My Year in Retrospect

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”—Dr. Seuss

2012 is almost at an end (maybe even our lives if the Mayans have anything to do with it!) and I thought I’d go over everything that’s happened with you. Firstly I’d like to thank each and everyone one of you for your awesome support and loyalty. It has been a great year.

This year was the start of wonderful experiences for me. I started this blog, had a great time sharing my crazy adventures through author-dom with you and also started my Watcha’ Doin With posts. Thanks to all the talented and wonderful authors who participated—the world is a better place with you people in it! I learnt how to create a book trailer (with music!) and upload it to YouTube (pat on the back for this technological ignoramus!) I’m constantly learning more about the literary world every day and picking up priceless advice on writing that one supernova novel that’s going to get me my secluded island (only accessible by motor boat) and dinner with RPatz.  I’d like to shout out a special thank you to Ken Spillman, my awesome author mentor, who somehow always manages to make my day. Thanks to him, I’ve been invited to be a presenter at the AFCC in Singapore next year. Three years ago, I was moping around that very same book fair, getting in publishers’ faces about taking on my book. It’s so surreal to imagine myself actually presenting there now.

The Scarlet Omen was released on 17 June this year, making my childhood dream a reality. Thank you Kymberlyn Reed, Miriam Pace and Jackie Hamilton—you gals have given me the chance to call myself an author without having people roll their eyes at me. My life will never be the same again and it’s all thanks to you.

Because of this, I finally got to see myself in the Malaysian national newspaper. Thank you Gwen Manickam and Subadhra Devan for making me a self-proclaimed local celebrity! My son now thinks that it’s absolutely normal to be in the papers; I think I have an over-achiever in the making here.

My only wish is that my father could have seen the article. It would have been one of the best moments of my life watching him open his daily paper and see a full-page article about his youngest daughter. Sadly, he passed away in February, leaving a giant hole in my universe. He never got to see the acknowledgment that I wrote on the first page of The Scarlet Omen: “To my father, for never saying ‘No’.” I’ll miss him. I would not be writer had it not been for his constant diligence that I write down every single memorable moment in my life and that the phrase 'I can't' be erased from the English language. Thanks, Pa.

All in all it’s been a great year of book signings and interviews, fan mail and five star reviews. My son’s getting older every day, dragging me along on his crazy ride to growing up. Being a mother of the coolest boy in the world is indescribable. My students have been a great support, forcing themselves to finish my book even though the English was difficult at times. Thanks people—you’re the best students a teacher could wish for!

There are no words to describe how much my family has been my lifeline this year (and I’m a writer so shame on me!). There would be no me without you—thank you for everything, my biggest most viciously loyal and protective fans. I love you.

My all time favourite movie this year (please don’t throw up or pledge boycotting my blog and book in 2013) was Breaking Dawn part 2. In my defence, anything with Robert Pattinson in it WILL be the movie that I swear to love forever...so please don’t judge until you’ve lost your heart to that one perfect guy. My song of the year is definitely I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons; I think my phone’s going to go on strike if I play that song one more time. The Hunger Games series and Under the Dome were my favourite books of this year (I read as much as I write so books that leave an impression on me are very rare).

So what’s cooking in 2013? I’ve handed in the prequel to The Scarlet Omen...extremely proud of it...let’s hope my publisher is too. I’m now working on the third book of Anjeli’s adventures. It’s really cool watching her and her fellow characters grow and learn—I might just cry when I reach The End. My New Year’s Resolution: I’ve decided that I’d like to be more patient and understanding next year (my family will be happy to be finally rid of my wall-cracking tantrums and eardrum-piercing silent treatments). I’d also like to take up sky-diving but SOME PEOPLE have strictly forbidden it, so I’ll just have to remain a bookworm.

Well, these are my final musings for the year so I’d like to thank you all again for your patronage and comments. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year with your family and friends. Take care and please come back safely to me in January so that we can commence our journey through the literary world together in 2013...with brand new Mojos and kick-ass hair. Cheers and Kisses, my lovelies!