A Look back at the past decade

Try not to die of shock when you see I'm posting twice in one month! lol

Over on Facebook, Kyra Lennon posted a  round-up of  the last decade, and I thought it'd be cool to do the same ... only my post started to become longer than any Facebook post should be, so I decided to move it over here to my blog.

Although I posted earlier on in the month looking back on the year, and talking about my goals for 2020, I wanted to touch on them a little again, while also reflecting on all that's happened to me since 2009.

So, here it is ...

2009 ended with me becoming a mum for the second time, when Youngest was born on December 22. Having another child was challenging for a couple of reasons. First, Youngest came after a miscarriage, so the entire pregnancy and some of his early years were always tinged with a little bit of fear that something might go wrong. I know I was a lot more over-protective of him than I was of Oldest at that age. In addition to those issues, there was also the factor of it being our second child, and us having a seven-year-old to still take care of. I know we made some mistakes, and we learned a lot. I hope I've grown into a good parent for both of my boys.

Early 2010 saw me married. Even though Hubby and I had been together for eight years prior to that, with the birth of our second child, we felt it was the right time. Our wedding wasn't huge or extravagant, just a registry office wedding, then a meal with our direct family members, but it was perfect. Much like our marriage is. I'm not normally the type to get soppy online, but hell, my ten-year wedding anniversary is coming up so deal with it! 😎 Hubby and I met when we were both nineteen. Because we were young, dumb and had issues we weren't dealing with/getting help for, we fought and broke up a lot. Our relationship was toxic, yet we kept coming back to each other.

Then we had Oldest, and having a tiny new life to take care of was the start of us growing up and becoming decent people. The seven years that followed weren't perfect, and we still had a lot of growing and learning to do, but by the time Youngest came along in 2009, our relationship was solid.  
The ten years since we've been married have been nothing short of amazing. I have a best friend and partner who always has my back and always picks me up when times are rough. I wouldn't have gotten through the challenges of the last decade without him. He's introduced me to so many wonderful things, helped me grow in so many ways, and has always supported me as I followed my dreams. In return, I've seen him grow and become the amazing, hardworking, dedicated husband, father, and person he is today. Hubby, you’ve grown so much in the last ten years, and I'm so proud of the man you’ve become. I love you this much. *holds fingers apart less than a centimetre*

Over the last ten years my boys have also grown and made me so proud. Oldest is almost seventeen, and has developed into a charming, funny, creative young man, who I wish would realize how special he truly is. Youngest is a funny, inquisitive, hard-working ten-year-old who will be starting secondary school is 18-ish months. I’m so excited to see what type of teen he grows into. Both of them have changed my life for the better, and I’m honoured to be their mum.

There’s been a lot more personal growth, including my on-going fight against depression. Sometimes it’s been really rough, but I always pull through, and I’m feeling motivated and excited about the new year, and decade to come. But before this post becomes even longer, I wanted to look back on the career advancements I’ve made in the last decade.

At the beginning of 2010 I was unemployed, and not really thinking of work, as Youngest was still so small. As time went on, and he got older, I started thinking about the future. Before I got pregnant with him, I’d been studying web design and graphic design, and that was something I was considering taking up again. But I also wondered if something more stable would be more beneficial, and also toyed with the idea of training in childcare.

In October 2010, I made the leap from writing fanfiction to writing original fiction, and took part in NaNoWrimo for the first time. From there, I started focusing on original fiction only, and met a great community through Blogger. I watched as one of my closet friends, and all-round awesome person, Kyra Lennon self-published her first novel, and the subsequent explosion of self-publishing, especially in the new-adult category. While I never published anything at that time, I was still part of the community, and learned so much about writing, publishing and marketing, as well as making some great friends.

In 2013, after encouragement from Hubby and my mum, I realised that the publishing industry was where I wanted to be, and I started trying to find work in the field, eventually leading to me being hired for the Curiosity Quills Press marketing team. Even though my time with the company ended badly, I will forever be grateful for the time I had there. I learned a lot, made some great friends, and discovered I *could* have the career I wanted, in the publishing industry, while being there for my family. I don’t know if I’d be where I am today without my time at CQ.

By 2017 I finally felt comfortable enough with something I’d written to self-publish. My writing journey had so far spanned seven years, and covered many shelved novels, but I will always be proud of my first book baby, ALL IT TAKES. Although I haven’t published much more in the years that’s followed, just two short stories, I feel like I continue to grow as a writer. Plus, the experience I’ve gained over the years led me to my new path in life.

As I look to the future and move into 2020, I’m excited to be doing it as a professional writer. While last year was sort of bumpy for me, as I balanced depression, other health issues, and unemployment, the year (and decade) is ending on a much more positive note.

I was recently accepted onto the Hot Ghost Writer freelance team, and completed my first assignment for them. That, along with the two ghost-writes I did earlier in the year for Eventide Press, have me feeling confident of my future as a ghost-writer. Luckily, Hubby is earning enough to cover all our expenses, so anything I earn is extra, meaning I can focus on building up my portfolio and reputation. My goal is to have a new ghost-write project at least every six weeks. In addition to that, I’m continuing my work as the social media manager for Animus Ferrum and Caleo Press, and also doing a little bit of freelance proofreading. All in all, things are pretty great, and I’m excited for the future. Which includes publishing new material. I have plans to release at least two novels and one short story in 2020. More news on those to come as the months progress.

I would continue this update with some details about how Christmas was, but this post is already over 1000 words long, and I want to try and finish up at least the January portion of my DIY bullet journal/ planner before the end of the day, so I’ll just say what’s important. I had a lovely morning with Hubby and the kids, opening and playing with our new presents, and then in the afternoon we all went to Mum’s for dinner, and had a lovely time with her and stepdad. It was a fantastic day.

So, before this gets any longer, I will leave things here. I want to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged me, not only in 2019, but also in the last decade. I hope all my friends have a fantastic New Year’s Eve and that 2020 starts of wonderfully.

​T.T.F.N,