And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been, full of work that has never been done, full of tasks, claims, and demands; and let us see that we learn to take it without letting fall too much of what it has to bestow upon those who demand of it necessary, serious, and great things. (Ranier Maria Rilke)

I’m coming to this list late, due to my unfortunate and abrupt connection with terra firma in ways that made my left arm a lot less firma; I finally feel like I’m slowly getting back to normal, and wanted to get this list out at least before the end of January!

So here’s my non-exhaustive list of what’s happened this year. As always, it’s a limited tool, but an interesting one.

In 2019, I…

• had three novels published: Lethal Alliances (medieval fiction), A Killer Carnival (mystery fiction) and A Fatal Folly (mystery fiction). Homeport Press is the best partnership ever

• worked in a bookshop and understood that it’s not all about reading books!

• continued to fall in love with my little cottage by the sea, despite gentrification all around me

• saw and reviewed some of the truly best theatre of my life. The Outer Cape really kills it

• spent hours walking the beach near my cottage and around the pond at Beech Forest

• read 87 books

• interviewed creative, interesting, unusual people for Arts Week, my spoken-word show on WOMR, a Radio Free America affiliate

• did exhaustive blog tours and traveled all over promoting my books

• traveled to Ireland with a close friend and felt worlds open up as a result

• became addicted to radio classique out of Paris

• spent as much time in museums as I could manage

• went on my first Uber ride

• saw whales, dolphins, seabirds of all sorts less than a mile from where I live

• renewed and deepened some friendships

• tried (unsuccessfully) for the third year in a row to find a satisfactory ending to a tricky short story

• spent Thanksgiving with the tribe, and Christmas with the logical family

• made a fool of myself on a consistent basis at team trivia nights

• cuddled, praised, scolded, and generally cohabitated with Beckett-cat

• chose a “keynote” word for the year and tried to live by it

• was grateful every single day of the year for being part of Pauline Books & Media

• and, of course, capped the year by, for the first time ever, breaking a bone. Never again if I can help it!

I’ve probably left some things out. Never mind; it was a gorgeous year.

   And you? What did 2019 look like for you?