Somehow we have made it through yet another year! In a mere few weeks we’ll be saying goodbye to 2021 and looking to all the possibilities of 2022. But before diving into all the newness, I want to take a moment to reflect.

I’m pretty sure I claim this every year, but I mean it when I say this was the fastest year ever. January happened and then I blinked and here is December and I’m scrambling around looking for all the other months because where did they go??? It’s like nothing happened this year, it whizzed by so fast. And yet, at the same time, so very much happened. I feel like a far different Christine than I did in January. A better one, hopefully. I’ve definitely grown and learned a lot through this year and accomplished quite a few things I set out to do.

2021 wasn’t a perfect year by any stretch of the imagination (lol, what year is perfect??). But I found myself at a better and more creative place mentally than I was in 2020, and that, right there, is a major blessing.

SO. Grab your favorite beverage of choice and let’s talk all things 2021!

2021 RECAP

FAVORITE READS

Because of course we have to start out by talking about books. What else??

Thus far I’ve read 41 books. I hope to read one or two more before the year is out but we’ll see. I can be a slower reader… And I actually read a little less this year than the previous two, but I’m not badgering myself over it. A lot of my free time I’d normally spend reading was spent watching things with my sister which fills me up too. I love our sister time, so if that means reading fewer books, that’s totally okay.

BUT ANYWAY. I’ll be talking about media soon! First up… Favorite reads of 2021!

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
+ Other Lemony Snicket works

I’m dubbing 2021 the year of Lemony Snicket because devouring his books was, absolutely, one of my biggest highlights as far as story-consumption this year. Whyyy have I waited so long to get into this fandom???

I read the first book near the end of January and finished the final one in early March and am already kind of in the mood for a reread because MY WORD are these books brilliant and hilarious! I have never read anything like them. This author has a way with words, I will give him that. XD Yes, they’re depressing. Yes, the lack of a proper ending is rather frustrating. Yes, they’re just plain absurd. But I don’t even care. THEY’RE JUST SO GOOD.

After devouring this series I instantly became a Snicket fan and read The Beatrice Letters, Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (which was a ride and I 1000% recommend to any other Snicket fans), and his other series All the Wrong Questions. I loved them all. A Series of Unfortunate Events is my favorite, but every single one of his stories brings a laugh no matter what. They’re so WEIRD.

I love them.

And the best part? I read all of this with my sister which just made it extra special and fun. We are complete and total Snicket nerds now. Seriously, barely a day goes by where we’re not making some sort of reference from the books. It’s great.

HARRY POTTER
(Reread)

Confession: I’ve only read the Harry Potter books once. And that was back in 2018! I KNOW. So late to the fandom! But I am here now and never plan on leaving.

This year I dove into the books again, roughly reading one a month, and it was definitely a reading highlight! I had forgotten so much. XD My memory is the WORST and my goodness is there so much to keep up with in this series! I felt like I was reading it all over again anew. (I guess there are some perks to having a useless memory.)

These books just instantly transport you into the wizarding world of magic and whimsy. I love them so much! <3

A CURSE OF GEMS
by Brittany Fichter

Back in April over on Fairy Tale Central we were featuring the Diamonds and Toads fairy tale. I picked up Brittany Fichter’s retelling to give a try and…wow. Did it utterly sweep me away on a gritty, poignant, wild retelling!

This was no fluffy retelling. It discussed hard topics and wasn’t afraid to put the characters in mortal peril on like EVERY PAGE, but through that darkness the flames of beauty shone so bright.

With engaging, relatable characters, HIGH STAKES, and a dangerous but fascinating world, this book sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go! If you like a bit of grit and darkness with your fairy tales but with so much heart (and a great romance!), I highly recommend this one.

You can find my full review of it HERE.

DANA ILLWIND & GROWING SHADOWS
by Arthur Daigle

THIS BOOK.

I already flailed about it some back in this post so I’ll try to not repeat myself, but needless to say if you like humorous fantasy, epic battles, and the most ridiculous and loveable characters YOU NEED THIS BOOK.

