Ring out the old

Current work: Med duo
Listening to: Bach
Reading: Had a bit of a binge over the last few days – India Grey’s ‘The Italian’s Captive Virgin’, Jessica Hart’s ‘Appointment at the Altar’ and Michelle Styles’ ‘Taken by the Viking’ – enjoyed them thoroughly.

Today’s a day for looking back. What kind of a year has 2007 been?

Workwise, it’s been busyish. For Medicals, I wrote The Doctor’s Royal Love-Child (in the Penhally series); The Spanish Consultant’s Love-Child; and I’m currently writing the Medical duo (hmm… I was probably finishing off The Doctor’s Very Special Christmas about this time last year, too); for Modern Heat I wrote One Night, One Baby; Sold to the Highest Bidder; and Hotly Bedded, Conveniently Wedded. On the nonfiction front I wrote about half of the Norfolk Almanac of Disasters plus Norwich: Heroes, Villains and Victims (both of which I enjoyed hugely), and revised How To Research Local History for the second edition, and I’m working on another local history book at the moment. I’ve also done a fair bit of project management, and the big thing in 2007 was getting my pin from M&B for my 25th book on the shelves with them (which isn’t bad in a little under 5 years). (This is where the Slowing Down Police will be folding their arms and tapping their feet, but wait for the post immediately above this one, OK?)

Personally – bit of an up and down year for me. Some of it was out of my control (such as DH’s job situation and a friend dying unexpectedly), and although I dealt OK with becoming older than my mum was when she died ( a very, very weird feeling), I’m cross with myself for letting some work-related hassles throw me so badly that I spent the whole year chasing my tail and feeling very, very miserable. I need to draw a line and move on. A personal highlight, though, was buying the piano. It’s enriched my guitar lessons and I’ve enjoyed playing so much. I’ve also made some really lovely friends this year.

How did I do with my goals?

Er. The first one was exercise. Considering I’ve been nowhere near the treadmill, this was out for a duck. I ended up messing about on the net more rather than less, and the dog didn’t get anywhere near as many walks as he should’ve done.

Second was weight management. Ha. I am the same weight as I was this time last year. Still, at least I’m not heavier than I was at the beginning of the previous year (which is better than last year, when I’d put on weight).

Third was writing. Write better books… hmm. I can’t judge my own work. No idea. Reviews have been nice and the local books have hit the #1 spot, and my two US retail books both ended up in the Waldenbooks top 10, so maybe. Start working on mainstream – nope, didn’t get round to it. Get another local history book contract – yes, managed that one (one from each publisher).

So I know what I need to work on in 2008…