Farewell, 2012... It Was Fun While It Lasted!

I'll remember 2012 not as the year the world ended but rather as the year I sold my first novel, Brew. After years of writing short stories, this was a huge rush.

It was a great year for me, really. Thanks to my excellent agent, I sold two more books under another name, and thanks to these sales, some interest from the West Coast, and the confidence and support of my wonderful wife, I'm now living the dream and writing full time.

The year wasn't without challenges. Leaving my job made things tight, money-wise, and I had underestimated some of the psychological baggage of making the plunge into self-employment. But as more things sold, both financial pressure and psychological baggage lightened. Things are good now.

Due to lack of time and money, I also dropped out of Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction MFA program. A shame... I had passed the half-way mark, and I really loved the program and the people there. Still, I'm glad I had the experience, and I don't count my withdrawal as a failure. The program taught me a lot and enriched me with a wealth of friends, and I not only finished the book that was to have been my thesis project but also used to leverage that aforementioned excellent agent and sold it to a great publisher. So yeah, I'm glad I went to Seton Hill and count my abbreviated time there a smashing success.

A big year for me, 2012.

I intend to blog, a la Chris Shearer, about my reading year, as well as about the year in boxing. We'll see...

For now, how was your year? What were the ups and downs?