Reading about no nonsense teenage Dana and enigmatic sorcerer Jayden traveling the world, fighting monsters, trying to stop the corrupt king and queen, and just causing all sorts of chaos gave. me. life.

Seriously just…just read it. And then come flail with me about it!

THIRD WINTER’S WAR
by M.L. Little

I had been sooo anticipating the third and final book of the Seventh Realm trilogy and GOODNESS GRACIOUS it did not disappoint!

This trilogy with an epic mashup of fantasy and technology, full of extremely high stakes, the most fantastic cast of siblings (and other characters!), grit, darkness, but so, so much heart and a dash of humor on the side has entirely stolen my heart.

This finale broke me. And yet pieced me back together at the same time. It just…wow. It kept me breathless from start to finish and blew my mind. If you guys haven’t given this utterly unique trilogy a try yet, you are missing out!

You can find my full review HERE.

Those were my tippity top favorite books consumed for the year but, really, I thoroughly enjoyed near about everything I read this year! It was a good reading year. If you’re a nosy bookdragon (like me), you can see all the books I read on my 2021 GoodReads shelf.

FAVORITE VIEWINGS

My goodness, I feel like I consumed SO. MUCH. good media this year! I could probably write a whole post on that alone but let me see if I can keep this contained…

MARVEL MARVEL MARVEL

Guys. GUYS. Marvel blessed us this year with the most spectacular TV I just can’t even. As much as I adore movies, I tend to prefer TV series because there’s just so much more one can do with them instead of having to shove everything in that 2-hour window slot. So when Marvel announced all these TV series starring our beloved characters you better believe I was counting down the days for them to arrive and AWK. THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT…for the most part.

WANDAVISION: First up, we got WandaVision, and judging by the commercials alone I knew we were in for a treat. I JUST DIDN’T KNOW HOW MUCH. Literally within the first thirty seconds I was hooked. The throwback of black and white sitcoms was everything, the mystery of, um, what on earth is happening??? kept me so engaged, and the mix of laugh-out-loud humor mixed with an undertone of eeriness was just masterfully done. It was one of the most unique and brilliantly done shows I have ever watched in my entire life. ALL the applause to Marvel for this one. ALL OF IT. I have no complaints. It was everything. And, gonna be real, Wanda and Vision, though I do love them, have never been my favorites of the Marvel crew. I wasn’t quite as psyched for this show as the others but WELP. It’s my favorite. Not just my favorite of the shows, but you know, guys… I think it’s my favorite thing Marvel has ever produced??? NOT EVEN KIDDING. My goodness it was gold! They did us proud.

FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER: Right on the heels of WandaVision, we were given Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now THIS ONE was actually the one I was most looking forward to because Bucky is MAH BOY and it’s always made me sad how little time he gets in the movies. So getting an entire series about him? YES PLEASE. Alas it…wasn’t everything I wanted. I liked it. Quite a lot actually! I just feel like they did not even get close to its potential. I was basically here for endless Bucky and Sam banter because OF COURSE. And that’s, mmm, not what they gave us. We got some fantastic banter in episode 2 and I was so excited. But then they just kind of…shoved Sam and Bucky aside in favor of their many, many villains and just??? That is not why we’re here, people! It also got a little bloated with its political messages. Not as bad as it could have been, but enough to kind of annoy me. Overall, I LIKED this show, quite a lot actually. I just expected way more from it. Especially after the sheer perfection that was WandaVision. Honestly, I may have enjoyed this one more if it had come before WandaVision. My standards were too high after that one. XD

LOKI: Loki was the other series I was most looking forward to because um, hello??? IT’S LOKI. I was so hoping this one would hold up to WandaVision and…it did! Well, WandaVision is still my favorite but mannnn Loki was SO. GOOD. I do have some complaints (MINOR SPOILERS: basically just that they made Loki a little too good and not his usual murderous, mischievous self, it didn’t quite feel like him a lot of the time) but all in all I LOVED IT. Like WandaVision, it was just so UNIQUE. The quirkiness of it was errrrything. I adored the whole weird aesthetic it had going on. I feel like all media these days have been the same ol’, same ‘ol, but with WandaVision and Loki we got something wholly original and it was sooo refreshing. I WAS PLEASED. SO PLEASED.

