Welcome to the 2024 blog roundup!

As has been the tradition since the start of my blog in 2017, I’m rounding up the year that was and my December!

I’ve had a busy month, as I’m sure everyone else has too. It’s always crazy at this time of year with the rush to get things finished by year’s end and the increase in activities. The family and I will be spending our Christmas in Sydney, so we’ve also had the added busyness of getting ready for the trip.

As for 2024, this was the first year in forever that I wasn’t writing, editing, or releasing a Blackbirch book, which was a little strange. After releasing 4 books in the last 3 years, I also took a break from fictional writing and I didn’t work on any new creative writing at all. That was also strange, but something my brain needed. At the start of this year, I had no story ideas and no characters talking to me. Now, after having that long rest, the ideas are back and new characters are forming in my mind, so I’m looking forward to writing a new book in the new year.

Speaking of Blackbirch, this month, I dropped the prices of both the paperbacks and ebooks at all retailers (although Amazon AU still continues to slap their books with whatever ridiculous price they want, so my apologies to ‘Zon Australian readers. All I can suggest is trying the other retailers who honored the price changes).

For this price drop, you can get the first ebook for $1.99, with the other 3 ebooks only $2.99, and the paperbacks are as low as I could go without owing money, making it the perfect chance to start your trip to Blackbirch or to finish up your journey. All of the retailer links are here if you’re interested.

As for the 12th and final month of 2024, this is what else I got up to…

What I’ve Been…Writing

The Writing Checklist Projects – Although I managed to get the two books almost finished, I didn’t get everything completed by my break-time deadline, but that just means I’ll get straight into finishing them as soon as I’m back at my writing desk in 2025.

Watching

Christmas Movies! – As usual, my December was full of Christmas movies. The classics my household watches every year are Christmas With The Kranks, Die Hard, Four Christmases, and Christmas Vacation. We also watched…

Hot Frosty

If you’re after a Christmas movie that’s as silly as it is heartwarming, this year, it’s Hot Frosty. When widowed cafe owner Kathy puts a love-luck scarf on an ice sculpture, it turns the sculpture from a snowman into a real man, one who is determined to find Kathy and enact the usual Christmas movie hijinks. What makes this movie worth the watch is the commitment to the story by stars Lacey Chabert and Dustin Milligan, and the host of other well-known comedy actors that pop up in supporting roles, including a Brooklyn Nine-Nine re-team of Craig Robinson and Joe Lo Truglio.

Carry-On

A new entry in the Die Hard-esq action/Christmas genre is Carry-On. Working a shift on Christmas Eve at one of the busiest airports was always going to be rough for TSA agent, Ethan, but when he receives instructions to let a specific bag through the x-ray scanner or see his fiancée targeted, it becomes an intense cat-and-mouse game that both himself and the man on the other end of the phone will do anything to win. Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman star in this thriller, and they’re both great.

Reading

My Goodreads Reading Challenge for this year was 48 books (4 a month) and I hit that goal! I also finished my years-long challenge of rereading the works of my favorite author, Christopher Pike, when I ticked his 6 adult books off my TBR list. 2024 was also the year I discovered author Holly Jackson and started devouring her backlist.

December Reads/Reviews

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

An intense book that takes place inside an RV. When Red and her friends set off for spring break, they’re expecting to meet up with their fellow classmates, not get stuck on a forested back road. When the RV blows a tire, she and her five other friends think nothing of it. But when they fix the tire and try to drive away, the others blow, and they soon realize it’s bullets that have taken out their transport.

Trapped in the RV, a voice speaks over their two-way radio, telling them that someone aboard has a secret, and if they tell them that secret, the other five will live. What happens next is a twisty story full of tension, intense characters, secrets, lies, and some action-packed final chapters that sprint toward a satisfying end. Highly recommended for readers of mysteries that slowly unravel and feature morally gray characters.

Boney Creek by Paula Gleeson

Having once been the hunting ground for a highway serial killer, the residents of Boney Creek are used to death and brush off a recent spate of seven deaths as bad luck. Newcomers Addie and Toby find the deaths suspicious, however, and as Addie was once a journalist, she starts digging into the deaths, hoping to uncover a connection between them and the town’s serial killer past.

Instead, she discovers long-held secrets and small-town loyalties that could make her the next victim. This second book by author Paula Gleeson is just as twisty as her first, and I recommend it for fans of outback thrillers where everyone is a suspect.

