The times they are a'changing ...

This has been an event-full year for me, with several milestones.

Hip replacement surgery in February: my first and only major surgery and stay in a hospital. I recovered nicely, but am reminded still that I'm getting older and it takes time to heal.

A visit to the RWA National Conference in July: I hadn't been to this conference for several years and it was fun to reacquaint myself with the professionals in the business. So much has changed that it was like a whole new experience.

Loss of a publisher: one of my publishers is folding up shop so I now have 5 orphan books to decide what to do with. I've always disliked the "business side" of this business, but now I really need to tackle that.

Retirement from my long-time job in October: I've been in the high-tech industry for all of my working professional life. I liked my job, I telecommuted fulltime (which was a gift), and I was paid well, but I just didn't have much enthusiasm for it anymore.

A new job starting in December: I accepted a part-time job as coordinator of all Master Gardener volunteers in our county. This is mainly organizational work because the volunteers do all the real work. I can pretty much set my own hours and will work several evenings and weekends. I warned them when I took this job that I'd do it for a few years, then I'd retire again -- so I view it as a temporary permanent job.

And of course, the writing: I've written three books this year (one that was 120,000 words long), and I had 2 books release. I plan on two books releasing next year, too, as well as those orphans I mentioned.

Now the last change: this is my final post on this blog. I've enjoyed my time with these ladies and I plan to stay in touch with them as best I can. For those of you who've followed along with us, I hope you'll keep an eye out for all of our works. We all write in different styles and genres, but at heart, we're all storytellers.

Have a great holiday season, and stay in touch!

J L
(jayellwilson.com or my Facebook page)