Oh, What a Year it has been…

It’s funny that the more I transitioned from acting to writing, the less I wrote. On this blog, at least. I used to share my journey, my hopes, and my dreams as a way to inspire others on the same journey, and keep in touch with family that lives farther away. This year I was feeling a bit down because I am never where I plan to be, but I remembered how much I used to love doing those recaps, and how inspiring they were to me, so I decided to do another one. For old time’s sake. And because as awesome as it is to dream about where we’re going, it’s really nice to acknowledge and celebrate how far we’ve come.

So, without further ado, here are the highlights of my 2024 🙂

I started off my year with travel highlights, spending a week in Florida with my parents, my brother, his wife, and their son, which was perfect. The weather was colder than I would have liked, but the company (including the uncles we were there visiting) was amazing. We tried for a round 2 in Tremblant, but everyone came home with gastro, so I’m not sure if it’s an overall highlight, but while it was good, it was real good.

Next…I’m Double Carded! Why yes, this one is acting-related, after I just implied I’d given up on it, but I don’t think I’ll ever really be done with it. I struggled so hard to become an ACTRA member, and to get all my UDA credits, and as of February of this year, I am double-carded! I haven’t actively pursued acting since COVID, but it is nice to spend days on set writing my next stories 🙂

I spent a month in London! In my Writer Goals and Dreams video, I said I wanted to spend a month writing somewhere. This was more research-oriented, but it was the trip of a lifetime. I got to explore castles and country estates, take a writing course at Oxford, visit museums, brush up on my history, consult with experts on future stories…it was amazing. One of the many highlights of the trip was meeting my grandmother’s half-brother and his two kids for the first time ever. I can’t wait to go back. (A huge reason I’m writing a regency romance series may or may not be so I can have a legit excuse to go back as often as I possibly can)

In June, I attended my first ever Writer’s Retreat and it was awesome! I used to work as a standardized patient at McGill with a bunch of super amazing working actors who were leagues ahead of me. I loved sitting there in the green room between scenarios just listening to them talk about the industry and their careers, dreaming of one day being a part of it. That’s what this retreat was like. Absorbing all this knowledge and brainstorming with such incredibly talented people…We even went to a local bookstore to present our books, which were then donated to the library. The whole things was absolutely amazing! There was also a lot of me thinking I had somehow tricked them into letting me attend, but I am working on that. Earning my spot, obviously, but more importantly, feeling like I am allowed to be there, even if I haven’t reached their level…yet.

I launched and successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign for a special 5 year anniversary edition of The Owens Chronicles, and a Backerkit campaign for the First Life Duet. It was terrifying and completely unknown territory for me, but it went better than I expected. I am starting to build a new audience, getting to know some of my readers, and building a stockpile of character art, Giftedverse swag, and special editions. It’s also making me become more familiar with shipping print books, which I was apprehensive about before, but now I get so excited about being able to write personal messages in the books and add extra swag because I actually get to show people how much I appreciate their support. It’s still terrifying, but I also love it!

I returned for my third year at Montreal Comic-Con! I saw so many familiar faces and was in my feels for a large part of those three days. People coming to get the next book in the series because they loved the first, one son pointing to my sign and ushering his mom over because he recognized the books she was reading…it was amazing. (And I got to spend three days hanging out with my brother, which is always a win, no matter what we are doing) There was even a woman who came to ask me where she could get Tristan, because she’d read every other one of my books, more than once, but that was the only one she couldn’t find. She made my year. And then, to top it all off, a woman named Rebecca stopped by the booth, listened to me talk about the series, asked if I was a local author, then asked if I would want to have my books in her Indigo store!!!! And a book signing! It was a childhood dream come true. Another one of my Author Goals and Dreams. I still get butterflies and shivers just writing this and thinking about how much it means to me.

This one isn’t really an accomplishment on my part, but it is a highlight. My parents, my aunt, and I went to New York City for the weekend because my ‘cousin’ was in a Broadway play. Water for Elephants, and he absolutely killed it. I was in awe and inspired and…it was amazing.

