Somehow we've come to the end of another year already, with no time having passed since the end of the last one. Or at least that's how it feels to me, anyway. I have no idea where the time went! Cliche, but also true.

After getting The Raven and the Firebird out in January, I spent the majority of the rest of the year working on Pax Victoria, eventually releasing it at the end of September. I started the From the Ashes of Victory series in 2016, and 2022 is the year that I finally finished it.

And when I look back on the year, that is what really dominates it. The first nine months were dedicated entirely to the end of the series, and once it was over, coming to terms with what that meant. Remember, November was my first novel, and finally completing Millie and Victoria's journey this year was both immensely cathartic and also sad. I was glad to be done, but once it was over, there was very much a sense of 'Now what?'. I mean, I know what, I have too many notebooks full of ideas to ever actually mean it, but the Ashes books were like a mission, my purpose in having started writing in the first place, and now that overarching purpose is gone. I don't know, part of me wondered if I would ever finish them at all, but now that I have, I kind of miss having them in the background, a familiar place to return to after every Alumita book.

And I think that's the story of 2022 for me: a ton of hard work and tumultuous emotions followed by an empty horizon. Finding my feet again after Pax was published has been harder than I thought, and that's come to define the end of the year. Uncertainty.

'The new normal' means different things for different people, and I think I will be spending my break trying to figure out mine. I don't think I realized just how big a sea change it would be for me to finish the Ashes series, and I'm still reorganizing things, both physically and figuratively.

That said, I'm immensely satisfied with the work I got done this year, including getting the Ashes books out in paperback! There is nothing like having the actual, physical book in your hands and on the shelf. They're heavy and they take up space! Like, my imagination is sitting on people's bookshelves right now. Whaaat?

So as I say goodbye to Victoria, Millie and the witches of EVE, I say hello to a whole cadre of characters who have been patiently waiting their turn, and I can't wait for you to meet them in the new year and beyond.

But for now, I'm checking out for the year. I hope you've had a good one, and that you get the chance to enjoy the holiday season. I think we've all earned it.

Take care, and I will see you again in the new year!