HAWKEYE: Technically this one isn’t quite finished (just 2 episodes left though, I believe), but I definitely want to mention it because EEEEE!!! It’s so good! I have always adored Hawkeye, ever since his very first appearance in the MCU. I’ve been begging for a Hawkeye movie for years. Like Bucky, I’ve been so sad how little we get of him in the films. This series is exactly what I wanted and MORE! And it’s such a fun one, guys! I feel like they’ve captured everything that is Clint Barton to perfection, while adding all the heart and humor we’ve come to expect from the MCU. Kate Bishop is a really fun character too. Though I still like WandaVision and Loki the most, this Hawkeye show is proving to be a DELIGHT and everything I’ve been waiting for.

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
(Netflix series)

Remember when I said this was the Year of Snicket. YEP.

Literally the second I finished the books, I jumped into the Netflix series and oooooh man. This it, without a doubt, the best book-to-screen adaptation of anything I have ever seen. I have so few complaints. Like…maybe 2 teeny tiny complains about some minor changes?? That’s IT. Do you realize how huge this is??? I’m so insanely picky about my adaptations. But THIS. You could tell the creators really, truly loved the books and did everything in their power to bring them to life. I seriously love the show almost equal to the books. THAT’S HOW GOOD IT IS. In fact, the show actually improved some things. (MINOR SPOIERS: Like making a far happier ending that still felt 100% canon to the original series. And getting more of an inside look at VFD.)

The books are so quirky, and somehow the show captured that quirkiness. Not to mention the cast is just *chef’s kiss* A+++ casting right here. Everyone felt so true to their book counterparts.

I’m just absurdly proud of these creators. This is how you do a screen adaptation, people!

(I hope Disney is taking notes while they’re working on that supposed Percy Jackson series. >.>)

If you love the books, PLEASE do yourself a favor and watch the Netflix series. It is a GIFT to us Snicket fans.

STUDIO GHIBLI

Not only was this year full of Marvel goodness and Snicket things, Studio Ghibli films were also a HUGE highlight of 2021!

I’ve been wanting to see all the Ghibli films for AGES but they were just nowhere convenient for me to watch them. But this year I finally got access to them all (thank you, HBO Max!) and you better believe my sister and I devoured them. Like…all of them. No kidding.

AND WHAT A DELIGHT.

A few were a little meh, but most of them were just utterly charming and brought so much joy. These movies create a sort of cozy, peaceful magic that I’ve honestly never experienced in anything else. There’s something so utterly unique about them that I can’t put my finger on, but it’s addicting. It was such a joy getting to go through them all this year.

My favorite is, obviously, Howl’s Moving Castle with Kiki’s Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky as close seconds. But GAH. I love near about all of them! <3

(And I haven’t forgotten that I was going to do a post or two on mini reviews of each movie! I just…haven’t found a chance yet, but I absolutely hope to still do that!)

DOWNTON ABBEY

I am insanely late to this fandom but YEP. I have arrived! I fear the drama of Downton Abbey sucked me right in and I have thoroughly enjoyed my viewing of this one. I’m actually not quite finished but aaalmost. So very close to the end of the final season, then I guess I’ll watch the movies!

Honestly, I never understood the complete insane hype of this one. But…now I get it. It really is a good show. So well-written with an amazing cast. Maybe a little too much going on sometimes, but still very, very well done.

I will give a warning on this one: it’s not one I’d recommend to everyone due to some unpleasant plot threads. Thankfully it’s not just completely riddled with content like a lot of shows these days are, but there are a few things that crop up now and again that aren’t always…family-friendly.

