Showing posts with label A Year in Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Year in Review. Show all posts

Monday, January 4, 2021

2020: A Year in Review

Well, we officially made it through 2020. After such a chaotic year, I debated whether to do my usual Year in Review; I wasn’t sure I wanted to look back, plus so much of the year feels like a blur. I also saw a lot of social media posts saying how year-end posts would be a mixed bag now more than they ever were and would have a lot of people feeling a variety of emotions since some people managed to accomplish a lot while others' accomplishments were simply making it through the year and living to tell the tale. For me, 2020 fell somewhere in between, but the things I did accomplish were hard-won, which I think should be celebrated.

It was a difficult mental health year - I spent a good chunk of time in anxiety spirals, especially early on in the pandemic - but I also learned new coping mechanisms, and I had great friends to lean on (virtually, of course). Since my 80-year-old mum and I live together, we had to go into lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic in order to keep her safe. As of now, we’ve been in isolation for nine and a half months. The hardest part has been being separated from the rest of our family, especially my little niece and nephew, who we always spent a lot of time with. Thankfully we have each other and we're very close, and we’ve had incredible, generous friends picking up groceries for us weekly. I also found a great deal of pleasure in books and TV, namely the Star Wars movies, The Mandalorian, Schitt Creek, The Baby-Sitters Club, Jane the Virgin, New Girl, and Never Have I Ever.



Things I accomplished in 2020:


I published a full-length contemporary romance, Hung Up on You in January


I wrote and published a holiday romcom novella, A Very Perry Christmas in November

       I figured out how to format paperback books after almost nine years of being an indie author and created A Very Perry Christmas as my first ever paperback

      Four different book clubs chose A Very Perry Christmas as their monthly read, which absolutely blew me away

       For the first time in my entire career, I had dozens of people posting about my book on Instagram 


I wrote a chapter about bookstagram for a collaborative non-fiction book called Indie Writing Wisdom, which released on December 1st and hit the Amazon US bestseller list in new releases


I wrote chunks of three different novels (for my own future reference, the working titles of those books are Christmas Queen, Sexy Beach Read, and Perry #2)


I read 100 books (see my Top 10 Favourite Romances of 2020 here)


I supported various small businesses, mostly Canadian ones, and did my best to promote the ones I loved most (Always September, Fox + Wild, Bibliophile Belle’s Boutique, SJWonderlandz, Lakeside Craft Corner, and Reading in the Country). I was also chosen for two separate terms as a bookstagram representative for Always September, which was a highlight of the year.


I rediscovered my love of cooking, largely with the help of meal prep kits like GoodFood, Chefs Plate, and Hello Fresh (if you’re in Canada and would like a discount on any of these, I’d be happy to send you one!)



While 2020 wasn’t all bad, I’m eager to move on, look ahead, and hope for brighter days. I’ll be talking more about my reading and writing goals later this week, but for now, I’ll say my word for 2021 is ‘Present’, supported by ‘Simplify’, ‘Connect’, and ‘Balance’. All these things go hand in hand, at least in my mind. I spent most of 2020 feeling discombobulated and disconnected, and this year I want to be more mindful of how I spend my time, what I choose to focus on, and creating a healthy, sustainable work-life balance.



What were some of your 2020 highlights? Some of the things that made you smile, brought you joy, or reminded you there’s still good in the world?




Previous Yearly Recaps:
2019: A Year in Review

Friday, January 1, 2021

My Top 10 Favourite Romances of 2020

 

*Please note: Each book has a link to Amazon, which is an affiliate link - all earnings go into the upkeep of this blog, and I truly appreciate your support - but if you have a local indie bookshop you can support, please be sure to do so!

2020 may have been a rotten year in many ways, but one highlight was all the amazing contemporary romances and romantic comedy books I read. I also read quite a few incredible YA books, but for the sake of keeping this list manageable, I decided to stick with adult romances. In no particular order, here are ten of my favourite romance reads of 2020!


Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Published on July 7th, 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Buy on Amazon  || Add to Goodreads

Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way

Luc O'Donnell is tangentiallyand reluctantlyfamous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he's never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad's making a comeback, Luc's back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.

To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship...and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He's a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he's never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately, apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.

But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that's when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don't ever want to let them go.


Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Published July 23rd, 2020 by Avon
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his...um, thighs. Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?


Little Bookshop of Love Stories by Jaimie Admans
Published May 8th, 2020 by HQ Digital
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Today is the Mondayest Monday ever. Hallie Winstone has been fired―and it wasn’t even her fault!

