Casa Siamese
Ellicott City, Maryland
December 2023
Dear Family & Friends,
Hanna, Erik, and the cats had a wonderful and successful 2023, closing out the year both happy and healthy. As has become tradition, we’ll once again be spending this Christmas on the high seas with a Caribbean cruise, followed immediately by a visit to our good friends in Atlanta to ring in the new year (and celebrate Hanna’s 40th birthday).
Hanna spends the majority of her time on writing, editing, social media work, and publication and website management — both as she continues to work from home full-time as a senior medical editor for [redacted] and in her new position as a small business owner! Though she released nothing “new” in 2023, she did accomplish a ton of work in the past year to set up her official launch as a hybrid author in 2024. Her publisher will release the final book in her urban fantasy series later this winter, and in the meantime, Hanna is absolutely not panicking over everything still left on the to-do list for the release of her first self-published novel, a paranormal romance, in January. In her limited free time, Hanna continues to add to her LEGO collection, play video games, and read (and review) all of the books.
Erik continues his civilian job with the cyber operations squadron at his Air National Guard base, while still part of the communications flight on drill weekends for his military service. This year, Erik was nationally recognized in his civilian capacity by the Air Force. In March, he attended a planning conference with the Estonian Cyber Defense Command and returned to Estonia and Germany in June as part of the largest NATO training exercise ever conducted. He finally completed his bachelor’s program in May, obtaining a degree in Networking & Cyber Security from the University of Maryland. Erik also plays video games and goes to the gym with friends.
Our travel this year included adventures for both work and pleasure (and a mixture of the two). Erik visited Tennessee in February and upstate New York in May, both for work-related training. Hanna attended conventions and book signings in Baltimore, Pittsburgh (twice), and Philadelphia, where she often speaks as a panelist and presenter. Together, we visited Atlanta in the spring for the Georgia Renaissance Festival. In the summer, we had a blast accompanying two of our best friends on their first cruise, and Erik spent 2 weeks in Puerto Rico as part of his annual military service. Hanna decided at the last minute to join him one of those weeks, where she alternately read by the pool and cranked out the end of a novel at the hotel bar. Finally, we visited Charlotte, North Carolina, in the fall for a long weekend to celebrate a family wedding.
Nicki, Lucy, and Alex spend the majority of their time supervising Hanna from the comfortable chair in her office. They remain in relatively good health for 14 years old! We’re pretty sure Nicki is going deaf, but Lucy’s teeth issues are under control with medication. Alex is still the baby. Nothing has changed about their loveable personalities (or their volume).
For regular cat pictures and to stay up-to-date on Hanna’s writing news, sign up for her monthly email newsletter.
We hope you have an amazing 2024!
Love,
Hanna & Erik
(with Nicki, Lucy, and Alex)
One thought on “Holiday Letter 2023”