Facebook does this thing where, whether you want them to or not, they make a little compilation of the posts you’ve made throughout the year. Either in a groovy little video with canned music, or through a series of stills, they give you a look back at the most important posts that marked your year…or at least the posts which garnered the most attention.
When they first did this last year, I found it kind of creepy. Somehow, they’d come pretty close through their formulaic editing, to highlight some crucial aspects of my year. Creepy or not, they managed to do it again this year, highlighting the two big exclamation points of at least my writing year without my help.
The first being the release, after almost four years of work, of BG (ret.) Julia Cleckley’s memoir, A Promised Fulfilled, my life as a Wife and Mother, Soldier and General Officer. While I loved working with Julia on this project, it felt so gratifying to finally hold this book in my hands. Released in early, January of this year, Julia has been making a lot of public appearances and having well-attended book signings. I’m so proud of this project and so happy that the story of her is finally available for all to read.
The second big moment came in November, when The General’s Ambition, the third book in the Master Sergeant Harper Mystery series was released. The publication of the book, originally planned for a spring 2014 release, was delayed by months and months due to lots of different roadblocks and obstacles, some of which were of my own making. Finally on Nov. 1, 2014, the paperback was released. Three days later I was lying in a hospital bed and unable to correct issues to do with the ebook release, delaying it by yet another week.
Of course lots of other happenings came and went, the ups and downs of life and work and taking it one day at a time. Turning the news on has been heartbreaking lately and one never knows what crisis will impact us from one day to the next. But the last two years have been incredible for me in terms of writing and publishing, reviews, book awards, books festivals and writing events. It’s amazing, now, to look at my bookshelf and give a nod to the small library I’ve created and birthed to the world.
I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve for 2015. A couple of novellas, maybe the launch of a new series, this one with a bit of a paranormal element—but without vampires, werewolves or zombies. Aside from my other resolutions…losing weight, being more patient, exercising more…I resolve to write more and more and more. 2014 was a good year. Here’s to hoping 2015 will be as well.
Wishing you all the best!
M. L. Doyle has served in the U.S. Army at home and abroad for more than two decades as both a soldier and civilian. Mary is the author of The Desert Goddess series, an urban fantasy romp consisting of The Bonding Spell and The Bonding Blade. She has also penned The Master Sergeant Harper mystery series which has earned numerous awards including an IPPY, a Lyra Award and the Carrie McCray Literary Award. Mary is the co-author of two memoirs; A Promise Fulfilled; the story of a Wife and Mother, Soldier and General Officer (Jan. 201) and the memoir, I’m Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen—My Journey Home (Touchstone, 2010), which was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Mary's work has been published by The Goodman Project, The War Horse, The WWrite Blog and The Wrath-Bearing Tree, an online magazine for which she serves as a fiction editor. A Minneapolis, Minnesota native, Mary current lives in Baltimore. You can reach her at her website at mldoyleauthor.com.