As The Crow Flies by Steven Smith

Another solid steam-punk adventure from author, Steven Smith. As The Crow Flies is a sequel, and perhaps the kick-off to another adventure under a different character if the last chapter is anything to go by. This book sees young Captain Edison Crow find an ancient treasure that leads him and his airship crew to big riches as well as possible answers to his street orphan past. When a museum curator fills in some blanks, Crow, Selah, and the crew head off on the Blood Trail, a place told in stories that might just let Edison finally know where he came from.

The clues to and the history of the ancient civilization are a real highlight of the book and give it an Indiana Jones adventure-like feel. The mix of future technology, and the characters, are also a big part of why this book works so well, and I really enjoyed my second visit to this creative fictional world.

The Mess of Me by Chantelle Atkins

Lou Carling is dealing with a lot at 16. Her mum wants her boyfriend to move in, her older sister has moved out, and Lou has lost so much weight that she’s too afraid to eat and undo all her work. She’s also helping her best friend Joe deal with his bullying older brothers, one of which Lou is horrified to realize she has a crush on.

When Travis kisses her at a party, it kicks off a change in her relationship with Joe and she begins to wonder if someone she’d always thought of as a friend could see her as more than the mess she is. This is a gritty, and at times, confronting, story that deals with big topics and coming-of-age-themes. It includes characters you’ll want to root for, and others you’ll despise, and is another emotional story from talented author, Chantelle Atkins.

2024 – Top Picks

Looking back on what I read and watched for 2024, my faves (in no particular order) were…

TV Shows

The Lost Flowers of Alice HartFrom (Seasons 1-3)SweetpeaAgatha All Along

Books

Rebel Rising by Rebel WilsonUnder The Bridge by Rebecca GodfreyVanishing Act by M.L. DavisA Good Girl’s Guide To Murder Trilogy by Holly JacksonTaking Photos Of

The cats dressed up for Christmas! As we’ll be in Sydney this year, the house is only semi-decorated with a new mini tree instead of the usual big one, which Dash wasn’t too happy about as he loves sitting underneath the Christmas tree. He was also not too happy to be dressed up, but look how cute he and Luna are!

I also usually take photos of what I’m baking, but as I won’t be cooking anything until Christmas Eve this year, there aren’t any photos yet. When I do bake, I’ll make Christmas Chow (at the request of my Evil Twin), Chocolate Lasagna (readers of Blackbirch: The Collector might recognize that delicious dessert reference), and I’m going to give Rachel’s Thanksgiving Trifle from Friends a go, but it will be the dessert version, not the one with beef and peas that tastes like feet .

Top 9 Instagram Photos

And here are my TOP 9 Instagram photos for 2024! Thank you to everyone who sees my posts and leaves a like or a comment.

It’s nice to know that you enjoyed my Taylor Swift Eras Tour pics, my selfie with Luna, my writing desk wall, Luna stealing the seat at my writing desk, the Lego booklovers set I added to my writing desk, the two book launches I went to this year, the annual #6amAusWriters retreat, and a collage of reader posted pics of the final Blackbirch book, The Collector.

On The Blog

In case you missed any, or want to reread them, here are the latest blogs.

November 2024 RoundupFantastical Holiday Gifts For Writers

Your Favorite Blog Posts For 2024

Thanks to the magic of WordPress stats, I also have a list of the top five viewed blog posts in 2024…

3 Simple Ways To Make Readers Care About Your CharactersThe Chapter Checklist5 Ways To Avoid Info-DumpingInvoking The Five SensesWhat To Include In An ARC Ebook

My Favorite Blog Posts For 2024

And a list of five blogs I enjoyed writing this year…

Reminders About What You Can Control In Writing Vs. What You Can’tFantastical Holiday Gifts For WritersThe BacklistAuthor Lessons: Part 1 and Part 2.The Blackbirch Series One Year On: Part 1 and Part 2.On To 2025

Of course, I can’t end this blog without a huge thanks to all of you for taking the time to read the posts I’ve written this year. I hope they’ve been helpful, useful, and informative. All of your feedback, comments, conversations, and social media sharing are also appreciated so much, and it truly makes me feel not so alone in the writing world of rejections, setbacks, and endless goal-chasing.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

I’ll see you again in 2025!

— Kate

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