I finally know where I'm going. Home. The long way around.

I wanted to do some witty, snappy blog about the past year and all I’ve learned in it. But then I realized that chances are highly likely that would take me another year to simply type out and who has time for that? *grins*

All in all, it was a good year. I mean, I made it out alive, right? I’ve loved, lost, danced, sang, laughed, smiled, sang, and read. There were days I just wanted to curl up in bed and sob into my pillow, likewise, there were days I wanted to tie on my cape and save the world! I wrote, I imagined, I dreamed and I planned. I was privileged to watch the dreams of some of my dearest ones come true, feeling so much pride and happiness in their success.

I’ve been both student and teacher. I’ve been Yoda and the Emperor. I’ve had my ups and I’ve crashed into the ground. I’ve made some happy, others ..not so much.

I’ve lived a lifetime in the last year. This time, last December, I won’t lie, I was very sad. This day, one year ago, I’d made a decision that I knew would hurt me but it had to be done. Not just for my sake, but others as well. I sat in the ashes of this beautiful dream and wondered what to do. Who was I? Where would I go? Where was my bloody happy ending? Who was going to save ME?

And the funny part? Every single answer to those questions lay entirely within...me. Kinda like when Glinda told Dorothy she had the power to go home all along from Oz. (Did anyone else want to see Dorothy lose her shiz and snap on Glinda? “Oh yeah? Well, you had the power to tell me that 2 hours ago! Did I need this drug trip? No! I was walking down the road minding my own fucking business and next thing I know I gotta tree chasing me down the lane! I want a one way ticket out of here now! Or I start throwing dead midgets out the door!")

So I got up, dusted off my Hello Kitties and took stock around me. I was a woman with a dream and determination. A woman with a mission to do one thing…the ONE THING…she’d always wanted. I wrote a book. And in writing it, I healed myself. I found layers inside of me I didn’t even know I had! I found a surplus of strength, hope, love and fire! I fashioned a New Camelot and in doing so, I reminded myself of what a knight believes in, stands for. And women can be knightly, too! Writing Timeless Night brought me back to a safe, happy place where I felt …magical, capable and full of endless dreams. I was my own hero, I…Teri….I…Torie…am my own happy ever after.

I’d simply needed to pull the sword from the stone.

And here I am, one year later.  I just finished writing Timeless Desire, Book 2 of New Camelot and have started outlining Timeless Seduction, Book 3! I’ve got HUGE plans for my Cloie Chronicles! I’ve also sat down and begun loosely scribbling notes for what will eventually be my Tudor Tales. And if that’s not enough, I have plans for retelling a few other stories…Torie Style. I love my mind. Much like the TARDIS, it’s bigger on the inside.

And it can take me anywhere I want to go.

So, you got a dream? Make it happen. Your time is NOW!

Happy New Year everyone, from me and my lil Queendom. Let’s make MORE magic in 2014!

~Torie~