Hi everyone!
Happy New Year’s! I hope you’ve had a great holiday season.
For the last few years, I’ve written a wrap-up post. I like to look back over the year and see what I accomplished and compare it with what I thought I’d accomplish. 2024 was a weird year. Things didn’t go as planned.
Originally, we thought we’d leave Florida in spring and make our way up the East Coast, but we ended up coming home to Colorado instead, stopping for about a month in March to visit some of our favorite places in Texas. While home, we decided to stay through the holidays, and now that the holidays have passed…I think we’re going to stay for a few more months.
We’re all itching to travel again, but due to personal reasons, it’s smarter if we stay put for a while longer.
The good news is that it was a very productive publishing year for me.
My 2024 Review:
- I wrote and published five books this year: Isle of Sorrows, Sunset Horizon, 27 Recipes for Romance, The Werewolf Hunter and the Apprentice (with Jake), and Blood and Buttercups.
- I finally moved my contemporary romances to their new pen name. They now have their own home under Shari Lynn Cook.
- We traveled through seven states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado), but we didn’t add any new ones to our map. Some years are like that.
- I went rogue, ditched my schedule, and finally started writing A Vampire’s Guide to Gardening.
- I got to visit author friends twice this year. In March, I had the opportunity to hang out with Constance Lopez several times. (We even arranged a surprise meeting with a super sweet reader!) And then in August, Melanie Cellier and Kenley Davidson flew into Colorado, and we spent almost a week watching K-dramas and eating snacks. It was the best.
A Few 2024 Stats/Facts
- Even though it’s only been out for about a month, Blood and Buttercups is my most popular KU book of 2024, with the most pages read. (How amazing is that!?!)
- The Vampire Hunter and the Heiress wins the “Most Sold” category, both in eBook and paperback editions.
- Blood and Buttercups was voted Reader Favorite in my private Facebook group poll. (As of this morning when I checked it.)
- My personal favorite project of the year was Blood and Buttercups. I’ve wanted to write it for so long, and it was so fun to devote time to it.
- And finally, I thought it would be fun to take a look at lifetime royalty numbers and see which book is currently in the lead…and that honor still goes to Forest of Firelight. (And that makes my heart so happy.)
And here are my (tentative) plans for 2025:
- I’m going to publish Vampires and Violas and Hunters and Hydrangeas in the first half of the year.
- Jake and I plan to release the third Chronicles of GHOST book in September. We’ve picked our next hunter and have started writing.
- Jake and I are also in the planning stages for our next connected series. I don’t even know what genre to call it right now, so I’ll share a few keywords: second world fantasy, tournament, houses, older-brother’s best friend romance, epic(ish), and found family. It’s yummy, guys. But, like I said, we’re just planning it right now. I don’t expect this one to release until 2026 at the earliest.
- I’m also in the planning/writing stages of another cozy contemporary fantasy series. I would like to start releasing it in the second half of the year, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.
I hope you have a great New Year’s Day. Thank you for all your love and support in 2024. I can’t wait to go on more book adventures with you in 2025.
Wishing you the best,
Shari :)
Shari L. Tapscott 