S.M. Carrière . com

It is now officially 2013.  I'd like to take today to reflect on the year 2012 was.

It was fantastic!

2012 saw me blossom in ways I did not think would happen for me.  In May, I decided to venture out and meet people as an actual author.  So, I booked a table at Ottawa's first ever Comi-Con and met incredible people (some with incredible costumes.  First generation Optimus Prime, I'm looking at you), some of whom even bought my book.  They were wonderful to talk to, and the whole experience was not nearly as scary as I imagined it would be.

More to the point, it helped me accept the title that, truth be told, I'm still not all that comfortable with.  I have to constantly remind myelf that I can call myself an author, because I am an author, and it doesn't really matter if I'm not traditionally published.  I do still have difficulty thinking of myself as a writer since I am not traditionally published and writing does not make me any kind of income whatsoever.

Yet.

I had so much fun with Comi-Con that I decided to take the giant leap of going to an actual writer's convention here in Ottawa.  Can-Con 2012, held in September, was an amazing experience.  I met some incredible people there, and they were all lovely and supportive.  I even, for the first time ever and hopefully not the last, sat in on a couple of panels.  The panels were a tonne of fun, and were much less intimidating than my over-active imagination expected them to be.  I do have to say, however, that I was still nervous as hell.

No, seriously.  I trembled like a leaf before my first panel.  And almost burst into tears.  Yeah...  Publicity and I don't really get along.

Still, it was incredibly fun and the people involved were wonderful.  I still owe D.K. a book as a thank-you.  I haven't seen him around, so haven't had the chance to give it to him.

Both these experiences were periods of incredible growth for me.  I learnt that I can go out in public and sell my stuff.  I learnt that people aren't generally horrible, even though I constantly expect them to be.  It's social conditioning, you understand.

It also firmly cemented the fact that writing is the thing for me.  It really is the only thing that constantly challenges me, brings me continual joy (despite the emotional roller-coaster I'm constantly riding on behalf of my characters) and fulfills me.  It's incredibly difficult to explain just how right writing feels.

I know I've found my path.

I also know that I'm helplessly bound to it.  Despite the fact that writing has contributed absolutely nothing to my finances, I cannot help but do it.  It continually leads me along with a siren's call too beautiful to resist.  2012 taught me that it is more than alright to be hopelessly chained to this thing.

And, after two years of wistfully considering, then rejecting, then considering it again, I finally took the plunge and started a Vlog on YouTube.  I'm hoping to grow my audience a little, and connecting with people in a real way with this vlog.  So feel free to submit questions on any one of my videos, and I'd be happy to address it in a vlog.

I do have to say, that vlogging has been quite fun thus far and I'm hoping I'll be able to keep going with it. 

It has been such a brilliant year that I'm quite sad to leave it behind, actually.  But on the bright side, I have no plans to slow down in 2013.  With so much fun having been had on the Ottawa convention scene, I'm planning to do it all again.  It is expensive, and it is a logistical nightmare, but it was fun, and I had real fun talking to and connecting with everyone.  I will, of course, continue writing.  Hopefully my well of stories hasn't run dry, because I'm almost finished my current W.I.P.  And, of course, I will continue vlogging and blogging.  I'm also looking to expand into other areas, so I'll be doing more painting and drawing in 2013 as well.

Looking back, 2012 has been one of the best years of my life and I have this funny feeling that 2013 is going to be even better.

Mostly, I want to extent my most sincere thank-you everyone in 2012.  Some of you have been with me since the beginning.  Some of you met me yesterday.  All of you mean the world to me, and your friendship and encouragement has been the brightest, warmest and most wonderful part of 2012.

Thank-you, thank-you, a thousand times thank-you!

I can't wait to see what 2013 will bring!