And by “we,” I mean me and any of you who are reading this post, not aliens. (Of course, it’s possible aliens might be reading this. Interstellar voyages probably get really boring. Gotta pass the time somehow.)
It’s been… a weird year. The goods — my first and second novel published! a Hugo and Nebula nomination! the sale of two more novels! — have been very good. The bads — un(der)employment! a batshit roommate I had to sue! and one very scary family health situation — were pretty damn bad. I didn’t talk much about the bads in public because that’s just now how I roll, but trust me, they took their toll. Quite frankly, the whole year has been a real rollercoaster, emotionally, and while I wouldn’t trade it for all the years in history (hello, novel published, lifelong dream achieved, woo woo woo)… I’m kinda glad it’s over. And I hope next year is rather more, hmm, even.
2010 seems to be winding up with a bang, however. I’ve got a new job, the family health situation has resolved itself (thank God), and I won my lawsuit against the crazy roommate. In addition, the accolades for the first two books of the Inheritance Trilogy continue to roll in. On top of the Amazon best SF/F of 2010 and Publishers Weekly’s SF/F top 10 lists that I heard about last month, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has ended up on a number of other end-of-year top ten lists at blogs and retailer sites. These include Paul Goat Allen’s list over at the Barnes and Noble blog (which included The Broken Kingdoms!) and Ruth Arnell’s top 10 over at Fantasy Literature. W00t!
That part of 2010 I’ll keep, I think.
So what are your top 10s of (20)10?
Congrats on all your successes! (even winning the lawsuit!) I picked up HTK the other day and really like it so far.
2010 was a pretty decent year for me too. Highlights include a new job, publishing my first novel, and potty-training a certain little girl.
It would be hard to say which event improved my life the most, but I’m leaning toward #3.
Wow, you had to sue your roommate? I’ve had some bad roommate experiences, but they certainly don’t feel worth relating now. Glad you got through that one on top, and as for the rest of your successes, rock on! I’m really looking forward to the Inheritance Trilogy’s conclusion (and maybe even more so to your new duology).
re: publishing:
Start as you mean to go on!
So, it’s looking good! Congrats!
Congratulations on a great year for you writing-wise… it’s a shame that personal stuff always gets in the way, but that’s life I suppose.
It was lovely to meet you at the Forbidden Planet signing in London and I wish you well for the New Year. Lets hope 2011 brings you more nominations for awards and this time a win – you deserve the recognition for the high quality of your writing.
My favourite short story of 2010 was “On the Banks of the River Lex” and “The Broken Kingdoms” made it on to my Top 5 reads of 2010 at Speculative Book Review [http://speculativebookreview.blogspot.com/2010/12/years-best-2010.html]. “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms” was included in the mid-year Best of list [http://speculativebookreview.blogspot.com/2010/07/years-bestso-far.html] and I reviewed both books on the blog too, each getting 9/10 from me. So, as long as you keep writing, I will continue to read and support your work!
Is that the Kate Elliott who wrote Cold Magic? I just started reading that! Really liking it so far.
Quinn, yes, that’s me. Thank you!
Hey Nora,
So sorry to hear that some parts of 2010 were horrible to you. I sincerely wish you much better experiences in the new year.
I will ALSO take your two books. They’re fantastic. Can’t wait to read Sieh’s story as soon as is humanly possible. (If you can even get the Gods or your cat’s help in this, that would be awesome and very much appreciated.)
Sending you good cheer.