CW LaSart

I should be getting ready for work; yet another New Year’s Eve spent serving my patrons as they let go of the old and usher in the new. Instead I find myself here, at the computer, reflecting on the monumental changes that one year can make in our lives. New Years always leaves me feeling a bit melancholy. When I hang up my bar towel and put away my jiggers tonight, it will be 2012. Another year gone and a new one begun. What a whirlwind 2011 has been for me, and 2012 promises to be so much more. It’s kind of scary.

This year has been great, many short stories written and accepted. An entire anthology penned in 5 short months. The Cemetery Dance Amateur Writer’s Contest won, gaining me entrance at the affiliate level to one of my biggest dreams, the Horror Writer’s Association. Contracts signed and so many friendships formed. Having been penning short stories for just a little under two years now, I realized that I have about a 90% acceptance rate. Not for all of my submissions (I’ve gotten my fair share of rejections), but the number of stories that have found a home. Few still sit in queue, waiting. I am honored and humbled by the events of the last year and the impact they have had on my life.

As great as 2011 has been to me, 2012 promises so much more. There are a great deal of experiences awaiting me this year that both thrill and terrify me. Here’s a short list of the things I have to look forward to in the next year:

~The release of my first anthology, AD NAUSEAM 13 Tales of Extreme Horror.

~My first ever convention, and not just any convention. The World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City where I will:

1. Meet my publisher for the first time in person, as well as many other writers that I have become friends with                   
2. Do my first public reading of my work (seriously, this one causes me indigestion)
3. Do my first ever book signing (also a little queasy about this, but it mostly feels silly. Who would want my autograph?!)
4. Help represent Dark Moon Books at it’s first public appearance.

~My own book launch in my home town, which involves so much planning, organizing, funding and other crap that…excuse me, I need to go throw up now!

~My debut into the grown-up world of accountants and tax-deductions. No longer will I be able to go the EZ route, I will now have to save receipts and figure out some way to be a more organized person than I am.

~The end of the world in some Mayan-predicted cataclysm….wait, that one probably won’t happen 😉

I guess what I’m trying to say is this, 2011 was a great year for me and 2012 looks to be even better, but part of me wants to hold on to this year for just a little longer. Every year brings change for us all, some years more than others, and change can be a very scary thing.

I would rather spend the evening with my family, but it’s always fun to see others enjoy the New Year as well. I hope that 2012 brings many wonderful changes for you as well. Most of all, I hope it brings health and happiness to you and those that you love. I thank you all for the support that you have shown. I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you. I promise to pull up my big -girl pants and face 2012 with a brave face, knowing I am blessed with the love and support of so many wonderful people. Even if it scares me to death…