Emma Barry is a teacher, novelist, recovering academic, and former political staffer. She lives with her high school sweetheart and a menagerie of pets and children in Virginia, and she occasionally finds time to read and write.
To complete my look back at 2024 (see my year in review post and my stuff I really liked post), I wanted to revisit my 2024 nudge word: hungry. I spent the year reminding myself that it’s good to be ambitious. That it’s better to take risks and fail than to preemptively not go for stuff simply because I might not get it.
This is probably not a lesson that most people need to learn, but graduate school and some career bumps drummed the audacity clean out of me. So I spent a year trying to get it back.
I don’t know that I’ll ever be a truly bold person–though it was fun to spend a year writing Scarlett, the protagonist of Bold Moves, who has enough courage for a half dozen people. But I would settle for being less afraid of failure.
One thing that does scare me about the coming year is falling back into the malaise in which I found myself in during the previous Trump administration. So my nudge word for this year is balance.
I need to find that calm center where my day job and my writing and my life serve as counterweights to each other, in equal and correct proportion. Where I give myself time to rest and relax, where I don’t consumed by every news story and scandal, and where I don’t lose hope. That’s my aspiration for 2025.
This wasn’t my best media consumption year. Some of that was due to the state of the world, and some of it was because of personal crises and a demanding stretch at my day job. But the result is that my list is slimmer than to normal. I hope that 2025 will be better, because I have to say the only way I’m going to get through the next four years will be art. I’m going to need all the art.
As always, the normal caveats apply: this isn’t a best of list, it’s merely a list of things I read, watched, and listened to in the last twelve months that made me happy or gave me thinky thoughts. If you’re curious, you can check out my previous year in reviews: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.
This is a difficult year to take stock of because outwardly, I tried to project a sunny confidence that I did not feel. I didn’t talk about the hardest moments online. Suffice it to say, I spent more time sitting with family members in hospital rooms in 2024 than I could’ve predicted. Everyone is better now, but it was immensely challenging–and that’s setting aside the state of the world.
My nudge word for the year was hungry, and I did in fact go for it, even when my instincts were screaming for me to diminish and go into the west. I was rewarded in some ways, and I fell short in others. All together, it was a gratifying year…and it was a trial. The best I can say is that I persisted, and so let’s review.
In 2024, I:
Wrote and edited Bold Moves. This is my longest first draft to date (97K) and the longest of my revised books (95K). The revision process was also, quite frankly, a bear. If Bad Reputation was a book I wrote to the market, this was a book that I wrote just for me. I guess we’ll see how people feel about that choice in April 2025.
Promoted and released Bad Reputation. Thanks to the Amazon First Read, this book is on more people’s Kindles than anything else I’ve ever written. Cole and Maggie have been with me since 2015. I adore them, and I’m glad they’re out in the world.
Revised the first two-thirds of and finished drafting a thriller with romantic elements (aka the academic conspiracy book). This is a project I’ve been working on for THREE YEARS–I’m writing it on spec, so I had to fit it in between contracted projects–and it grew out of a seed from five years ago. It still needs a lot of work, plus my agent and I have to sell it, but the fact that it’s done is a massive relief. Watch this space for updates, I hope!
Drafted and submitted three proposals for contemporary romances. I didn’t think I could love an idea more than the first one, at least until I wrote the second one. And that was the idea until I finished number three. My heart is full with all of these characters, and I’m hoping someone will give me the go-ahead to write one of their stories next year.
Wrote 5K for a bonus epilogue for Bad Reputation, but it isn’t finished yet. So if you’re curious about Libby and Jack’s love story, I’ll have it for my newsletter subscribers, likely in a novelette length around Valentine’s Day.
Read 45 new-to-me books, and I’d be delighted if I could finish a couple more today.
In terms of my 2023 goals, I didn’t write two books and finish a third: I wrote 1.3 books, plus some bonus material. All together, I’m north of 140K new words for the year. I suspect 140-160K in a year is my sweet spot these days. As I make goals moving forward, that’ll be my target.
Next year, I’d like to sign some new contracts and to write 1.5 books. I’d like to be chill about my 2025 release. I’d like to be on social media less, and I’d like to move and stretch more–intellectually, creatively, and physically. And I’d like to read more.
May 2025 be a year of growth and love for us all. xo
(I’ve been producing some version of this post for as long as I’ve been blogging my writing. You can read about my 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013 respectively.)
I have something that I hope will be a distraction on a tense afternoon: the cover for Bold Moves! Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s the work of the amazing Caroline Teagle Johnson.
After writing several slow burns in a row, I was craving something that was different, and Jaime and Scarlett’s story couldn’t be less like Cole and Maggie’s. It’s raw and messy in the way that only second chance can deliver, and I’m so excited for it to be in your hands. And the release date shifted the tiniest bit: it’s going to drop on April 22, 2025! You can preorder it on Kindle and paperback at Amazon and add it on Goodreads, and I hope you do.
Also, as I’ve been doomscrolling at 3 a.m., I ended up rereading The One You Crave, an anthology of my short political romances. It includes three pieces I wrote mostly to talk myself out of despair: “Kissing and Other Forms of Sedition,” “The Fourth Estate,” and “Run.” This will either be exactly what you want right now, or it will be the absolute anathema to what you want right now, but just case, I made it free for Kindle. You can grab it here if you’re so inclined. It’ll revert to the regular price on November 6.
