I’ll stop saying this in a couple days (even I'm annoyed by it), but 2015 was a biggie for me. I’d been looking forward to my book release since 2009 (when I first started writing the book), or you could even say 2004 (when I first entertained the thought of becoming a novelist).

There were the blockbuster happenings, but also a lot of smaller (yet still cool) steps along the way. Here are some highlights.

JANUARY

“Hey Jess,

Happy Friday!

So Stefanie and I had lunch yesterday and got down to some serious brainstorming. And…we came up with something that we LOVE. Brace yourself. What do you think of: Food Whore – a novel.”

— - from my editor Chelsey Emmelhainz on January 30

My editor proposes changing the title from BAD TASTE to FOOD WHORE. I reply: “hahahahah you ladies are nuts.” (After a lot of thought / design mockups, I agree in February.)

FEBRUARY

I receive two possible cover designs. The first one -- a table covered in pomegranate seeds spelling Food Whore -- is strikingly on-point. We have no revisions except for the addition of two plates, adding texture to the tablecloth, and lowercasing WHORE on the spine. (The second one was nice, but depicted… a waffle?) Here's more about the entire cover design process. Yes, the designer placed actual pomegranate seeds on a table and photographed them.

MARCH

With edits, marketing/PR ramping up, and a pestering feeling that this is my one-and-only debut novel and I need to give it my all, I leave my job at a hospitality startup and focus on the book full time.

APRIL

I hand in final copyedits. Barring major issues (oops, that's illegal, that error dismantles the whole story) I can't change anything in the manuscript.

MAY

I attend my first book signing at BEA, the largest book convention in the US, and am insanely excited and a little bewildered.

JULY

Look what arrived from my editor @ck_femme!! The real-thing book covers, hot off the press. #foodwhorebook cc @wmmorrowbks @harpercollinsus

A photo posted by Jessica Tom (@jessica_tom) on Sep 22, 2015 at 3:00pm PDT

I receive cover mechanicals and see the back cover for the first time.

AUGUST

A photo posted by Jessica Tom (@jessica_tom) on Aug 13, 2015 at 4:59am PDT

I get engaged to my boyfriend, best friend, and unofficial book strategist in Aruba.

SEPTEMBER

A photo posted by Jessica Tom (@jessica_tom) on Sep 9, 2015 at 8:30am PDT

Entertainment Weekly publishes an exclusive excerpt of a critical scene between Tia and Michael Saltz. Now things are cooking and more press hits follow. Behind the scenes, producers and film agents come calling.

OCTOBER

The book is out! A flurry of press follows, including this in PopSugar and this in the NY Post:

A photo posted by Jessica Tom (@jessica_tom) on Oct 29, 2015 at 7:09am PDT

NOVEMBER

My official launch party takes place at powerHouse Arena (my first choice venue, and in one of my favorite Brooklyn neighborhoods). Here's the full Q&A with my friend and host of Heritage Radio's WORD OF MOUTH, Leiti Hsu. And here's a 3-minute sense of the vibe:

DECEMBER

Food Whore is reviewed in the New York Times Sunday Book Review by none other than the actual New York Times restaurant critic, Pete Wells (!).

A photo posted by Jessica Tom (@jessica_tom) on Dec 7, 2015 at 2:31pm PST

The review ... unnerves me. But the very next day, Variety makes it official: DreamWorks optioned the rights and Lisa Rubin is writing the screenplay. I had known about this since the week before launch, but couldn't tell a soul.

What's next in 2016??

A wedding, some movie progress and more writing. I don't really believe in astrology unless it's convenient to me. Here's what's on deck for Aries:

An abundance of energy and ideas will carry you through this year.

Let's hope! Coming up next on the blog ... another highlight, but deserving a post of its own -- all the great #FoodWhore posts from this year.