A Year in Review

2022 has been a year full of trials and tribulations, there have been many highs, and many lows. Here's a few pieces of the long journey this year presented me. 

Of course, I finally finished the second round of edits for Code Red, we're getting pretty close to being ready to finish the last round. One last read through before the changes become official. I also started two new books this year, both I'm very excited about. This brings my total works in progress up to 17 (Plus a couple small ideas but we will leave those out for now): Here's a sneak peak of the project names (very few final series names here). 

1. The Torvona Series (The first book I ever started to write has morphed into a huge fantasy world with a main series of at least five books, and several spin offs. Some norse mythology, werewolves, and more). 
2. Reclaiming Wonderland (Code Red is the first book in the trilogy, dystopian, fantasy, Alice in Wonderland retelling). 
3. Hell's Mistress Series (The story of one of the Princess' of Hell, drawing from both Christian and Jewish mythos)
4. Sun Snake (A terrible working title, but mythology by yours truly, set in a world losing it's sun). 
5. Sorceress Stars (A new take on Sorcerers, I lost the physical copy I had written the first half of the book down on, someday I'll actually finish book one, it's a story that I have a lot of love for). 
6. Untitled Kitsune Story (adult content in this one, but has led me to learning a lot more about Japanese mythology, I just started this one a few months ago on my FreeWrite). 
7. Untitled Series (This series is one I'm most excited about,  each  book will follow the story of a different woman in a small Appachlian mountain town, with many Hijinx's and at least a couple bear and cat shifters). 
8. Little Red (No idea what the length of this one will be, but I do know it's based in East Tennessee, and there's werewolves). 
9. Untitled Story (Based on Russian folktales, very early drafting stages). 
10. Barefoot Boy (Elves and princes, who wouldn't love it). 
11. Untitled Pirate/Mermaid Story (I really am not good at titles, but the story of a ship's captain and her run ins). 
12. Camtree Academy (Celtic mythology, and unknown identity). 
13. Immortal Words (the book focuses on an immortal and his apprentice who is obsessed with vocabulary). 
14. The New Greek Tragedy (Let's be honest the title tells you all there is to know.)
15. Untitled Apocolypse Book (Nope, that's it, all you know is that it's going to be about the Christian End of Days). 
16. !0 ways to kill your best friend and fail (Probably have to change the title of this one, but my first mystery novel idea). 
17. Zodiac Age (Again, it's got to do with the zodiac, I'm not giving away anything else). 

I'm very excited to work more toward my dreams of publishing in 2023. I have so many stories I'd like to share. 

I can't talk about 2022 without talking about my employment journey.  I started the year at IGT Solutions doing roadside assistance. A mental breakdown and a reevaluation of my life lead me to leave my position there. There may be days I regret the choice, but ultimately I do think this was a good choice. Next comes Buff City Soap, I didn't stay here for long, my first and hopefully last retail position, I learned that I truly prefer desk jobs here. But boy did I take advantage of my 50% discount on their products. I still shop here and totally recommend it for everyone, especially if you have a lot of allergies or sensitive skin. Rural Metro/GMR, I wrote an entire post on the crazy experience I had here, led me to realizing I could handle first shift, the wonderful people I worked with really touched my heart. I won't say the name of the place I currently work (privacy is important especially on the internet), but I haven't ever been happier or more cared for in job before. 

