Happy Holidays, my lovely Tartlets! Another year in the books. Ha! Get it? Books?
ANYWAY. This year has flown by. As always. But, as I sit here writing this, looking out the window at our first snowfall of the season… I’m pretty okay with it. It’s been an interesting year, and I’m excited to see what 2023 brings.
Like in past years, I’m taking a little blogging break from now until February. You’ll still see me loitering around social media — Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok — but there won’t be any new book review or book-inspired recipe posts until February 2023. I’m excited for my downtime — being a content creator is a lot of work these days — but I’m also looking forward to coming back with lots of fun posts and updates for you.
Let’s recap, shall we?
2022 brought a lot of change for the blog. The biggest thing was that…the Tart got a new look in July! I’m still loving the blog’s sleek new design, and I hope you are, too.
I became a Replica Surfaces Brand Ambassador. I’ve been a little quiet with promotion lately, but I’m still super proud and happy to represent this amazing company and its products. They have a bunch of great new stuff coming out in 2023, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. Thank you to everyone who purchased Surfaces using my custom link, which means I got a little cut on the sale. All income goes toward keeping the blog running, paying for recipe ingredients, and keeping #awellreadcat a well-fed cat.
Ummm, I joined TikTok. TIK. TOK. The one social media platform I said I would never use. And… I don’t hate it??? I know. I know. Sometimes it makes me crazy, I’ll admit. I didn’t start blogging because I wanted to edit videos or hear my own voice on a recording. But, that’s the way the trends are leaning these days. Even though I’m a hobby blogger, I still want to try to reach new readers when I can, and TikTok helps with that. I’ve just learned to create my boundaries about what content I want to post, and I try my best to stick to it.
Other news that I’ve kept relatively quiet: I participated in my first-ever writing workshop this past fall! And, I’ve signed up for a second workshop over the winter. I’ve been working on this manuscript. Yes, the one I said I was done with. And you know what? It’s been AWESOME. I’ve finally made amazing headway on revising this literary albatross, and I’m very hopeful for querying it in the late spring/early summer.
While we’re talking about writing: I came to the realization in late August that my main creative goal is to become a traditionally published author. Since then, I’ve doubled down on writing novels and, boy, do I have a lot to update you on when it comes to my writing life. I’ve been busy! Stay tuned in 2023 to hear all about it.
And, finally…
Tartlets, as always, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your love, support, comments, likes, messages, and engagement on the blog and social media. Blogging’s a hard path to follow, especially when you have a “day job,” but knowing there are people who look forward to my reviews and recipes means the world to me.
I hope everyone has a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season and a great start to the new year.
Love, books, and carbs,
CJ
What a year you’ve had! I’m so excited to hear more about your writing, CJ! Happy Holidays!
Happy new year, Paula!! I hope your 2023 is off to an amazing start. 🙂