Every year, I make a post where I highlight what I believe to be my very best posts from the year. But this year, I’m not sure I had that many truly “good” posts. Yet so many of you continue to visit and support this site. I’m blessed by your continued presence and participation, but I’ve obviously lost my drive and focus, not just here, but in my fiction writing, too. So, with that in mind, I’m going to try to enter 2018 with new drive.
That said, here is the Trout Nation year in review:
January
I re-released Surrender, a book of my heart that I poured massive research into only to see the publisher crash and burn a few short years later.
I ranked every song in Galavant, a stunning work of epic silliness that you should definitely watch if you haven’t already.
Chronic pain patients were thoroughly insulted by Veronica Roth’s Carve The Mark, a New York Times bestseller filled to the brim with racism and ableism.
February
I offered some helpful tips to the jackass journalists gleefully using Fifty Shades Darker as a vehicle for their desire to demean women.
And I offered some helpful terminology to enhance your Mario Karting experience.
Have a writing question? This is when The Big Damn Writer Question Box debuted.
March
People with enough time on their hands to obsess over wanting to break up an actor’s marriage decided I was a terrible person. Captain Kirk was on my side, though.
Say Goodbye To Hollywood, a somewhat-inspired by Fifty Shades Of Grey novel, released.
I hated Beauty And The Beast so much that I loved it.
Abortion was a big theme in March, with my stance on cis male allies and a review of a fantastic HBO documentary posting within days of each other.
April
I got plagiarized. Again. This has got to stop happening. Luckily, you all had my back.
I showed you how to make a waffle, via a weird video.
May
My mental health took a crash.
And I absolutely had it with MAGA and their fake concern for the LGBTQA+ community.
Why even are male writers? And other tips for incorporating bear-death into your writing career.
June
Wonder Woman was, despite popular criticism, really darn queer.
Did you know that panhandlers make more than minimum wage workers do?
July
Twitter continued to protect Nazis.
My daughter’s reaction to Jodie Whittaker’s casting as the Thirteenth Doctor went viral. I even got interviewed about Doctor Who on BBC Radio, so basically that was a dream come true.
My husband had a problem with my proposed career change, and we made another waffle!
August
Neil and Sophie returned in The Sister. Sadly, it didn’t become a legitimate New York Times bestseller like Handbook For Mortals did.
September
We finished our re-watch of Buffy season three and started season four. Which seemed like a perfect time to come clean about some weird shit I keep in my office.
October
I got the opportunity to review Una, one of my favorite films of 2017.
We dove into a parallel rewatch of Angel. I’m pretty sure I messed up the title on that recap.
November
I started an ongoing series about the worst person I’ve ever met.
December
Bronwyn Green Leslie Knope-d the absolute fuck out of Christmas, but even her beautiful gift was nothing compared to the blessed visit from our favorite con artist, Zade Sarem.
So, here we go, into 2018 and a brave new world of however this plays out. Thanks as always for going on this incredibly weird journey with me.