2013 - A Year in Review

Happy New Year! 

So how was your 2013?  Mine was like no other.  I could never have even imagined it.  It far exceeded any expectations that I had.  And I've met so many amazingly wonderful people. 

First and foremost, this blog was born in 2013!  I hope you've enjoyed it so far and I hope that it only gets bigger and better in 2014.  I'm still not sure I know what I'm doing, but I'm just going with the flow.

I do want to share some of the authors and books that had a huge impact on me this year.  I hope that you've read some of these, and if not, think about adding them to your TBR (to-be-read) for 2014.  What better way to start the year than with a good book?

Lacey Weatherford:  What can I say about Lacey?  Let's start with her books.  I started with the first in the Of Witches and Warlocks series and quickly read through everything else she had written.  I finished the entire series, then it was onto Chasing Nikki and Finding Chase, followed by Crush.  And when Smitten came out in June, it led to the start of this blog.    Fire & Ice might just be my favorite of Lacey 's books, but everything she writes is amazing.  But Lacey is more than just a great author.  She is a wonderful person who truly loves her family, friends and fans.  I feel blessed to have met her!

Belinda Boring:  Belinda is known as the Queen of Swoon, but I like to call her the Queen of Cliffhangers.  Have you read her Mystic Wolves series?  Every single book in the series leaves you hanging and begging for the next one.  It's torture really, but in the best possible way.  And Loving Liberty, an amazing story about living the life you were meant to live and not the one that others had mapped out for you.  What can I say about Belinda as a person?  She is such a sweetheart and she makes me laugh all the time.  I cannot wait until we get to meet in person!

Cambria Hebert:  I fell in love with Cambria's Take It Off  series after I received an ARC of the first book, Torch.  And then when Tease came out, I knew I'd found another new author to love.  Apparently this was her first foray into Contemporary romance but trust me when I tell you that she can write, no matter what genre.  And have you read Charmed?  OMG, the woman made me fall in love with the grim reaper.  How does one do that?

Kamery Solomon:  Kamery is one of my favorite friends of 2013.  I absolutely loved the first book in her God Chronicles series, Zeus.  And until I read her novella, Forever, I thought I hated novellas.  But Kamery was able to tell a complete story in a short space and I loved it.   And I love her.  She is her mother's daughter, but she is also her own woman.  She has big dreams (have you read Big Apple Dreams?) and I really hope all her dreams come true!  I know I'll always be cheering her on.

Micalea Smeltzer:  I found Micalea simply because I loved the cover of Finding Olivia  Yep, I bought her book because of the cover.  Whoever said you can't judge a book by its cover has no idea what they're talking about.  But enough about the cover, because Micalea is a fantastic author and her writing speaks for itself.  She paints such beautiful pictures with her words and her characters feel like friends.  And I'm so happy to call her my friend!

Bella Roccaforte:  If you are a fan of paranormal, you must read INK: Fine Lines.  Bella's debut novel is fantastic and I can not wait to read the next one.  And the love triangle...this isn't Twilight.  There are crazy things going on in Bella's head and I'm so glad she's putting them down on paper. Bella is my newest friend and she has been such a great supporter of the page in that short time.  I don't know what I'd do without her.

Jennifer Culbreth, Emily Hemmer, T.H.Snyder, J.J. DiBenedetto...and so many others who reached out to me over the past year. To all those who wrote fabulous books in 2013.  Thank you for all that you do and I can not wait to see where you take us in 2014.

And to all the authors I'm just meeting or who are just starting out, I look forward to getting to know you and your characters.

But I can't forget people like the beautiful Kimberly Tallman.  Such a gorgeous cover model and just one of the sweetest people I have met this year.  I adore you.  And the amazing Regina Wamba at Mae I Design.  Every cover she creates is a work of art!  I honestly do buy books because she did the cover.  It's true!

And the people I could never forget.  Lisa, Kandi, Olivia, Samien, Dianne, Toni...the friends who love to read as much as I do and they share their love of books and authors and bloggers every day.  Just knowing these lovely ladies are there is sometimes what gets me through the day.  Thank you!!!

If someone had told me a year ago that this is where I'd be today, I would have thought they were crazy.  I have over 1000 followers on my Facebook page. I have authors emailing and messaging me, sometimes just to chat.  My name and this blog have appeared in several books and even on the back covers of two of those books.

This all started because I love to read.  That love will never die and I am so glad that it has brought me to where we are today.  I want to thank each and every author who writes these amazing books.for us.  And I want to thank everyone who follows the blog and the page.  You have no idea how much it means to me and I will never be able to put it into words.  I hope you will continue to follow along in 2014 and see where this amazing journey takes us next.