Happy New Year 2024!

Monday, January 1, 2024 No comments

Hello lovelies!

Welcome to the new year! I hope your 2023 was great and that your 2024 starts off strong!

Last year was a rollercoaster of a year for me, so there wasn't a lot that I was able to accomplish like I intended. While I wasn't able to do many writing goals, I was able to take care of myself through my impending divorce, so I'm calling the year a win for me.

Let's go over the goals from last year to this year...

WRITING & PUBLISHING


My goal for 2023 was to write as much as I could, including publishing the second Star Struck novella, Somebody to Adore. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to write or publish anything new. On the bright side, I did do a lot of outlining and replotting stories, as well as come up with some new stories and series ideas that I'm excited to write.

For 2024, I do want to write and publish Somebody to Adore. I've reworked the outline into something that flows better than my original plan. There are several other ideas that I'm playing around with, too. I also have something holiday related I'm going to be writing on the side. More on that soon!

OTHERWISE


My Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2023 was 27 books, but I had to reduce it to 12 with everything that was going on in my life. I really miss reading as much as I used to, so I'm hoping that I can achieve 27 in 2024. There are several books I'm really excited to read, including both fiction and non-fiction.

This year will also be the year I move out on my own again, so I would like to spend time making my apartment into a home. I have a bunch of things to decorate and also lots of ideas to make the place beautiful. My aim is to get into a place by March, so wish me luck there!

WORD OF THE YEAR


My word for 2023 was DETERMINATION. While some aspects of the word didn't come to fruition, others definitely did! I managed to push through one of the hardest times in my life and somehow come out a lot stronger than I thought I ever could. Friends and family surely did help along the way, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

When deciding on a word for 2024, I had trouble narrowing it down, so I decided to go with the four that felt like they suited best. Here they are:

EMERGE * PROGRESS * RISE * THRIVE


They really cover what I'd like my 2024 to be. I want to EMERGE from my cocoon, make PROGRESS toward my goals, RISE above the ashes, and simply THRIVE in my life.


Have a great year!

Happy New Year and Happy 2023!

Monday, January 2, 2023 No comments

Hello lovelies!

Happy New Year to you all! I hope 2023 is starting off well for you. Today, I'm going to talk about my plans for the year. There's a little bit to get to, but let's go!


WRITING & PUBLISHING

Since I didn't get the chance to publish it last year, I want to write and publish Somebody to Adore, the second book in the Star Struck series. I have ideas for more books in the series, but I haven't decided when I'll be writing those. I initially wanted to write a third book, but I don't want to force anything.

I've learned these last few years that sometimes I need to go with the flow when it comes to writing. As much as I want to complete a series of books, I also want to focus on the stories that are inspiring me in the moment. If it is the next book in a series, great. If not, cool. Writing should be fun and not something that authors force themselves to do.

Also, deadlines are difficult for me. The pressure of finishing something by a certain date gets to me and can often make me anxious and stress me out. So, instead of making any promises for when to expect my books, I'm going to wing it and aim to publish at least 2 books. I may publish more than that, but we'll see how it goes.


OTHERWISE

Outside of writing, I've got some ambitions for the new year. I'll be renewing my Goodreads Reading Challenge again with 27 books. I also want to complete my 2022 crochet temperature blanket as well as other artsy projects. I'm also going to be healthier by eating better, exercising regularly, and aim to lose some weight to improve my overall health. I have some medical issues that stem partly from my weight, so I'd like to do what I can to make things better.

There are other things I'd like to do, but I'm keeping those to myself for now. *wink*

Last year, my word of the year was RESET. I does feel like in some ways I did reset certain aspects of my life. It took me some time to decide on my word of the year, but I finally settled on DETERMINATION. Why? Because I'm determined to accomplish all of my goals and make the best of my time in 2023.


Cheers to a Happy New Year!


2022: A Year in the Life of Lilly Avalon

Friday, December 30, 2022 No comments

Hello lovelies,

It's been a long year, hasn't it? I honestly thought that 2020 and 2021 were bad enough, but then 2022 came along and decided to make a mockery of the previous two years.

At the beginning of the year, I was psyched up to get more books published in 2022. The plan was to publish 2 books as Lilly and 2 as Jessica (my IRL name). Things were going well in the first part of the year. I was able to finish one book for each name.

Then the day I published my Jessica book (June 21st, first day of summer), I caught COVID. My husband had already gotten it, so I knew I would likely be getting it, too. It knocked me out for a week, then it took a couple more weeks for the brain fog to dissipate. Then the engine on one of our vehicles decided to blow up and we were unable to get it fixed. Not long after, my neighbor started to deal with some health issues. I helped her out as much as I could, but it became serious, and she needed to go to the hospital. She unfortunately passed away within a couple of months.

All of this was extremely overwhelming and made it difficult for me to focus on anything, let alone writing and publishing. I originally intended to push back my remaining two releases by one month each, but when everything continued to wreak havoc on my life, I ultimately had to acknowledge that it just wasn't going to work out this year. If I would've pushed myself, maybe I could have gotten one of them written and published, but the quality of the story wouldn't have been good.

So, 2022 was a bit of a mess to say the least. However, I did manage to publish one short story, Somebody to Treasure. It was first published in a limited-edition anthology in August, then I published it on its own in September. It may not be much, but I'm still proud of myself for being able to do it.


Despite the setbacks, I still had some good things happen in 2022. I joined Radish and four of my books are available to read on there now. I met my Goodreads reading goal of 27 books this year. I've also spent lots of time with friends and family, getting to see my mom for the first time in person since before the pandemic. And I was able to be creative with my cross-stitching and crocheting projects.

Now that 2022 is coming to a close... it's time to start thinking about 2023! I'll be posting my goals for the new year by January 2nd, so make sure you return to read that post!

Here's to a great year!

Somebody to Treasure Release Day!

Tuesday, September 13, 2022 No comments

It's release day for Somebody to Treasure!



After my year-long relationship ends abruptly, my best friend and movie star Jasper Schwarz whisks me away on a tropical vacation. The two of us have been friends for years, but this close proximity at a romantic location is stirring up emotions I never thought I'd have for him. I keep getting the feeling that he might be experiencing the same, but he’s a movie star and I’m just an ordinary girl. There’s no way he could be interested in me like that.

Or could he?


Purchase on Amazon | B&N (delayed) | Kobo | Apple | Smashwords
| Add to your Goodreads shelf |


Happy Reading!

Somebody to Treasure Cover Reveal!

Friday, September 2, 2022 No comments

Surprise, lovelies! It's a cover reveal!

Somebody to Treasure, my short story featured in the Sizzling Summer Nights in Paradise Anthology, will be available on retailers on September 13th. Today is the official cover reveal!


After my year-long relationship ends abruptly, my best friend and movie star Jasper Schwarz whisks me away on a tropical vacation. The two of us have been friends for years, but this close proximity at a romantic location is stirring up emotions I never thought I'd have for him. I keep getting the feeling that he might be experiencing the same, but he’s a movie star and I’m just an ordinary girl. There’s no way he could be interested in me like that.

Or could he?

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Preorder:
| Amazon | B&N [coming soon!] | Apple Books | Kobo | Smashwords |


What do you think of the cover?