Narratess turned three with the new year, so it’s worth looking back and see what changed in the last year.
2019 was the first year my book reviews had their dedicated space on Tuesday. Doing those twice monthly meant I posted 78 times, instead of 52 the year before. I don’t know how much this contributed, but my views in 2019 where more than those of 2018 and 2017 combined. My follower count went up, on my blog and on Twitter, which helped too. And I’m still part of the Write Reads gang with several posts features throughout the year.
Publishing highlights
My publishing highlights are the highlights of the year. I published Tales of Lunis Aquaria and Devil’s Deal. Both are a labour of love as I worked on them for years. Devil’s Deal was a NaNoWriMo project, but I wrote down a few of the scenes years before.
Devil’s Deal is the first book in the Infernal Contracts trilogy. Book 2 and 3 will come out this year, so if you’ve read it, you won’t have to wait long! I’m currently working hard to make book 2 even better than it was. Then I’ll focus on writing an epic conclusion. After that one comes out, I’ll start on my first full Lunis Aquaria novel which will be a follow up on one of the stories from Tales of Lunis Aquaria.
Reading highlights
I posted my Best Books of 2019 early because I finished another whooping five books after I posted it. I completed my Goodreads Challenge of 45 books. Check out my year in books. I still stand by the list I wrote up. I might add The Tea Master And The Detective by Aliette de Bodard too, but it didn’t impact me as much as the other books.
Blog highlights
Top three most viewed posts
I wrote this post as preparation for my trip to Tokyo in November. It’s only a small list, incomplete even, but it’s still attractive enough that Google put it on the front page and leads fountain pen lovers to my site. I’m going to update it soon with all the new information and photos I have now.
I didn’t expect my writing prompts to be this popular. Every month, I post new writing prompts for everyone who wants to use them. This post has a few exercises to quick start your writing session and get into the creative space.
Check out this page for all my writing prompts.
This post is one of the posts featured on TheWriteReads. I wrote it as a discussion post and people gladly shared their opinion. So it’s no surprise that it’s also my most liked and commented post of 2019.
Top commented post
Top three most liked posts
Another discussion post. People agree but it’s hard to think of examples. I guess that’s mostly because all book lovers go into shock when you ask them about their favourite books. Still, some people mentioned great books which I added to my TBR.
This is a personal post about something dear to me. My chronic pain has changed my life drastically and put me on the path of writing. It’s still a challenge, but it means a lot to me that people read it and care.
Most popular review
I loved Isabella’s book and I’m really excited about the upcoming book tour for her newest book, The Cake Faeries. Isabella writes romance foodie novels and it’s no surprise people love it (and my review). If you’re already planning your summer reading list, check out this book. You have to read it while eating ice cream for the full immersive experience.
