Happy 5th Anniversary to swraine.com!

I can’t believe my website and blog have been around for five years!

I started the blog with the idea to imitate my favorite author, Neil Gaiman, and use it as an accountability tool into my journey to become a published author.

And since May 4th, 2018, I’ve:

• – published 2 steampunk books and 1 contemporary fantasy book in e-book and paperback form
• – sold my books in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Spain, France, and Germany
• – had book giveaway winners in the US, Canada, and North Macedonia
• – gained over 1k followers between Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
• – attended both virtual and in-person events as an author
• – was featured in a few author spotlights, interviews, shout-outs, podcasts, newsletter swaps, indie author bingo boards, and multi-author giveaways
• – got my books into a physical bookstore

And so much more!

So I thought, for the blog’s anniversary, I’d compile my favorite blog post from each year. Click on the blog title to be taken to that blog post. Here we go!

2018:

5 Fiction Books That Have Made An Impression On Me

I originally wrote this in June of 2018, and it featured my top five favorite books at the time. Most of those books are still some of my absolute favorites, but now, a few more have been added to the list since.

2019:

3 things I learned from Ellen Dugan during ConVocation 2019

I love this post I wrote in February 2019 because Ellen Dugan was the reason my firm interest in being traditionally published slowly shifted to being okay with self-publishing and being an indie author. Each year, the workshop convinced me more and more that traditional publishing wasn’t the only way to go about it.

2020:

Self-Doubt and Author Imposter Syndrome

In this post I wrote in March 2020, I was going through some tough times getting my debut novel, The Techno Mage, ready for publication. Thankfully, another author helped set my mind straight, and, later, my coach helped me work on my mindset where I rarely have those self-crippling thoughts anymore. Hooray!

2021:

Book Review: The Saltwater Heir

I had to include this book review from June 2021 as one of my favorite posts, because Oh. My. God. If you haven’t read this book yet, you really need to. The Saltwater Heir by indie author Cassidy Clarke was so good, it almost beat out my most favorite book ever—American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Almost.

2022:

Do You Know The Difference?

In August of 2022, I made a post describing the difference between some of the fantasy subgenres. The Elemental’s Guardian is considered contemporary fantasy, but a lot of people have never heard of the genre. I love teaching people new things, so I love this blog post!

There you have it! Some of my favorite blog posts so far. Which of my blog posts was your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

Here’s to the next year of blog posts!

Raine