I feel like I’m forgetting so many things… But goodness knows this is getting long enough. This was just an absolutely spectacular year of movie and TV series watching!

WRITING LIFE

I feel like I’ve been a little quiet here on the blog about my writing projects this year (other than NaNo lol). That’s actually been purposeful. As much as I love chatting with you guys about what I’ve been working on (and all your enthusiasm and cheering on motivates me SO MUCH), I realized there’s something rather…freeing about working on things in the closet.

This year I chose not to publicize my 2021 writing goals, and I think it’s been good for me. It took that pressure off and allowed me to shift gears and play around with things as needed, instead of feeling like everything had to be set in stone.

I found myself in such a better creative place than I’ve been in for quite a while, and I ended up getting a good bit done. I don’t know if keeping my projects closer to my chest had anything to do with it or just circumstances. But I do think not being so strict or having that pressure of everything publicized made room for a freer, more creative year.

SO.

A few things that did get accomplished on the writing side of things:

• First round of major revisions of one novel

That was the biggy thing for this year. I took on a huge revision project and though it took me a good number of months, it went really, really well! It still needs a ton of work (not to mention cutting down…it’s so huge *facepalm*) but I am very pleased with the work I did do with this novel. It’s come a long way!

• Some Burning Thorns query work

I didn’t do as much of this as I would have liked to. But I did do a full read-through of BT to tweak some things (and fell in love with the story all over again which was really good for me) and researched some more agents and things.

• Wrote some short stories!

On Fairy Tale Central we launched a whole short story series called Apprentice Adventures about a motley crew of apprentices off facing different fairy tale problems. It’s a bit of a laidback, collaborative thing the FTC girls and I did on and off through the year, and I found such joy in writing the occasional short story for it. Plus collaborating with my fellow fairy godmothers. I’d never really done anything like that before and it was such fun! You can find all the stories we did HERE. They’re more or less standalone adventures, but you might get a better grasp on the characters and things reading them in order.

I also continued my “Faylinn” short stories serial and finished the plot arc I had going! This is also a fairy tale inspired series featuring a wingless fairy, banished prince, and snarky genie getting into all sorts of trouble only fairy tales can provide. If you’ve not read these, you can find a list of each story at the top of THIS POST. These are definitely best read in order.

• Roleplaying

I have found a new love!

I’ve always been interested in doing some sort of roleplaying like Dungeons and Dragons or something, but never really had the opportunity. WELL. This year some fabulous ladies and I semi spur of the moment dove into a roleplaying game together and OH MY. Highlight of my YEAR. It was SO. MUCH. FUN. It wasn’t D&D. In fact, it was a Regency roleplaying game full of all the humor and drama you’d expect from a Jane Austen-esque story. *grins* And though obviously fantasy is more my thing, this was a GREAT way to dip my toes into roleplaying. My goodness, did we have a blast!

I haven’t done a whole lot more as far as RPGing since, but now that I know I adore it, it’s definitely something I’d like to pursue more in the future. Honestly, it was a huge, huge boost for my creativity. It felt like being a kid again and playing make believe with friends. No pressure, no inner editors and fears of trying to make the story publishable one day, none of that stress and the overwhelming feeling of having to create the entire story all by yourself. Just a casual collaboration meant for you and your friends all for the sake of having FUN. And…I needed that. I think I’ve too long forgotten the simple joy of creating and am so focused on goals and getting published one day I’ve forgotten why I do this writing thing: because I love it! Not all of our story making has to have a purpose. Doing it simply for the fun of it is 100% valid and GOOD.

BECAUSE. I realized I was having so much fun roleplaying, it made me pumped for story creating in general. Doing it made me psyched about all my other projects because it reminded me of how much fun creating stories can be. It was a huge, HUGE boost for my creativity and I’m so very grateful for that.