The Books I Read: 

1-5.) The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan

6.) Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

7-13.) The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas

14.) Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

15.) #14 in the Fairy Struck series by Amy Sumida

16.) Dream Chaser by Sherrilyn Kenyon

17.) Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon

18.) One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

19.) Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon

20.) Sold by the Wolves by K. N. Lee

21.) House of Poison by Lyn Forester

22-26.) A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J Maas

27.) Bound by the Wolves by K. N Lee

28.) Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon

29.) Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

30.) Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

31.) Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon

32.)Stygian by Sherrilyn Kenyon

33.) Time Untime by Sherrilyn Kenyon

34.) Dark Side of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon

35.) Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

36.) The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon

37.) Throwaway Prince by C.M Stunich

38.) Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon

39.) Invinicble by Sherrilyn Kenyon 

40.) Bad Moon Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon

41.) Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon

42.) Dragonbane by Sherrilyn Kenyon

43.) No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon

44.) Son of No One by Sherrilyn Kenyon

45.) Strom Front by Kim Butcher

46.)Cruel Prince by Jillian Frost

47.)Deadman Walking by Sherrilyn Kenyon

48.) Heaven to Pay by Amy Sumida

49.) Bow Before the Elf Queen by JM Kearl

50.) Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

51.) Blood Trinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Diana Love

52.) In Other Worlds by Sherrilyn Kenyon

53.) Alterant by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Diana Love

54.) Savage Knights by Jillian Frost        

55.) Vicious Queen by Jillian Frost

56.) The Curse by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Diana Love

57.) Death Doesn't Bargain by Sherrilyn Kenyon

58.) At Death's Door. by Sherrilyn Kenyon

59.) Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

60.) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

As you can see I read a lot of Sherrilyn Kenyon this year, she is definitely one of my all time favorites. Hopefully next years list will be a bit more eclectic. Honorable mentions that I'm still working on: The Dawn of Yangchen by F.C. Yee and Shadow Moon by Chris Claremont and George Lucas. 

Some of other honorable mentions: 

• I got my first tattoo 
• I crocheted two blankets, a pillow, and three scarfs. 
• I got my bartending license
• I got two cats this year (Haze and Shuri).

I won't say 2022 was my most successful year by any stretch of the imagination, but I've grown a lot. There are new things on my horizon, hopefully next year this post is even longer with more books read, maybe even one or two of mine published. To those that have actually read this far: Have a raging 2023, do what you love, mind your own business, be kind to others when applicable and mean as sin when desired, take care of your body, and give your loved ones a hug or a kiss (they make this life worth living). 

Peace Out 2022. - Taila. 

Missing Forks & Disappearing Turkey Legs: A Lesson In Life

I moved out of my childhood home in September of 2021, just a few days shy of my 23rd birthday. It was impulsive and not especially well planned considering what a huge step that is in life. Of course, I didn't make the move alone, my partner and I moved in a with a new couple we'd made friends with.  Now let me tell you what a journey my little apartment has been. This is a cautionary tale to those of you trying to rush out of your current living situations, beware things that sound too good to be true, they always are. I won't go too deeply into some of these stories, some things are best kept off the internet, but I'll tell you what I've learned from each roommate I've had. 

The Couple: Day one in the apartment was a nightmare for me, I felt totally lost, I sat and cried to my best friend, already realizing what a mistake I had made. Maybe some part of that bled into all the interactions I had over the next few months, but I think overall I just realized how immature and in over our heads all four of us truly were. Not a well matched group to live with. This also taught me that I have some of my own issues that make certain types of people very hard to live with for me. Don't put much trust into people you don't know. Now I've always known that, I'm not a trusting person by nature, but when I want something, I will often ignore my better judgement to get it. That was half of my lesson learned here. This was the beginning of a lesson about confrontation avoidance. They moved out unexpectantly and stuck us with a months rent. We handled it and moved on. 

The Friends: I don't want to go into this one overly much. These are people I still care about a lot, and none of us had negative intentions. The problems could have been handled with more maturity, by everyone. This was another lesson in confrontation avoidance. Many hurt feelings and anxiety could have been eased by some very honest conversations. We are young adults trying to make our way in the world, it's scary and stressful, and I think on my own journey I wasn't able to see that as much as I should have. It's very easy to be self focused and take things other people do personally. Very few people are doing anything more than trying to survive. But here begins the case of the missing forks. 

