New Year, New Goals

2017 is closing and 2018 is bringing with it a new beginning.

That being said I look back at the goals set and realize I fell short. I did continue with the audiobooks but not so much on the fiction and non-fiction reading I had planned. I also dropped off completely with blog posts once I hit Jane Austin. Books that followed Pride & Prejudice varied widely and there was no pattern to them. I listened to classics that I would probably have never sat through and found them amazing. I only had one book that I just couldn’t get through. I gave it 3 discs but it just didn’t work. I’d say it was the narrator’s voice except I listened to him on a different book that worked really well so maybe it was just the pairing. Then again having a love scene compared to an economical transaction may have been the nail in the coffin on that one…

I did not do the cosplay costume that I had intended. The corset just did not work out and I cut my losses on that one. Then I listened to Dracula and realized just how awesome Wilhemina is. I had a Victorian/Steampunk pattern in my pile of patterns and took to designing. Mina received Best Literary Inspiration at the Geek.Kon 2017 Masquerade. The first award I’ve received. The costume was a new challenge in that there were a million ruffles, a jacket, and button holes. I’ve never sewn button holes before. I adapted the jacket when I found the pattern wasn’t going to work with my proportions to be a double row of buttons with a modesty panel to connect and since it was shorter than anticipated I used the undershirt of the Tardis dress to feel more comfortable. I managed to make all this in 2 weeks after the failed Supergirl costume!

The picture doesn’t show the gorgeous black/gold rose cutout fabric overlay on the side of the jacket and front of the skirt, but shows the overall. I did a detailed post about the costume here if you’d like to see it better. I did not wear these shoes for the contest. These are Ren Faire shoes and they are the most comfortable things in the world.

I succeeded in my health goal in completing not just 1 but 5 5ks this year. Which is going to be good set up for 2018 and the 10 mile hike in Alaska that is planned for June. *gulp*

More importantly though: WRITING. 2017 brought me back to writing. While not as fast and furious as years past, this year saw acceptance letters for anthologies in my inbox. There were still rejection letters but they didn’t hurt as much. I completed NaNoWriMo in November and can finally say that the first draft of The Lost Child, Book 3 of Dragonchild Lore has been completed. The Goal is a Spring Release. Books 4 & 5 will be much quicker. This one had to brew a bit longer but the foundation of the those two is well laid.

This amazing cover was designed by Sanya Gombar of Book Cover for You