• The Silmaril Awards

For the 3rd year in a row, I got the utter pleasure of being a host for The Simaril Awards which is ALWAYS a good time! And this year I got to do DRAGONS. A dream come true. I had such fun putting together this blogging event with the incredible group of Silmaril hosts. We had such a fun time!

• NaNoWriMo

Annnd obviously NaNoWriMo happened in which I wrote the entire 133,565 first draft of Night’s Shattered Stars in a blur of 30 days, beating my most words written in a month EVER and probably almost died but I’M SO HAPPY TO HAVE DONE IT.

A few other writing related things happened here and there too, like redoing my blog in January and refining my brand and such. On the writing side of things, it definitely proved to be a pretty full year, but a good one. A really good one. I didn’t get everything I had hoped to accomplished, but I got a lot done and found a new sense of joy in story creating, and that right there is my greatest victory.

See, last year I struggled quite a bit on the creative side of things. After the huge success and pure fun of NaNo 2020, I thought I had gotten over it, but earlier this year found me in a pretty bad bout of Writer Doubts. But after a lot of prayer something shifted. Suddenly, I found myself so motivated and excited about storytelling and all for really the entire rest of the year.

We have a good God, guys. Such a good God. As the Ultimate Creator, He really does take delight in us creating as well. It’s not about publishing contracts or how much money we’re making or any of that sort of success found in the World’s eye. Whenever I start focusing on those things and thinking myself as a “failure” that’s where the depression and doubts come in. But then I remember those things don’t matter, not really.

It’s about spreading Joy. It’s about touching hearts and just the pure thrill and magic of creating. I mentioned in my post last month that my Fragmented Worlds series has taught me things, and it has all been worth it because it’s the story I needed at this time, even if it never gets published. That’s where the real magic comes in. This world needs beauty. It needs art and stories. If you find joy from creating or touch even a single soul with your work, that’s where the real victory is. Not fame and fortune and contracts and reaching millions. But touching the hearts of individuals and getting with God and just marveling in the act of creating. It really is a privilege and honor.

I think through a mix of lots and lots of prayer, allowing a bit more freedom with my creativity and not being so rigid on what I work on, and discovering the joy in it all over again through dabbling in simply just-for-fun projects on the side, I’ve once more remembered why I love making stories and where my priorities lie.

Yes, I still have goals. Yes, I want to stay career focused. But I’m also remembering writing is FUN and it’s okay to, ya know, have fun with it. These last two years have shown me that more and more.

Which segues right into…

LIFE ITSELF & WHAT I’VE LEARNED

Ah, life. It’s been an interesting one this year. Lots of stress and hard days. But also finding so many blessings and growing along the way.

At the beginning of this year in THIS POST I talked about how in 2020 God really got after me about pushing myself too hard and how it is absolutely OKAY to have fun and simply enjoy life and things, even if they don’t seem “productive”.

As a workaholic, I tend to berate myself if I’m not spending every second doing at least something semi-productive. But that is such an unhealthy way to live. Having goals and working hard are great things. Having goals and working to the point of depression is a different thing entirely.

After pushing myself to the limit for the first half of last year, I realized I was living an unhealthy lifestyle for myself mentally and slowly transitioned into allowing room for, well, fun. And as I gradually became okay with actually relaxing and not in constant workworkwork mode, I not only found myself happier, but ended up having room for more creativity.

Because that’s the thing, if we’re so focused on being productive to the point of exhaustion, then everything we do probably won’t even be our best. Rest is so very important to God. He created us to need sleep for a reason! We wants us to relax sometimes and just be still.

Taking rest is productive.

I always find myself the most creative when I’m not pushing myself past the limit. Coffee can only carry me so far. *sheepish grin*

So this year, I really wanted to work on it more. Each year I choose a word to focus on, and for 2021 my word may have been a bit odd.

ADAPTABLE

Instead of setting out huge goals for myself, my main goal was to go with the flow, basically. To not be so rigid that I miss out on LIFE. Because I fear I do that quite a lot.

