I didn’t quite make the 50k threshold. But that’s okay. I never seem to hit the goal in November. For whatever reason, July (a very busy month for me) is my best of the NaNoWriMo months.

NaNoWriMo came at the exact moment I needed it most. I had grand plans to finish a book a month starting in October. But the contest definitely affected me. I found myself distracted and unable to focus. By the end of October I’d barely managed 50% of a first draft.

When November 1st came, I barreled ahead and finished the rest of that book, wrote a quick (and needs to be edited!) epilogue for Tidal Patterns (more news on when to read that in a bit), and got started on my fun, between the books book for True North.

The last two weeks have been back to back sickness here. Between nursing my kids (and my dog!), cooking and cleaning for the holiday, finishing up my holiday shopping and Christmas cards, and decorating my house for Christmas, I’ve been otherwise occupied.

But that’s okay. NaNoWriMo has gotten me back into the rhythm of writing EVERY DAY. And I’ve learned my lesson that I have to write at least 100 words a day to keep myself on track.

I still have big plans for the New Year and am excited to announce that I did submit Tidal Patterns  to Harlequin for their consideration. So, I count this November a success.

Funny thing, I’ve started this blog post and had it saved in my folder since September. And I keep changing it and tweaking it. My first post said, well I didn’t make the top 55 but I’m so proud of this book, I’m going to keep moving forward with it. Then the editors floored me. They picked my book based on the pitch and first chapter and I moved on to the first round.

The next time I came in to update the post, I left it saved with “I didn’t make the top 25 but am so excited to have made it this far.” Only, with your support, I DID make the top 25 and that was amazing. Thank you to all of my friends and family for reading and telling your friends to read and for all of your encouraging words.

Making the top 25 means the editors read my entire manuscript for Tidal Patterns. As a new writer, this opportunity is awesome. Harlequin accepts manuscripts year-round from new and aspiring authors. But typically you are submitting a synopsis and a few chapters and can be waiting for a while to hear back. Knowing that the editors were reading my book in its entirety was both thrilling and frightening.

I didn’t make the final cut, but this is not the last for Tidal Patterns. After the competition wraps up, I’m going to submit to Harlequin or I’m going to go ahead and add this to my books for sale on Amazon. I’m not sure which yet.

But in the meantime, I have a lot of work to do, finishing up True North for spring/summer.  And then there’s an idea for another attempt at Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest for next year….

I loved the experience publishing Anchored in the Bay (True North 1) on Amazon. Jump starting my writing career was a major goal for the year and Amazon made it very easy for me to self-publish. By putting my book up solely on Amazon, I’ve been able to make it available for Kindle Unlimited subscribers (netflix for books).

Kindle Press picked up Tiny Island Summer (True North 2) and it is also solely available on Amazon. I’ll be releasing the final books in the series myself on Amazon next year. (I’m currently hard at work on Book 3 and a shorter, between the books, story I’m calling 3.5).

One complaint I’ve heard is that if you don’t have a Kindle, you can’t read my books. Not true! Kindle has apps for your smartphone, your tablet, and even your laptop that allow you to read any of the books you purchase through the Kindle store.

So what are you waiting for? Now’s the best time to download an app and check out my series!