Hello world!

Whew! 2016 has been a roller coaster! News has been a little goofy, often bordering on terrifying, from “clown sightings” to political overload to a lot of our favorite stars blinking out (still not over Alan Rickman, or David Bowie, or the idea that we almost lost Princess Leia…)

One of my favorite quotes in the world comes from Charlie Chaplin, who said, “You’ll never find rainbows if you’re looking down.” So I have to say thank you to 2016, because while I haven’t entirely been a fan of this year, I found some of the brightest rainbows I will ever see between the everyday storms. I’ll never forget the day I got to see and finally unveil the cover for THE CARVER. I’ll never forget my time at Utopia in Nashville, meeting my wonderful publishers and selling out of exclusive pre-release copies. I want to remember camping out at San Diego Comic Con and having so much fun at Phoenix Fan Fest. And finally, I want to remember every second of this past Christmas Eve, when my lovely niece was born!

I want to remember driving to the hospital before 4am, a magical unexplored time of day when the road is yours and all the traffic lights turn green for you, and in Tucson (the astronomy capital of the world) you can see every individual star in the sky.

I want to remember being in the car listening to Moda’, my favorite Italian band, and connecting so deeply with the lyrics that I felt like my heart was singing along.

I want to remember the 4am breakfast burrito with cheese and chorizo and potatoes and eggs. MMM!

I want to remember the wait, even if it had already been agonizing going through another day and a half. Never ever let it be said that my sister is not a warrior. She was in labor for 45 hours, during which I was able to go home twice and sleep, do a full day at work, and the rest of the time I just sat in the hospital cafeteria eating M&Ms, writing a bit, and finishing Six of Crows.

I want to remember finally meeting the baby around 8pm, and she was entirely perfect. All this time, I’ve been so excited for Disney movies and secret conversations in Italian and the hope that maybe she’ll be a Marvel geek like me. I’ve been so excited to watch her grow up and try on ambitions and identities like little hats. But then I saw her how she is now, and I decided I’m in no rush to get to get to the rest. She’s already perfect, and I don’t want to miss any of those beautiful transitions in he epic life she’s about to have.

So yeah, I just got a little more sentimental and deep than I intended to, but perhaps some of you out there can relate to this feeling, whether you’re an aunt, uncle, parent, or even a big brother or sister!

With all that said, I think I’m ready for a new year. I envision 2017 to be a great one. At some point, I’ll be wrapping up the first draft of my trilogy and venturing into new waters. I resolve to brave them all with the same inquisitive spirit that was necessary to tackle THE CARVER, and to make sure that my writing only gets stronger by nurturing the muse every day. I resolve to devote lots of time to adventures in unclehood and writing down all those little details, and being more consistent about working on my general health and well-being.

Whatever your story has been in 2016, I raise my glass to you and empower you to give it a happy ending! I wish you a wonderful week and holiday season, and may you find those rainbows going into 2017!