As you probably know, Hurricane Helene barreled into Appalachia in late September, causing widespread devastation. I live in coastal Virginia, and we’ve traveled in the affected area many times. It’s a beautiful region of the country, and the images of bridges and towns being swept away in an instant was horrifying.
Wanting to do something to help, I donated to the Western North Carolina Indie Authors auction. The auction goes live TODAY and ends on October 20, so get browsing!
Up for grabs is a set of books from me. I’ll send the winner signed paperback copies of Chick Magnet, Funny Guy, and Bad Reputation immediately and then, as soon as I have them in hand, I’ll add an ARC of Bold Moves. Chick Magnet and Bold Moves are both set in small (fictional) towns in southwest Virginia, so it’s especially poignant for me to be able to offer those to the highest bidder in this auction.
I am massively, incredibly, inexpressibly grateful to everyone who made Bad Reputation‘s release so special. I published my first book a decade ago, and I’ve never had a new release get so much attention or had so many people sample the book. It’s been so much–and so lovely–and I’m feeling a little weepy just thinking about it.
This collage features only a fraction of the posts I was tagged in (!!). The folks at Over the River Publicity and Amazon Publishing did such an incredible job of getting it into people’s hands. If you bought the book or reviewed it or posted about it or boosted my posts about it, in the most sincere way: I adore you. Thank you.
I also wanted to let you know about two different charity projects to which I’ve made donations, both to support recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene in the Appalachia region. The first is the Romance for Appalachia Raffle. For every $5 you donate, you get one entry into a random drawing. The list of prizes is voluminous and amazing, and it includes a signed paperback of Bad Reputation. The drawing will be held on Oct 13, so get donating!
The second is Western North Carolina Charity Auction, which will be held between Oct 18 and 20. The auction site isn’t available yet, but I’ve donated a set of signed books, including Chick Magnet, Funny Guy, and Bad Reputation, plus an ARC of Bold Moves. This is the first ARC that I’ve promised anyone, and I’ll get it into your hands as soon as I can (after I receive it, probably early in 2025).
But speaking of hurricanes, because of Hurricane Milton, we’ve had to postpone the Oct 8 virtual event with The New Romantics (which is located in Florida). Stay safe from the approaching storm, everyone, and we’ll try to get that rescheduled soon.
I’m so excited because, as of today, Bad Reputation is available in Kindle Unlimited, ebook, audio, and paperback! If you click here, you should be able to find the country-appropriate link for you, whether you want to borrow Bad Reputation from Kindle Unlimited, buy the ebook, grab a copy of the GORGEOUS paperback, or pick up the audio.
I do want to put in a special plug for the audiobook. I’ve been dealing with my anxiety about the release by listening to it the last few weeks, and Aaron Shedlock and Summer Morton are perfect as Cole and Maggie. It should be available to read and listen to in KU.
If you’ve already read Bad Reputation, or if you pick it up in the next few weeks (or months, or years), it would mean a lot to me if you’d consider rating or reviewing it, especially on Amazon, Audible, or Goodreads. Reviews help readers find books, and they also help readers avoid books they would loathe.
Release day for Bad Reputation is ALMOST here, and I wanted to let you know about a free, virtual live event I’m doing with Fresh Fiction on Wednesday, Oct 2: their video bookclub! It’ll run from 7 p.m. CST until 9 p.m., and we’ll be chatting and playing some games, and then I’ll answer any questions that might come in from readers. You can register here, and I’d love to see you there.
ETA: while the Eventbrite may read Oct 3, I emailed the organizers and confirmed that the event will be on Wednesday, Oct 2. So the graphic is correct!
As a reminder, I’m also doing a free, virtual event on Oct 8 with The New Romantics bookstore and author Jennifer Snow (more info here!), and I’m signing at Novel Grounds in Chesapeake, VA, on Oct 12 (more info here!). The latter does require tickets, but it comes with a paperback of Bad Reputation.
Oh, but I have you covered. I’m doing a virtual event with Jennifer Snow and The New Romantics, a romance bookstore in Orlando. (Digression: aren’t all the romance bookstores popping up the BEST? I love them all.) It’ll be on October 8 at 6 p.m. EST. Registration is required, but it’s free. You can get all the details and reserve your spot here. I would love, love, love to see you there.
So I have some cool news: Bad Reputation is an Amazon First Reads pick for September!
It’s available in North America only (I’m sorry!). What this means is that if you’re a Prime subscriber, you can grab the ebook for free: USian folks, click here; Canadian folks, click here; and Mexican folks, click here. If you don’t do Prime, you can buy the ebook for the discounted price of $1.99 using those same links. The price will go up to $3.99 on October 1; that’s when it’ll be available in KU and when the paperback and audiobook will drop.
And if you snag Bad Reputation now, you’ll be able to add the Whispersync audio for just $1.99 when it releases next month. Aaron Shedlock and Summer Morton read the audiobook, and they’re both so, so good.
If you do read Bad Reputation in any form, it would mean so much to me if you reviewed it. Reviews, especially early ones, help readers find books. The book’s Goodreads page is here.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be basking in my kinda sorta release day glow.
Emma Barry 