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In 2008, I began my blog in an attempt to figure out my life--and myself. In November, I traveled on my own to southern France and spent a month at a writer's retreat located in a tiny mountain village in the Languedoc region. Here, I planted vegetables in a cliffside garden, rolled logs down a medieval mountain, finished the first draft of Gold in the Days of Summer, and learned more about myself and what I'm capable of than I ever thought possible.

 

In 2012, I was diagnosed with late-stage Lyme Disease after being sick with little explanation for nearly 15 years and declining quickly. My doctor, my family, and my dog all played a part in saving my life. With a treatment that gets you sicker before you get better and unable to do little more than walk from the bed to the couch, I spent every waking moment (which wasn't exactly much) starting my business and dreaming of publishing my first book.

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In 2013, with the help of a community of family and friends through their generous Kickstarter donations, I published Gold in the Days of Summer under my company, Brown Beagle Books. The book has since been shortlisted in two contests, was a finalist in another, and won the 2014 International Rubery Book Award Children's category. It all feels pretty damn cool.

 

In March 2014, I helped an author friend publish the first in a series of romance books under a pseudonym. After ghostwriting five books in this genre, I fell in love with the art of writing again and was motivated to move on to my own work. The first draft of my second novel was completed in early 2015.

 

In April 2014, I unexpectedly lost my beloved cat, Mikey. Three weeks later, I adopted Moxie. Riley embraced her wholeheartedly.