One year ago this week my first blog post went live—and what a year to start a blog! For my one year anniversary as a blogger, let’s look back at some of the biggest moments and close with a glance at the three most popular posts of the year.

A Year in Review

Last December I decided that I wanted to launch a weekly blog, to flex my writing muscles in new ways and to share a little of myself with the world. I wasn’t sure where I wanted it to go, and within the first few months had done thought pieces, short stories, poems, movie reviews, and a plethora of other varied content. My readership was sporadic, but I followed what attracted more readers and what most resonated with them. Slowly but surely, I’ve narrowed my goals, gained followers and weekly readers, and implemented new features—such as the Weekly Writing Prompts and the monthly Top Tens.

While the blog as grown and evolved over Year One, my life has changed a lot, too!

Paperbacks and the NW Book Festival

Back in February, my best friend, Mat, and I started working on creating full covers for all my books so that they could be made into paperbacks in time for the 2017 Northwest Book Festival in Portland, Oregon. It was a grueling process, but it was so worth it when, just one week before the festival in July, we at last finalized the covers and put in the order for the book festival. It was a huge payoff for six months of stress. It also expanded my local platform and gave me the ability to reach a lot more readers.

The release of Mordecai – Episode One: Bloodthirsty

Mordecai EI, my fourth book and third novel, released at the beginning of September, and it kicked off a whole new series! I couldn’t be happier to say that it’s already my best selling book. Mordecai is a science fantasy about a coffeeholic half-elf (elven father and African American mother) from Portland, Oregon. Oh, he’s also Catholic. And there are blood-worshipers, too. The sequel, Mordecai – Episode Two: Imprisoned is set to release in 2018 (an official release date is coming soon)! You can get a copy of Mordecai EI here.

(Another blogger, Roo Reads, did a review of Mordecai on her book blog. I’ll put the link to that review at the bottom of this post!)

And then, in late September, I got engaged!

I couldn’t be happier spending my life with anyone else. I love you, Victoria!

To end, Dear Reader…

This has been a wonderful year of personal growth and learning. With all the unsettling news being fed to us on the internet these days, I wanted to write this post to make you smile, and I want you to know that there WAS good in this year. And we got to ride it out together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading and supporting me, and I can’t wait to see where we go together in the year and years to come.

Happy New Year!

Top Three Most Popular Posts of 2017:

Here are the top three posts from 2017, sorted by views.

3. Christmas Shouldn’t Be Perfect, December 15th.

2. Poem: Humans., May 12th.

1. The Struggles of Independence,  August 6th.

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I hope you have the most wonderful New Years Eve and Day, and a great 2018! If you want to keep up with me this coming year, give this blog a follow for weekly updates, and you can also check out all my available books here.

You can read the review Roo Reads did for Mordecai – Episode One: Bloodthirstyhere.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share!

Weekly Writing Prompt:

It was New Years Eve, and Alex was going to make it one to remember it at all costs…

(Don’t forget email your results to benjaminlawbooks@gmail.com for a chance to get your response to the prompt shared on my blog!)