Having lost her job and humiliated herself in front of a whole restaurant full of diners, this is absolutely, one hundred percent, the worst day of her life. That is until she receives an email announcing that she is the lucky winner of the Once Upon a Page Bookshop! Owning a bookshop has always been Hallie’s dream, and when she starts to find secret love letters on the first pages of every book, she knows she's stumbled across something special.

Things get even better when she meets gorgeous, bookish Dimitri and between them, they post a few of the hidden messages online, reuniting people who thought they were lost forever. But maybe it’s time for Hallie to find her own happy-ever-after, too?


The Roommate by Rosie Danan
Published September 15th, 2020 by Berkley
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

House Rules:
Do your own dishes.
Knock before entering the bathroom.
Never look up your roommate online.

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet...

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.


Beach Read by Emily Henry
Published May 19th, 2020 by Berkley
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.


Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
Published December 31st, 2019 by Kensington
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing beautiful custom journals for New York City’s elite. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Like the time she sat across from Reid Sutherland and his gorgeous fiancée, and knew their upcoming marriage was doomed to fail. Weaving a secret word into their wedding program was a little unprofessional, but she was sure no one else would spot it. She hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid...

A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out—before he leaves New York for good—how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline, a fractured friendship, and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other about their lives, work, and regrets, both try to ignore the fact that their unlikely connection is growing deeper. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late...


Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday
Published July 28th, 2020 by Forever
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Dr. Nora Walsh has just been dumped in spectacular fashion, making it the perfect time for a major life change. She figures taking over the medical practice in tiny Matchmaker Bay for a couple of years will help her get over her broken heart, and then she can head back to the big city. But when the first man she sees looks like a superhero god, she wonders if maybe there's something to small-town living after all.

Jake Ramsey also has a broken heart—one he never expects to heal. He doesn't need people anyway and is content hiding out in his secluded cottage on the beach. But after helping Nora with a medical emergency, he finds himself opening up to the witty, warmhearted doctor. Soon the local matchmakers are working overtime to pair them off, and Jake begins to wonder if his campaign to get Nora to stay is for the town or because he can't bear the thought of her leaving.


The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis
Published June 2nd, 2020 by William Morrow
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Brynn Turner desperately wishes she had it together, but her personal life is like a ping-pong match that’s left her scared and hurt after so many attempts to get it right. In search of a place to lick her wounds and get a fresh start, she heads back home to Wildstone.

And then there’s Kinsey Davis, who after battling serious health issues her entire twenty-nine years of life, is tired of hoping for ...well, anything. She's fierce, tough, and pretty much the opposite of Brynn except for one thing: they're half-sisters. Kinsey is keeping this bombshell, and a few others as well. Long time frenemies from summer camp, there’s no way she’s going to tell Brynn they’re related.

But then Brynn runs into Kinsey's lifelong best friend, Eli, renewing a childhood crush. He’s still easy-going and funny and sexy as hell. When he gets her to agree to a summer-time deal to trust him to do right by her, no matter what, she never dreams it’ll result in finding a piece of herself she didn’t even know was missing. She could have a sister, love, and a future―if she can only learn to let go of the past.

As the long days of summer wind down, the three of them must discover if forgiveness is enough to grasp the unconditional love that’s right in front of them.


The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
Published April 14th, 2020 by Forever
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can't seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a "take me home" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?


Don’t Go Stealing My Heart by Kelly Siskind
Published April 22nd, 2020 by CD Books
Buy on Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Some people would call Clementine Abernathy a criminal. She considers herself a modern day Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Not exactly on the up-and-up, but she knows what it’s like to lose everything. Her latest heist involves swiping a priceless Van Gogh from its owner, who’s supposed to be an egotistical trust-fund brat.

Turns out Jack David is a sexy, kind-hearted man…and Clementine is in trouble. Falling for her mark would make her the World’s Dumbest Conwoman, but Jack is charmingly persistent, always singing sweet songs in her ear.

And that earth-shattering kiss? She never stood a chance.

Now she’s imagining a fresh start with this dashing man, but that means telling Jack about her past. And other nefarious sorts are after the same painting. Too soon, Clementine learns what it means to risk it all for love.


Which books made your list of 2020 favourites? Do you have a top favourite? Have you read any of these books?