After finally getting in my head that it is totally okay, and not just that but necessary, to rest and do things for fun now and again, this year I felt God sort of overlaying that lesson further.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the future and worldly goals, I forget what life is REALLY about. In the world’s eyes, success is where you went to college, what your career is, how many connections you have, how much is in your bank account, etc., etc. None of these are bad things whatsoever, but I think we get so focused on them we forget that these aren’t the things we’re solely put on this earth for.

More and more this year, I’ve realized true success is the little things. Chats over coffee with my parents. Late night movie watching with my siblings. Encouraging messages to writer friends. Celebrating the birthday of a loved one. Having my window open and soaking in the beauty of God’s world. Prayers in the morning before my feet first hit the floor.

Life is about the small moments. The joys. The simple ways you touch the heart of another person. The time spent with loved ones. Making memories.

Having goals and working hard is a necessary part of this life. But that’s just it, it’s a part of life, not the entire WHOLE.

I get so focused on “being productive”, I miss out on so many things. What’s the point of life if we work so hard that we miss out on making joyful memories and being there for our loved ones? Or neglecting God Himself? I don’t want to be at the edge of my grave and all my memories are just of working so hard on paltry things that I was too tired for my loved ones and God. I fear I fall into that far too often. My to-do lists become more important than anything else and I end up not making memories.

So this year, I set out to be more adaptable. To know life happens and to embrace the moments and remember my to-do list will always be there for other times, but the time for making memories won’t.

Did I succeed? Well…not always. This is very, very much a work-in-progress. It may be something I will have to work on for the rest of my life. But I definitely saw so, so much improvement this year. I set out to find things to do that were just for fun, I took intentional hiatuses, I took to blogging every other week instead of every week, I tried to not always let my daily to-do lists enslave me and be more casual about them, and I felt far less guilty than I ever have when I wasn’t working on things and just resting.

And as a result from all of this? I was not less productive in any sense of the word. I got most of what I set out to do done, and found myself enjoying doing it, instead of just being tired all the time. Usually by this time of year I’m exhausted and rather dreading jumping into a new year with a whole slew of more goals to try to accomplish.

But right now, even after an insane NaNo, I’m excited about 2022’s goals. I’m still feeling so very creative and psyched to dive into a bunch of big writing projects come the new year.

That is huge, guys!

I wouldn’t exactly call 2021 a great year, but it was world’s better than 2020, and I’ve found myself in a better place. It’s been two years of a lot of growth and learning and healing from things I didn’t even realize needed healing. Much, much prayer and self examination, I’ll tell you that. *nervous laughter*

But it’s been good. Really good. And I am so grateful to a God Who loves us enough (and is so, so patient!) to work through us with all our needs.

2021 was a year of growth, and I am learning to be thankful for all the days—the hard and the joyful. And to just be still and make memories.

HIATUS NOTICE

On the note of taking more rest…

I shall be taking a blogging, Instagram, writing, etc., etc. hiatus for the rest of December. Though I’m feeling good about things, I could still definitely use a breath to recharge from the year before diving headfirst into a new one.

I will also be taking a blogging hiatus for probably the most of January, if not all of it, to plan out my year and get some things going. So this will be my last post until late January or early February. But I WILL be back and with some (hopefully) exciting things in the works!

Though being as how this post is like three posts in one it should be sufficient until then. Seriously, I did not meant to write such a monstrosity! I had way too many thoughts for one post and should probably have split this up, but since I want to unplug for the rest of December and won’t be posting for a good long while we’re just going with it! *grins*

Thank you all for always putting up with my rambles and being such blessings to me! I’m praying you all have a joyful and peace-filled December!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

If you read through that entire thing, you get all the Christmas cookies! *hands them out* Now that we have cookies, let’s talk all the things! Have you read or watched any of the things I listed? (Because you know I need to fangirl!) Any other Snicket fans out there?? How was your 2021 in general? Anything I can pray for you over as we head into a new year? I’d love to be able to do that. Love you guys! Thank you for always being here through this journey we call Life. <3