I've discovered that writing the story is the easy part once you're published. Whew, that was a very tough lesson. I've learned to keep a datebook handy and note down everything and check that sucker all the time. I've learned to keep a new set of priorities and to push myself as I've not done in tons of years. I've put myself out there, nervous with trembling knees and all that, trying something new. Get your mind out of the gutter (grin). I mean through promotional work.

Writing-wise, I have no complaints over this past year. It's been a fun ride, and one I intend to remain on for many years yet to come.

Thank you, everyone out there who has supported me, read my stories, written and contacted me. I will never be able to express my gratitude enough. I write because it's in my heart; in my blood. I'd write even if I lived under a rock (sometimes I feel like that, hahaha), but knowing that you enjoy the tales I spin, makes the hard work so much easier. 

Have a terrific and safe end to your year. Here's a coffee-toast to a fantastic 2012!

Ayla