Friday, January 3, 2020

Friday Favourites: 2019 Edition

Happy New Year! I know it’s now 2020, but I have one more 2019 recap of sorts to do, showcasing some of the things I loved last year. I did a separate post for my favourite books of 2019, but I thought I’d share my favourite TV shows, movies, and music too.

The Year of Elton John

If I could sum up 2019, especially the last half of the year, I’d call it The Year of Elton John. Early in the year, I became obsessed with Richard Madden. When I found out he was going to be in the movie Rocketman, I knew I had to see it. I didn’t know much about Elton and really only knew his hit songs, especially those from The Lion King, plus of course “Candle in the Wind” since I loved Princess Diana and her death really shook me. A few days after I went to spend part of the summer with my best friend Krista (you can read more about that here), we went to see Rocketman in the theatre. I went into it basically just wanting to see Richard Madden and Taron Egerton on the big screen, and I left with a newfound love and respect for Elton John. I was completely captivated from beginning to end, and it was easily one of the best movies I’d seen in a very long time.

Rocketman Elton John Taron Egerton

After that, I had Elton’s music on repeat pretty much non-stop. I did the Spotify Wrapped thing for 2019, and it said I’d listened to 173 hours of Elton’s music, and that was mostly since July when I saw Rocketman. That doesn’t include the hours I listened to his music on Krista’s Alexa when we were hanging out or doing work around the house. What can I say, my obsessions are intense!

So, favourite movie of the year: Rocketman, obviously, hands down. Most listened to song, according to Spotify: “I Guess That’s What They Call it the Blues” by Elton John.

Other favourite music of 2019: Taylor Swift’s new album “Lover”. When I didn’t have Elton on repeat, I had “Lover” on repeat.

Favourite TV shows:

Bodyguard. Did I mention my obsession with Richard Madden? I watched Bodyguard early in the year based on a friend's recommendation, and then I made Krista watch it when I was living with her. Psychological thrillers aren’t usually my thing (I get scared too easily!), so this was 100% another one of those things I watched specifically because of Richard Madden. BUT...I loved it. It was intense and raw and emotional, and the whole cast was phenomenal. I’ve got my fingers crossed for another season.


Anne With an E. I’ll admit, I was hesitant to watch this show. I’m a diehard fan of the 1980s Anne mini-series starring Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie, and I was afraid I’d have trouble separating it from Anne With an E. I kept hearing amazing things about it, though, and finally one day this summer Krista announced we were watching it, put it on, and that was that. I went in with an open mind and decided to enjoy it for what it was, and I ended up loving it. The actors are fantastic, the stories are great (although there’s still a part of me that’s a tiny bit twitchy over some of the creative liberties they’ve taken with the story and characters), and I love how inclusive and diverse it is.

Good Omens. This is another one Krista and I watched together in the summer. We weren’t sure about it at first, but we ended up getting hooked. It was strange and hilarious, and it reminded me why I adore David Tennant.

Fleabag. When season two of Fleabag aired, my whole Twitter feed seemed to be full of mentions of the Hot Priest and Andrew Scott. My curiosity was piqued, especially since I love Andrew in Sherlock. Krista and I talked about watching it together, but things got a bit chaotic toward the end of my stay, so while she was away for a few days, I decided to watch it on my own. It was another show I wasn’t sure about at first but got hooked on; I ended up watching both seasons in the span of two days. It was twisted and irreverent and so, so funny. I especially loved season two, and yes, it was largely because of the Hot Priest!

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. This was another show I a) resisted watching for a long time, and b) wasn’t sure about when I finally started. I loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch (still do, actually; my nine-year-old nephew and I watch it together all the time) and I kept hearing about how dark and twisted this version was. I caved in October, figuring it was the perfect show to watch around Halloween. It definitely was dark, twisted, and sometimes downright disturbing, but there’s something compulsively watchable about it, and I'm looking forward to the next season.

So, those are some of my top favourite things of 2019. It was a good year for entertainment, and this year is shaping up to be just as good and we’re only a few days in! Stay tuned for more about what I’m currently watching because I feel like I’ll have a lot to say about it. In the meantime, if you’re curious, be sure to follow me on bookstagram.

What were some of your favourite things in 2019? Do we have any faves in common?





*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!  

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

2019: A Year in Review


2019 has been a memorable one for a lot of reasons, both good and bad. I’ve grown and changed a lot, gained a ton of confidence, and have been through things that have left me with both literal and emotional scars. When I look back at the last twelve months, I have the urge to both laugh and cry, but overall I’d say it was a good year. I wanted it to be a year of big changes and it certainly was that. 

