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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nProfessionally, I\u2019m of course ecstatic that my science fantasy YA adventure \u2018When Dark Roots Hunt<\/a>\u2019 was signed by MidnightSun Publishing. It\u2019s scheduled for release in May 2023 and I can\u2019t wait! Woo hoo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t write too much horror or dark fantasy, yet those genres seemed to top my short fiction releases in 2022. \u2018Ocean Wolf\u2019 was published in Etherea Magazine<\/a>, then selected by Tor.com<\/a> as one of the \u2018must-read speculative short fiction<\/a>\u2019 stories in the world for October 2022, which is very impressive! \u2018Made\u2019 was selected for ‘the best’ of the Zodiac Series and published in the Deadset Press anthology \u2018Wandering Stars<\/a>\u2019. Finally, I sold \u2018Not Today\u2019 to Dark Recesses Press<\/a> \u2013 coming in January 2023! All deliciously unsettling stories.<\/p>\n\n\n This year I\u2019ve also thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with libraries, bookshops, councils and schools, both as patrons of my art and as vehicles to share my imagination and creative experience with others. I love sharing my knowledge and creativity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, it\u2019s perhaps my inner life that has benefitted most from 2022. Validation is so important for all of us. While internally driven self-worth can keep us motivated, feeling buoyant and hopeful, we do also need external validation to prove we\u2019re on track and living an authentic life. Without it, we risk self-depreciating and losing our all-important sense of direction, even sense of self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Around mid-year, I was feeling this way a little bit. The pandemic had seen so many deals not go through and connections dissipate, and though I had continued to strive for greatness throughout it all, 2022 looked like it would be another year of struggle. I really needed to feel \u2018the love\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, external validation is a lot like love, since we can receive it through any of the five love languages. For a self-employed writer, this might include:<\/p>\n\n\n In the end, 2022 gave me all these different types of validation, and the buoyancy, hope and motivation that I experienced with them was so noticeable I came to truly appreciate their necessity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, I also set myself some self-obtainable goals that I managed to reach, namely learning how to make Instagram reels and YouTube shorts<\/a>, and beating my best time jogging around my local bush track. There were setbacks with both of those achievements too of course: the trial and error of learning can take up unaccountable time, and I fractured a toe on a tree root on that bush track! But bones heal, and new skills are always worth it!<\/p>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n