So two years ago, I evaluated my writing goals and declared that I wanted to self-publish three novels by the time I was thirty.

Today is my thirtieth birthday, and I realize now that my expectations at the time were set a little high. At the time I had just finished the first draft of Small Town Witch and I had two older works that I thought I could also publish. Well, preparing Small Town Witch took another year after that, and meanwhile I started working on a totally new book, A Flight of Marewings, because I felt that the two older trunk works weren’t that salvageable. (I might go back to them again at some point, but they need a lot of work.)

So the result is that in two years I did publish two books, and I’m happy with those accomplishments. It was a lot of work and I learned many new things in the process, about both writing and what comes after. And I’ve got a lot more coming soon. I sat down to write out my schedule for the next several months, and here’s some highlights:

“The Hedge Witch”, Tales of Wyld Magic 2: done, publishing in March
“Wyld Magic in a Flash”, a collection of five flash stories: half done, publishing in April
Witch Hunt, The Fae of Calaveras County 2: currently in revision, planned for a spring or summer release
Witch Gate, The Fae of Calaveras County 3: first draft about 60% done, planned for a summer of fall release

I may also do several short stories in between books 2 and 3, and once I have those done, I can start working on the sequel to A Flight of Marewings, so I will have at least two and possibly three full books, plus several short stories. It would be nice to have something coming out just about every month.

But the important thing is not how quickly I put the books out, but that I’m moving forward, producing more, learning more, and enjoying it. And I’m satisfied with what I’ve done up until now and what I still have coming. I may not be the most prolific writer out there, or the most skilled one, but I try to make each one a little better.

I am living my dream of being an author–and that’s a huge thing to be doing by thirty!