[Speak Now...] #TheComebackYear

Speak Now (or forever hold your peace) is a new feature here in Defiantly Deviant. Basically, I'll be talking about absolutely anything book-related... and anything under the sun, really!

 #TheComebackYear

Maybe a lot of you thinking that this post may be a few weeks too late, because, seriously, a resolutions post a month after the year has started? Talk about late, huh? Well, I have something to say to that - one of my resolutions this year is actually to make it a point to never be afraid to try something new, no matter what day of the year it is.

2014 wasn't exactly the greatest year. Granted, I was able to travel, try new things, and meet a lot of authors, but 2014 was also the year of change. If you know me, you would know just how much I shy away from change, and what happened last year was just insane. It was just change, left and right. I can only handle change one at a time, and when given the time to absorb fully just what is happening, and then more time to adjust. But nope, that did not happen. As a result, 2014 was basically me floundering about, hoping against hope that I get to breathe soon. Not only were there a plethora of change career and job-wise, 2014 was also the year wherein I finally understood that people leave.

People leave, and I can never be okay with that.

But I have to be.

Because of all these changes, I barely read and barely blogged last year, and a part of me hated myself for it. It was almost as if I lost my passion for both reading and blogging, and just looking at my (empty) blog made me sad. This year, however, I'm making an effort to turn things around. Instead of avoiding my books and my blog whenever I'm upset, instead, I'll turn to these that I love, and these that I'm passionate about.

So with that in mind, here are my bookish resolutions for 2015:

1. Read, read, read. This is pretty simple, really. It's only the first month of the year, and I'm happy to say that I've already finished 7 books. I already feel happier (and more invested in book characters than I can remember, but let's save this for another blog post...), and I cannot wait to read more. I've forgotten just how therapeutic reading can be, but I'm so glad that I rediscovered it!

2. Blog schedule. 2014 was supposed to be the 'comeback year' after 2013 (aka the year of getting a job and adjusting to the work environment), but that did not happen. 2014 was hell, and as a result, the blog wasn't exactly 'hopping' last year. Don't fret, though, because that's about to change. I've spent the past few weeks drafting a schedule for the blog which I hope to religiously follow moving forward. Basically, starting on February, I hope to have at least three to four new posts on the blog every week - two reviews, and one or two feature posts. Wish me luck! ;)

3. New features. I've been wanting to have new features on the blog for YEARS (nope, no exaggerations here), and finally, I have two!!! *throws confetti* You're looking at the first one, Speak Now (or forever hold your peace), and I'll be unveiling the second one next month. I hope to partner up with some of my blogger buds for other features, so hopefully I can make that happen!

4. New blog design. Here's something that I can actually slash off my list, because I finally jumped the gun and had the amazing Hazel redesign my blog! It's not yet 100% done, but I'm already in love with it! Also, one of my closest blogger buds, Nicole, did my banners (including the one I'm using right now) for me as well!

5. Start joining blog tours again. Definitely not as much as I did my first year of blogging, but I'll join blog tours of the books that I'm really excited about. Most will probably be interviews or guest posts.

6. Comment, comment, comment. I miss the community, and I miss reading all sorts of reviews. I just came off of a commenting spree, and I can honestly say that I missed leaving comments here and there. Blogging is all about communicating, after all!

7. Cool it with the (physical) ARC requests. 8 months ago, I stopped sending emails requesting review copies from publishers I have yet to establish a relationship with. This in turn eased up the pressure I used to always associate with blogging, and I had more time to read the books I actually bought. I'll be refraining from requesting ARCs for another 6 - 8 months from these aforementioned publishers, and I'll instead be focusing on reviewing my eARCs, the review copies sent by the publishers I'm currently working with, and the books I bought myself.

Last, and definitely not the least...

8. Never forget the reason why I started blogging in the first place. Blogging has always been about meeting people who share the same interests as I do, and finding people I can gush about books with. I've met so many amazing bloggers and authors, and I've read so many life-changing books that I probably wouldn't have had encountered if it weren't for the blog. These are what I love about blogging. Blogging is not about ARCs, free books, stats, or 'collecting followers'. While I won't deny that review copies are a perk, that's what they are - perks. They are not the reason why I should be blogging, and I should never, ever forget that.

There you go, folks! Starting this very minute, 2015 is officially #TheComebackYear of Defiantly Deviant! Here's to an excellent year full of laughter, adventures... and books! ;)