As mentioned, part of having my books on consignment at Indigo, was having a book signing at Indigo! I know I keep saying dreams come true, and you would think it loses its meaning, but I had a lot of childhood dreams, and I am just so grateful that I got to see so many of them come true this year. (Don’t worry, I have a million more to go, always something new to look forward to, but this isn’t the post about the future, this is the one to celebrate all the amazing things that have already happened. To look back on when my faith in myself wavers.)

I haven’t mentioned it much in this post, but if you were following me before, or if you know me at all, you probably know that I have the most incredible family in the world. Like, hands down, no one else’s can even compare (no offense) Well, a few months ago, my family threw me a surprise party to celebrate my books and being in indigo and the signing and…everything. If you’ve been to one of my family’s parties, they don’t go halfway. There were posters of my characters, napkins with my logo, my artist was there…and I was just surrounded by love and support. Being an author, especially an indie author, can be incredibly isolating and lonely at times. A lot of people don’t understand the career, and if you don’t throw big launch parties, most people won’t even realize you’ve released a new book (I’m terrible at marketing. Like really, really bad) So to have all the people that I love celebrate accomplishments that my imposter syndrome tells me are meaningless compared to their accomplishments, or to the bestselling authors out there who make a living out of this…it meant the world to me. Like, still brings tears to my eyes as I write this because I am the absolute luckiest girl in the world to have them in my corner.

I lost my uncle earlier this year, way too young and one of the low points of 2024, but losing him convinced my aunt to live her life as if she was dying. She intends to travel every chance she gets, so she convinced a bunch of ladies to go to Greece with her. It was breathtaking, mesmerizing, and magical.

I got a new nephew! He’s also my godson. As you can tell from my last post, being an aunt is currently one of my greatest joys in life. Every time I babysit or we go camping or to the zoo or someone rushes into my arms when I pick them up from daycare…basically, every time I get to be Auntie Panda, I am in heaven. But I’m not sure how much the parents want of their kids online, so suffice it to say, my nephews and nieces are amazing. The cutest, the smartest, the kindest…they are my heart.

I won a scholarship to Author Nation, a writing conference in Las Vegas (formerly 20BooksVegas). I had booked a ticket back in 2020, which didn’t quite pan out, but I watched all the sessions online and learned so much from all the sessions and panels…but nothing beats being there in person. I got to talk to all the vendors on vendor day, meet some of the amazing authors who share their journeys and knowledge and have helped me so much without even knowing it, hang out with the incredible Wide for the Win crew, and meet all kinds of new author friends. It was an incredible week, where I learned as much, if not more, at the tables during meals, or in the hallways between sessions, than in them. (Not to discount the amazing sessions, but some of the side conversations were that good). Plus, there’s a whole online component where the learning and community continues over the first 90 days of 2025 (and beyond?).

I think a really huge highlight for me this year was finding/ building a community. I left both the retreat and the conference with accountability partners, signed up for a mastermind group through one of my courses, and it is incredible the difference it makes when you have people you can reach out to for questions, or to celebrate your wins, to congratulate them on theirs, to learn from. In the words of my new friend from the retreat in June, I am so happy I’ve found my tribe <3 (Which includes the supportive family who give me their all and who I will never be worthy of)

I was going to say my last highlight was Montreal’s Mini Con, where I got to meet new and established readers and fans, and catch up with my dad, my brother, and other vendors, but no, my last highlight of 2024 is the holiday season I get to spend with everyone I love. Cheesy, but honest. I’m nothing without the people who love me.

I know I haven’t been on here in forever, so this is probably going out into the ether, but if you do catch it, I would love to hear about your wins and highlights this year. What made you smile.

Happy Holidays. Happy reading. And keep dreaming.

Amanda

P.S. If you’ve made it this far and are interested in checking out my books, I’m doing 25% off to ring in 2025, so you can use the code 2025 until January 31st 😉