So 2014 was a kaleidoscope, to be frank. There was so much good to counteract the bad that I was left with the sense of it being a balanced, yet colorful, year. I can wish for 2015 to be better, but I wouldn’t complain too much if it stayed on par.

I lost friends this year, chief among those being C.J. Henderson and Ray Chatterjee. C.J. was a recent acquaintance, having met him only in 2013, but he was a fun guy and a reliable face and friend to have at unfamiliar conventions. If I ever felt lost, I would amble over to the Dealer’s Room and C.J. would set me on the right course (after convincing me to buy a book or three, that is!). It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but it will when con season rolls around and I don’t see him.

Ray, though… Ray was one of my oldest con friends. I met him at my very first convention in 2005, I a neophyte author, he an old hand at breaking new authors in. We were up until 6 in the morning hanging out poolside and talking, telling great stories and generally having a blast. Ray also (without telling me at the time, and I never got a chance to repay him for this, since I only found out who did it this past summer) picked up the tab on my room the following year, which shocked me to the core. He was such a great guy, a good person, and an amazing friend. I miss him, and it hurts just remembering that I won’t see him again.

2014 was also a year filled with happiness. The books I coauthored with Eric S. Brown sold amazingly well, which allowed us to briefly hang out on the Amazon bestseller list (for about 6 hours). It still surprises me just thinking about how many people told me that they loved my books. I will always consider myself a hack author who is just in it for the money (no shame there), but just random people telling me that they liked what I wrote is enough to keep me doing it. 2015 looks to be a busy year, and I hope (in this regard) that it surpasses 2014.

So here’s to you, 2014. Rest easy.