With New Year’s upon us, it’s time I write my 2025 wrap-up. In a word, my year was chaotic. Lots of big things happened in 2025, some good…and some not so good.
Let’s get started!
Notable things that happened in 2025:
* I published three books: Vampires and Violas, Hunters and Hydrangeas, and Of Owls and Oolong.
*Hunters and Hydrangeas was my fiftieth published book, and 2025 was my tenth year working as a published author.
*I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in August, had a total thyroidectomy in October, and am currently working through some (hopefully temporary) issues with my parathyroids that resulted from the surgery.
*My son turned eighteen and graduated high school this year. It’s bittersweet having your kids cross that threshold into adulthood, but this was honestly the highlight of my year. I’m so proud of him, and getting to celebrate this transition with him was an honor.
*In July, I finally started a Patreon page, and it’s become such a happy place for me. I’ve added several exclusive bonuses and stories over there, including the newest, Heels and Holly: An Obsidian Queen Christmas Story. It’s been so exciting to see the page grow.
*I pulled eight series out of Kindle Unlimited so I can sell them in my ebook shop and distribute them through other retailers, such as Barnes and Noble and Google Play. Like Patreon, I started this process about a month before I received my cancer diagnosis, which wasn’t the greatest timing. But all the books are now available on my website; and I’m hoping to add them to the other retailers soon.
*I signed an audio contract with Podium for the Vampire’s Guide to Gardening series, and they released Blood and Buttercups and Vampires and Violas. (Hunters and Hydrangeas is on pre-order.)
*We left Colorado for Florida, where I had my surgery. It’s really wonderful to be back. I never would have dreamed Florida would feel like a second home, but it really does.
A few 2025 facts:
*Blood and Buttercups was my highest performing book of the year, both in sales and KU pages.
*My favorite project of the year was Of Owls and Oolong. It was my escape during the waiting phase of my diagnosis, and because of that, the book will always be special to me.
*Forest of Firelight is still my all-time best-selling book!
Plans for 2026:
*I have to go in for my radioactive iodine therapy early in the year. Hopefully that will be the last step in my cancer treatment, and then we can focus on routine checkups to make sure it doesn’t come back.
*Of Pixies and Pekoe will release in January.
*I have several fun projects scheduled for Patreon, including Magic, Cats, and Dungeon Rats—our group “Choose Your Own Adventure” style story, and a group read-along of The Riven Kingdoms.
*I’m hoping to write Of Mages and Matcha to finish up the Tea Shop series, and then I’ll work on whatever feels right at the moment. It might be another Moss Hollow series, or maybe the epic-leaning romantic fantasy Jake and I have been planning. We’ll see.
It felt like a slow writing year, but a busy year in just about every other way. But that’s okay—some years are just like that.
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year’s. I can’t wait to go on book adventures with you in 2026.
Wishing you the best,
Shari
PS: Of Owls and Oolong is on sale on Amazon for $2.99 now through Friday. It will return to its regular price of $4.99 on Saturday, so be sure to grab it before then if you want to add it to your Kindle library.
Shari L. Tapscott 