My year in pictures by Lauren Bjorkman

The year started with panic! I had 5 days to respond to my editor's comments on MISS FORTUNE COOKIE and MOVE. My family and I had accumulated a lot of crap over the years.

Luckily the new house--designed by my non-architect husband, btw--is small. My friend and I started a local freecycle on FB, and gave away half of the aforementioned crap.

While settling in, I began rewriting a novel my agent felt would be a hard sell. I still love the book, and have almost finished.

Right outside my window, hawks dive bomb prairie dogs and coyotes hunt for dinner. My cats have managed to avoid getting eaten. (Photo by Geraint Smith, a local photography genius.)

My editor showed me my new book cover. When I raised a concern about stereotypical fonts, she asked the design team to make changes.

Before:

After:

My oldest son grew taller than me. He started high school. More panic ensued.

My book launched in November. My idol (and friend) John Nichols came to my local signing at Moby Dickens.

Former President Lincoln read my book and loved it!

An hour ago we were having a blizzard, but the sun has come out. Happy holidays everyone!