The highs and lows (some of which came simultaneously)

The first real curveball 2019 threw at me came in May. One day I suddenly developed what felt like really bad heartburn; when it didn’t go away after two days, I finally headed to the ER. After hours of waiting and a few tests, I was finally told I likely had gallstones and would need to spend the night to have an ultrasound in the morning. My first thought was 'Spend the night? In the hospital?!' My second thought was 'I don't care, just give me drugs'. By that point, I was crawling out of my skin because I was in so much pain (afterward I had a couple of friends tell me they'd had gallstones and the pain was as bad as or worse than childbirth).

They put me on heavy-duty drugs and by some miracle, I got my own little cubby-like room in Emergency where I spent the night. The ultrasound the next morning confirmed I did indeed have gallstones. I was told I could go home and would be contacted soon by a surgeon who would assess me and likely want to remove my gallbladder. I felt okay as I left (except for being queasy), but by the time I got into a taxi to go home, the pain was returning. It increased throughout the day and I wasn’t able to keep anything down - including the morphine they’d prescribed me. I ended up back in Emerg the next morning, where they did another ultrasound and then admitted me.

Long story short(er): besides the gallstones, I also had jaundice and pancreatitis, so they decided to keep me so they could manage my pain (I was at a level 8 or 9 by the time they admitted me), give me antibiotics, monitor my blood work, and prepare me for surgery. In the week leading up to my surgery, I had an MRI (not gonna lie, I’m still traumatized by that), and a procedure where they put me under and basically shoved the gallstones back into my gallbladder. They removed my gallbladder two days later, and I was sent home the next day after being in the hospital for a total of nine days. I spent the next six-ish weeks recovering.

This whole thing was obviously physically trying, but it was the emotional aspect that’s had a lasting effect. This was the hospital where my dad spent countless days and weeks while he was dying of cancer in the early 90s. This was the hospital where my Grama died eight years ago. There have been good things there too - all four of my brother’s children were born there, and I was present for my youngest nephew’s birth. But that hospital stirs up a lot of stuff for me. Then there was the fact the elderly woman in the bed next to me was dying. Her family was there pretty much 24/7, which made resting difficult. The constant noise (they made no effort whatsoever to be quiet, day or night) added to my stress, but somewhere along the way, this ragtag group of people adopted me and my mum and we became this strange little family in the span of a few days. I listened to them say their goodbyes over and over, pray over her with ministers, tell her they loved her, share stories and memories, all while quietly crying from my side of the privacy curtain. Being attached to an IV and being weak from not eating (I was on a liquid diet my entire stay because they were never sure when I might have surgery) meant I was stuck in my room a lot of the time, so I was an unwilling witness - and at times participant - to this family’s final goodbyes.

me in the hospital with gallstones, jaundice, and pancreatitis before having my gallbladder removed

It stirred up so many emotions over my own beloved Grama’s death. It set off a chain of events that would lead to me feeling like I was in mourning all over again, even though it’s been eight years since she died. That whole experience changed me in many ways. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but I feel like I dealt with mild PTSD in the following months. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of anything other than my hospital stay. I’d replay it all over and over in my mind. I’d have strange, vivid dreams, and wake up thinking I was still in the hospital. Despite all of that, I was honestly amazed by my own strength. I managed to stay calm throughout my whole stay and all the various procedures and tests, plus the emotional trauma. My best friend Krista came to visit me one night and when she took my mum home, she told her how surprised and proud she was at how calm and collected I was. Having known me for thirty years, I think she probably expected me to be a blubbering mess, but I guess all that yoga, meditation and inner work I’d been doing earlier in the year really paid off!

The whole experience was also a really interesting and enlightening reminder of who my true friends are. Krista checked in with me every single day (which you might expect since we're lifelong best friends, but we don't normally talk daily), as did my amazing friend Jaimie who lives in Wales, and another friend who lives on the West Coast. A few other friends checked in regularly during and after the whole ordeal, and the people who didn’t bother to check in, despite knowing what was going on, confirmed things I already knew about how important our friendship was to them. That was further compounded by the other low point in 2019…

Just a few weeks after my surgery, my mum’s only sister lost her long, brave battle with cancer. We knew she was terminal and it was only a matter of time, but she suffered so much. It was agony watching my mum’s anticipatory grief, knowing what was coming, and then the full-on grief of actually losing my aunt. The visitation and funeral - which were an incredible tribute to my aunt, with hundreds and hundreds of people attending - were like a nightmare for my family. My aunt’s death also continued to stir up that shallowly-buried grief over my Grama.

