Goodbye 2016 (and Good Riddance!)

Yesterday's post mourned Carrie Fisher, the iconic Princess Leia/General Organa who gave little girls someone to believe in--a princess who could rescue herself and hold her own with the men in her life. But this year we also lost the Goblin King (David Bowie) and Alan Rickman who entertained us in Galaxy Quest and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, among so many others.

It's been a rough year for geeks in the entertainment field, and a tough year for most writers I know. One of my major publishers has closed its doors, leaving me with my rights, but minus a year's worth of royalties. A couple days ago, the notice came in that All Romance e-books is closing, paying authors and publishers pennies on the dollars owed and leaving customers who had pre-ordered books in the lurch. Many publishers are willing to honor those pre-orders, as are many independent authors, so if you're in that position, contact the publisher or author.

Meanwhile, those of us who once wrote stories for a living are scrambling for other ways to put roofs over our heads and food on our tables, or at least other venues for publishing. It's a rough time to be in this business, but for writers, it's also nearly impossible not to write.

So do I have resolutions for 2017? Nope. I'm not that brave. I have hopes. I'd like to see some light in the darkness that is the publishing industry. I'd like to get my personal writing back on track after a couple rough years. I've even got some personal and familial difficulties that can go away any damn time now and stay gone.

So for all of us here at HBM, and all of you who read our books and support our work, may 2017 be a better year. Maybe I do have a New Year's Resolution after all--to just keep on going, despite it all. Sometimes that's the only thing we can do.