the one where we celebrate all the successes from 2022!
Success is a matter of perspective. We all have different situations and life hurdles that affect our ability to do all the things we want to do. Some days I celebrate just that I even got out of bed and made coffee. But keeping success relative and personal can keep us motivated. Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say, and the saying is pretty on point. When we look at others’ achievements, we don’t see the path they took to get there, only the milestone they’re celebrating.
And as 2022 came to a close, and we begin 2023, I took a look back myself and at Inked to see what successes we had and what we could do better (and more of) next year.
We’re not ones for making resolutions, it just seems like making unrealistic expectations for ourselves. But we do hope that you make strides towards your goals, whatever they are! This year, my goal is to continue learning self-care and making time for my own interests. My kids are getting older and their really diving into their own as well. We’re an artistic family and I’ve found that by nurturing my own hobbies, I’ve encouraged them to nurture their own. We’ve been able to share our work with each other and it’s helped us grow together. We’ve become more open as a family and that was honestly surprising bc it was unintended.
My kids have been through a lot in the past two years. It started with a surprise (even to me) divorce and now a new soon-to-be step dad who they truly look up to. We couldn’t be happier, but it didn’t come without growth and pain. But also joy. It takes a lot to keep joy in your life when everything looks and feels like shit. Sometimes the only joy would be coffee on the porch with the animals.
Some joys we’ve celebrated this year was the addition of a new found-kitten to the family. The little floof is a feral kitten we found on our porch chair one day, cuddled up in the cold. We offered it some food, and one day he decided that he didn’t want to leave. He now spends his days cuddled up on the bed with my old Schnauzer mix.
With Inked, we celebrated the release of Trey Stone’s At The Gate, which has gotten a lot of positive reviews! Lauren Davila has joined our family this year as Inked’s Acquisitions Editor. It’s been great having her here. We’ve also signed Nicole Zelniker, Amanda Cessor, and Jules Devito who are amazing authors! Look for their releases coming in 2024. Lauren and Jules have helped create our Discord server! It is still a little bare, but we’re looking to add more content throughout the year.
Also coming in 2023 is more merch — we are expanding our press offerings this year beyond books! We’ve gotten some great feedback at events and Cons and looking to forward to the expansion. The Indie Resource Directory will also be back this year! You may remember the Indie Resource Directory as a free site to find freelancers within the realm of art and writing — editors, logo / cover designers, formatters, and character / map designers. WordPress did one of it’s updates and I just didn’t have the time to revamp it and give it the attention it needs. This year will be the year! Our goal is to have the site back up and running some time over the summer!
Starting off the new year, we have the release of the Elaina Battista-Parsons’s young adult contemporary novel Black Licorice and our We Deserve to Exist Anthology. Later in the year, Lawrence West will be releasing his survival horror novella Breeched. It has been a joy working on these projects!
And, to be fair, the year will probably we overwhelming — COVID isn’t over, no matter how much everyone wants it to be, cost of living is getting higher, and the world still seems like a dumpster fire. So, with that in mind, try and find the small and simple joys. Coffee in the morning before work, a movie or tv with family or a loved one (or a pet), soothing music or rocking out to the heavy metal. Life is a collection of moments, and while society has encouraged us to focus on what others are doing and where we ‘could be’, sometimes it can be good to give attention to the positive bits of the now. Whatever it is, no matter how small it may seem, I hope everyone here find the little bits of joy in their lives and holds on tight to them.