I came into this home with about 10 forks, in the early summer of 2021, I could only find a few of those. I ignored this problem for several months, other far more important things had my focus. Finally, I was down to four forks, and was exasperated. The house was clean, I knew they weren't hidden away in any areas I was in. In the fall, I bought 6 forks (this cost be about 20$, and while that might not seem like a lot, as newly on our own young adults, finances have been a struggle). I was irritated, some petty missing posters were hung. Three of the four original forks disappeared. Today, I think I have about seven. I imagine the landfill and dumps have my forks now. 

The Desperate Answer: When our lease came up for renewal, both friends said they'd be moving out (one is still here, but that is irrelevant to the story). With a bit of panic due to job changes we found a fast answer in a stranger. A late night trek to Kentucky in late August produced the newest roommate. What I'd learn over the next few days would make me regret that trip deeply. Our newest roommate was a meth head who had spent significant time in jail, and who was living on social security. I spent quite a bit of time feeling unsafe. This problem solved itself, he went back to the holler from which he came with no fuss or drama, and we sent a quiet thanks to the universe that it didn't go badly. 

The Last Straw: At this point my partner and I spent some time discussing what we needed/wanted out of a roommate, made some ads, and tried to sus out someone who would be a decent fit into our lives and us into theirs. Ultimately, we just wanted someone who could pay some of the rent and take care of themselves. My partner convinced me that one of his coworkers needed a place and would be an easy answer. I wasn't a fan of the idea, because the person wasn't really in a financial position to pay the 350-400$ a month we were wanting for rent. But out of some misguided want to help and also be helped, I agreed. This person smoked cigarettes and had a dog. These are problems because I'm very allergic to cigarettes, and our apartment building is very strict about animals. We still decided to give it a go. I realized early on that this person wasn't going to be especially respectful of boundaries (I was working from home, at the time I didn't have an office, and he would regularly come in and bother me while I was trying to work). The final straw came late Thanksgiving night, my partner's family had sent us home with a prized turkey leg (something I've never personally had the privilege of eating before). We entered the kitchen, laughing, having both had a good day after weeks of stress to find the turkey leg gone. This was my final straw on being disrespected in my home. I had been providing food as best as I was able, in fact the night before leftovers sat untouched in the fridge. I had made it clear that if there was very little of something that asking before eating it was important. I raged, ranted, probably turned a nice Hulk shade of green. Now, a complete overreaction? Yes of course. It's just a damn turkey leg. But it wasn't about the turkey leg, it was about someone disrespecting my boundaries and space. His reasoning? He was drunk. I am not a big drinker, and I certainly don't get drunk and use it as an excuse to disrespect other people. A Facebook post was made, "offending someone over something arbitrary"(don't even get me started on that not being a great use of that word, hipsters like to use big words to sound smart, not because they know what they really mean). Did not assist in me calming to reasonable conversation. He said he'd be moving out, I felt no need to beg him to stay. A day later, a crappy attitude, and the words "well that makes you an asshole" (at least I wasn't avoiding confrontation right?) later and our roommate was hitting the road. 

As you can tell, I'm still a bit miffed about the last one, but what I learned from it was likely the most valuable. (Yes, don't take in homeless young men is part of the lesson, but not the important part). I don't like be confrontational or rude to people, I don't get any pleasure from being an asshole for no reason. But I'm also not an easy person to live with because of my own issues and flaws. Being concise is something I have to work on. Somethings could be easily avoidable if I simply created boundaries instantly. It is far harder to act unaware when you're crossing a line if you know the line is drawn. I don't know where 2023 will take my roommate situation, but I do know my flaws and faults, and hopefully if we decided to have any more roommates we will handle it with far more maturity than in the year past. There is as much responsibility on mine and my partners part as there was on our various roommates. And that's okay, we've learned a lot, and we can do better in the future. (Or maybe not, having no roommates certainly wouldn't be a bad thing). 

Taila Out.