2023 was one of the best years of my life…
along with 2015, 2008, 2000, 1993, and 1991. And it came after several difficult years—years in which I was trying to be positive, but I was really struggling.
If your 2023 was lovely, let’s celebrate. If it was horrible, I’m ready to commiserate…and I hope you’ll remember that things can get better. You can hardly believe how much better they can get.
Of course, every year brings heartaches as well as joys. Mr. Donovan and I worried about family members and friends as they navigated difficult health and career matters. We faced our own health challenges. We mourned the loss of our sweet little dog, Clio.
As most of you know, I parted ways with a corporation in fall 2022. Our income in 2023 was about a third of what it had been before. I consider myself about average when it comes to materialism, so I expected this to be a much bigger hardship than it was. We do have to watch our spending, of course. Health insurance is very expensive for people like us in the U.S., who don’t get it through their employer. But we have enough for a very happy life.
Here’s what I loved about 2023!
1. I Got My Dream Agent
Late in 2022, I logged onto Twitter and noticed there was a pitch event, #Moodpitch, happening that day. It was already afternoon, and I supposed I might be too late to get noticed. I threw together a moodboard and a pitch, anyway, mostly to entertain my followers.
My dream agent Julie Gwinn, the VP at Seymour Agency, liked my pitch immediately. I still needed to revise the story, and I sent it to her in the spring of this year. I got the offer of representation, and I was thrilled!
2. I Got a Two-Book Deal With a Major Publisher
I don’t have to tell you all that usually, publishing moves very slowly. Publishing makes molasses look like a bullet train.
But this happened very, very quickly. I had the offer from Berkley, my dream publisher, within a week of their receiving a whole manuscript. This is the stuff that dreams are made of.
3. We Saw My Parents Often
One of the things we love about being in Illinois is being so close to family! Although my sister is further away, we did see her and her family at Thanksgiving, too.
4. We Saw My Brother and SIL Often
…including a few times we invited ourselves over for Bears games. 🙂
5. We Saw Nieces and Nephs
I’m so proud of all of them, and it’s always fun to catch up with what they’re doing!
6. I Taught a Great Six-Week Jumpstart Your Romance Novel Workshop
I was so grateful to be working with such talented authors!
7. Mr. Donovan’s Brother, Our SIL, and Our Niece Visited
They are some of our favorite people, and having them in town was a highlight of the year! We’d love to see all the Donovans—the family on my husband’s side—more often. As I’m writing this, we’re in Arizona for Christmas, visiting with many of them!
8. We Saw Our Old Friends in Kansas City…
I’m so glad that I have such good friendships with people there, many years after moving away.
9. I Saw Friends in the Chicago Area
I’m a member of the Chicago North Romance Writers group, and I’ve met a lot of wonderful people that way! I’m so excited about our Spring Fling conference this April. I’ve met other writers, too, and we’ve also reconnected with a former coworker of Mr. Donovan’s and her husband.
10. I Hosted Early A.M. Writing Sprints
A few different months of the year, I logged onto Zoom on weekday mornings to write with some fellow crazy dreamers. I’ll be doing this again in January, so if you want to make sure to get an invite, email me at bryndonovan1@gmail.com.
11. I Became a Member of the Art Institute of Chicago
This huge Chicago art museum has been one of my favorite places in the world since I was a child, and much of my forthcoming novel is set there!
12. I Read 37 Books
My 2023 goal was 50 books, but 37 isn’t bad! My habit of reading for pleasure had really languished in the years when I was working days, nights, and weekends at my former company, and it was a real pleasure to get back into it again.
13. I Started Heading Up 2 Book Clubs and Enjoyed Being in a 3rd
I started my online romance book club from scratch, and I took over as the leader of the online mystery/thriller book club for women. You can join from anywhere (you do have to be a woman for the second one—sorry, I didn’t make the rules.) Just set ua Meetup.com profile first.
I also went to several meetings of an in-person book club. This has all been the perfect way to meet people…while encouraging my reading habit!
14. We Managed Our Freelance Book Editing Business, Lucky Author
We worked with amazing, creative clients on book editing and query and synopsis collaboration. It’s been so rewarding to be a part of so many authors’ journeys! Here’s the Lucky Author website.
15. We Went to Milwaukee Twice
Milwaukee also has a first-class art museum. Both times, we stopped at the Mars Cheese Castle along the way, which I definitely recommend.
16. We Went to Several Cubs Games
One of these was in Milwaukee, and the others were home games. I love the festive atmosphere in Wrigleyville, and I set a scene in my book there!
17. We Enjoyed Sparkly Movies
My two favorite movies of the year were Barbie and the Taylor Swift movie. Both showings had such a party atmosphere!
18. I Taught Fun NaNoWriMo Prep Workshops
One of these was on Zoom, and the other was at the Naperville Public Library. I really enjoyed both sessions!
19. We Hung Out at Twin Lakes
This is just a nice place in our neighborhood to walk the dogs or get a cheap meal.
20. We Went to Jack O’Lantern World
I’ve mentioned this Lake Zurich festival before. They make incredible installations out of thousands of carved pumpkins. Photos don’t do it justice!
21. We Enjoyed the Lights at the Chicago Botanic Garden
This is also amazing every year, and again, I can’t do it justice in pictures.
22. We Visited Yosemite and Southern California
I wrote about our visit to Yosemite! We also dropped by Malibu—one place we do miss from our California years—and visited aunts and cousins in L.A. and Seal Beach.
23. I enjoyed sharing time with you on this blog!
This cozy little corner means so much to me…and I am always learning new things from your comments! Thank you so much for being here!
I am probably forgetting important things!
Tell us all about your 2023!
Was it lovely? A disaster? A mixed bag? We’d love to hear about it in the comments! I hope you’re enjoying your holidays if you celebrate!
Sounds like a fun year! Congratulations again on the book deal!! You inspire the rest of us. My biggest events were: landing a big new gig with one of my clients (I’m an entertainment attorney for my “day job”); and finally finishing the novel I’ve been working on for two years. My New Year’s resolutions are to write faster, write every day, and stop editing as I go along. Happy holidays!
Thank you, Tom! Well, between the work news and the writing news, it sounds like you had a big year. Congratulations! Sometimes it’s so hard to keep writing rather than reworking..being a freelance book editor, I really struggle with that, myself. We can do it! Happy holidays!
Congratulations on a great year!
2023 has been a mixed bag, and this last quarter has been especially hard with several elderly family members having some very serious health issues. But, my youngest came home from his first semester of college with a 4.2 GPA, our oldest and his wife welcomed a baby girl, and our middle is planning a March destination wedding with his fiancee`.
I’m hoping 2024 will be a great year.
Oh, it’s so hard worrying about our loved ones! I’m so sorry. WOW, congratulations to all your kids…amazing news all around! Love to hear it! Happy holidays. ❤️ I hope your 2024 is your best year yet!
Thank you!