Goodbye to 2023
On the whole, this year has been a mixed bag. We tried some new events, and returned to some of our regulars. The first few shows of the year were very good -- I'd fully expected Hall of Heroes to flop, hard, after the horrible snowstorm on setup day. But the crowd flooded in, and they were spending. In terms of ROI, it was probably the best convention of the whole year. Grand Rapids Comic Con Spring Fling was a good one, albeit hampered by having to be held in the Expo Center on the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds. However, after that point we didn't really have any outstanding performers, although we only had a couple of hard flops.
On the writing front, I started strong, but started falling behind when convention season got really busy. I got out a collection and a revision of a novel that I'd originally serialized back in 2014, and then I was doing good to get my weekly writing challenges done. I actually was more productive with the five special submission opportunities, since I'd backed a Kickstarter to get them. I did re-release a story in August, but that was it on the publishing front for the rest of the year. OTOH, I did get newsletters out throughout the year, although when I was busy, I didn't get as many group promos and newsletter swaps set up as I should've. After convention season ended, I did start setting up a Kickstarter to launch for the Make 100 promotion they run in January.
The garden started well enough -- I got my tomatoes and peppers started early. But it may've been too early, because the plants ended up getting really leggy, and didn't transplant well when it came time to put them in the ground. I also was delayed in planting because we kept getting heavy soaking rains in March and early April, when I really needed to work the ground. But I was able to plant everything in reasonably good time, and actually got a fair amount from the sugar snap peas and snow peas (having actual supports for them helped), and a decent amount from the beans (Italian beans did the best, green beans were OK, and wax beans were a disappointment and have been dropped from my lineup). I did get some yellow squash and zucchini, but not as much as in some years. The biggest problem was keeping up with weeding as I became busier with conventions -- by August the beds were overrun with weeds, and I still hadn't pulled up the supports for the long-dead peas and turned the ground over for a second crop of them.
There were also the adventures on the health front. My husband's back injury from June and August of 2022 was finally beginning to recover -- but he was having a lot more episodes of feeling light-headed, and by summer he was having chest pains after a big meal. They'd subside quickly and never included any other symptoms of a heart attack, but they were concerning. We decided it was time to press his primary care provider for a referral to a cardiologist -- whom we saw in September. His trained ear picked up a murmur the family doctor had missed, and we began a round of tests, including a heart monitor my husband had to wear for two weeks. Those tests confirmed what the cardiologist suspected -- the aortic valve was no longer working properly, and would be replaced.
Thus began the process of getting that valve replaced, which involved a referral to the valve clinic, approval by their committee, then more tests and a meeting with the doctors who will be involved in the actual process. Now we have a definite date -- January 2 -- and he's the first patient in line, so we have to be at the heart hospital before dawn for prep.
Now we're hoping that, once he has the procedure and is recovered and home, 2024 will be a better year than 2023. Our convention lineup is beginning to take shape, although we're still waiting to hear from a few conventions, and for a few more to get their applications up. I'm working on ways to stay productive on the writing front during the busy season, and the seeds are bought for net year's garden.
On the writing front, I started strong, but started falling behind when convention season got really busy. I got out a collection and a revision of a novel that I'd originally serialized back in 2014, and then I was doing good to get my weekly writing challenges done. I actually was more productive with the five special submission opportunities, since I'd backed a Kickstarter to get them. I did re-release a story in August, but that was it on the publishing front for the rest of the year. OTOH, I did get newsletters out throughout the year, although when I was busy, I didn't get as many group promos and newsletter swaps set up as I should've. After convention season ended, I did start setting up a Kickstarter to launch for the Make 100 promotion they run in January.
The garden started well enough -- I got my tomatoes and peppers started early. But it may've been too early, because the plants ended up getting really leggy, and didn't transplant well when it came time to put them in the ground. I also was delayed in planting because we kept getting heavy soaking rains in March and early April, when I really needed to work the ground. But I was able to plant everything in reasonably good time, and actually got a fair amount from the sugar snap peas and snow peas (having actual supports for them helped), and a decent amount from the beans (Italian beans did the best, green beans were OK, and wax beans were a disappointment and have been dropped from my lineup). I did get some yellow squash and zucchini, but not as much as in some years. The biggest problem was keeping up with weeding as I became busier with conventions -- by August the beds were overrun with weeds, and I still hadn't pulled up the supports for the long-dead peas and turned the ground over for a second crop of them.
There were also the adventures on the health front. My husband's back injury from June and August of 2022 was finally beginning to recover -- but he was having a lot more episodes of feeling light-headed, and by summer he was having chest pains after a big meal. They'd subside quickly and never included any other symptoms of a heart attack, but they were concerning. We decided it was time to press his primary care provider for a referral to a cardiologist -- whom we saw in September. His trained ear picked up a murmur the family doctor had missed, and we began a round of tests, including a heart monitor my husband had to wear for two weeks. Those tests confirmed what the cardiologist suspected -- the aortic valve was no longer working properly, and would be replaced.
Thus began the process of getting that valve replaced, which involved a referral to the valve clinic, approval by their committee, then more tests and a meeting with the doctors who will be involved in the actual process. Now we have a definite date -- January 2 -- and he's the first patient in line, so we have to be at the heart hospital before dawn for prep.
Now we're hoping that, once he has the procedure and is recovered and home, 2024 will be a better year than 2023. Our convention lineup is beginning to take shape, although we're still waiting to hear from a few conventions, and for a few more to get their applications up. I'm working on ways to stay productive on the writing front during the busy season, and the seeds are bought for net year's garden.