Top 10 of 2012

This year-end blog has become one of my favorite traditions, having long ago abandoned the actual act of watching the ball drop. I honestly can’t remember the last time I stayed awake long enough to ring in the New Year, but I think it was 2000, and the most memorable part was Jenny hobbling around the Castro with a broken toe. I’m hopeful about 2013, and resolve to make some lifestyle & attitudinal changes that will bring more cheer, especially to those around me. That will be easier with the election behind us. 😉

I have much to celebrate for 2012, so let me get right to it.

10. On Karaoke Night at GCLS, KG & the Greasers gave a mini-concert. If you don’t know who that is, you’re better off.

9. Any year that has a Xena convention in it is grand. It’s always such a joy to see my friends from the Xenaverse.

8. It was a great year for book publicity. In addition to scoring a handful of high-profile reviews of my books, I also had interviews in the Lambda Literary Review & the Book Breeze. Since most of us in the lesbian publishing world simply cannot afford to advertise, we are indebted to all of you who help us spread the word about our work. Thank you!

7. I had a great time marching in the Palm Springs Pride Parade, and then meeting readers afterward at the Author’s Village. Thanks to Q Trading Company for organizing the author events.

6. Hats off to the New York host committee for staging a fabulous program for the Lambda Literary Awards. It’s a great honor to serve on the Board of Trustees for this foundation.

5. Elphaba struck again in 2012 with this great new website redesign. I miss my old website (which was gorgeous & lots of fun), but I don’t miss all the glitches that came with each & every upgrade of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari & Chrome. This one is based on WordPress and someone else keeps the software up to date. Thanks to Elphaba for all the years riding herd on hackers, and for putting this one together with everything I need.

4. Last summer, my good friend & editor Katherine V. Forrest paid me a visit in the cool climes of the NC mountains. Our usual monthly dining-out crowd of 10-15 women swelled to 50 so they could meet a pioneer of lesbian literature.

3. After my layoff in 2011, it felt great to get back into the swing of writing again. I appreciate all of you who hung with me and picked up Rhapsody & Playing With Fuego. Also, I’ve kept up the pace to put out two more titles next year. You keep reading, and I’ll do my utmost to keep writing.

2. The annual GCLS convention is always high on my list, and we had a great time last summer in Minneapolis. Next year’s con is in Dallas, and I promise if you go, it’ll make your Top 10 list too.

1. I was deeply honored this year to receive the Alice B Medal of Appreciation. The women behind this award are an inspiration in kindness & generosity, and they epitomize the strong sense of community among writers & fans of lesbian books. I simply can’t describe how awesome it feels to be part of it.

Say goodbye to 2012 and let’s get cracking on making 2013 the best year yet!