Even the greatest high of my year had an undertone of deep sadness. My amazing best friend decided it was time to buy a house and she did exactly that. She said she’d need to get a roommate in the fall to help with expenses, and we joked about me living with her for part of the summer as a trial run since she’d lived alone for so long. The joking soon turned serious, and I ended up living with Krista in her brand new house for six wonderful weeks this summer. It was an incredible experience; Kingston is my favourite city and, I mean, who doesn’t dream of living with their lifelong best friend at some point? The whole thing was an exercise in me stepping outside my comfort zone over and over in big ways and small. We did so many fun things together, including a Harry Potter photoshoot at Queen’s University, a visit to a brewery, fun days with her family, hikes, plus we ate lots of amazing food (I tried sushi for the first time and loved it).



But...during the six weeks I was there, Krista’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, went into the hospital, and died. You hear of it happening quickly for some people, but to actually have it happen within your own family was shocking and heartbreaking. One minute they were talking about a course of treatment, and the next she was in the hospital, not expected to survive. Adding to the difficulty: the fact Krista’s grandma lived four hours away so it wasn't easy to just pop up for visits. Now here’s the funny thing (obviously not funny-haha): I was originally only supposed to stay for a month. One day Krista randomly said I could stay longer if I wanted to, and in that moment, I knew there was a reason for me to stay. I was sure of it. Turns out that reason was that Krista had to leave several times to go visit her grandmother, and then she was gone for a few days for the funeral, so I stayed to look after the house and the cats. Krista provides foster care for the local animal rescue, and during the summer she had her own three cats, plus a mama and four babies. Two of the kittens weren’t well when Krista had to leave for the funeral, so I was there to take care of them. I was also there as emotional support for Krista, who would otherwise have had to deal with all of this largely on her own.

But that took me right back to having my own Grama ‘issues’ stirred up. I tried so hard to be strong for Krista (and for her mother when she came to visit us), but I would break down anytime we talked about her grandma. I’m one of those people whose emotions are always very close to the surface and I cry at the drop of a hat, so it was difficult to keep it together, even though I wanted so badly to be strong for Krista. We’ve been friends for thirty years, and I feel like this year cemented our friendship in so many ways. We spent those six weeks together, I visited her again in November for a few days, and she came to spend Christmas Eve with my family, which was absolutely amazing. I’m so, so incredibly grateful to have such an incredible friend.


Krista and Marie best friends forever

Writing career highlights:

In the spring, I finished writing my contemporary romance, Maybe You, and published it in June. I also pulled out an old manuscript that I finished writing two years ago and revised it for publication. Hung Up on You will be hitting e-readers worldwide on January 14th, 2020! I’m so excited to share this story with fellow romance lovers. I’ve also dabbled in a few other projects throughout the year and have a good start on my writing for next year.



Back to the '90s

One of the other highlights of my year was attending a '90s Nostalgia concert in the Toronto area this summer. The line-up included S Club Party (formerly S Club 7, who I was obsessed with for years and still listen to regularly), Aqua, Vengaboys, Right Said Fred, and Prozzak. It was co-hosted by Rick "The Temp" Campanelli, who I grew up watching on Much Music. The whole thing was incredible and was just the balm my '90s-loving heart needed. You can see pictures and videos by visiting my Instagram account (@rambling_daydreamer) and clicking on the highlight called '90s Party.

That's a wrap

Honestly, in a lot of ways this year made me feel like I was being tested. I’ve definitely had worse years and despite everything that happened, I wouldn’t even say this year was bad, just emotional and trying. When I think back to the beginning of the year, I feel like a different person now. I’m stronger, smarter, and more confident. I’m more willing to step outside my comfort zone, and I’m learning to go with the flow more since life has a way of making you veer off the expected course. I was going to share my goals for 2020 in this post, but considering it’s already novel-length (I’m sorry! And thank you, sincerely, if you've made it this far), I guess that’ll have to wait until my next post.


How was 2019 for you? What were some of the highlights? Or the lows, if you're comfortable sharing?



Previous Yearly Recaps:
2018: A Year in Review
2017: A Year in Review
2016: A Year in Review
Looking Back on 2015
Reflecting on 2014 and Looking at the Year Ahead 
2012: A Year in Review
2010: A Year in Review
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