It’s the new year here in Texas. I will miss parts of 2008, but I’m happy to see it go. Tonight I wandered down the street a bit in a long heavy coat and fleece PJ’s and watched fireworks for the last time in this neighborhood. By the time another huge fireworks display is started around here I’ll be on my way to another chapter in my life.

Forgive me for reflecting, but I noticed a few things tonight that sent my mind wandering. My grandmother used to say “You can’t fix them who doesn’t have a mind to be fixed.” Which is to say, if someone is hell bent on doing things their way, let them. Give advice, if you have to, but leave them be. Giving advice has always been, in my experience, a double edged sword. If things go great, then wonderful, but if they go bad now there’s a target for their disappointment. But I digress…

Life is funny, and not always in a good way. Right now because of the impending move, my family goes through bouts of happiness and sorrow. Some days I feel like I’m holding everything together with scotch tape and a prayer and I’m doing it all by myself LOL. I’m thankful for my crit partners and my friends. My family keeps me going and I’m thankful for the lessons learned in life.

So this is a blog about my writing life…and I’ve shot off into a bit too much seriousness.

What’s up for me in 2009? Lots of books, several free reads, and quarterly goals. 1400 words a day is my writing goal…starting in the am when I wake up. I’ve enjoyed having you here for 2008 and hope to travel 2009 with you as well.

Happy New Year.

Well gang, I’m taking a much needed break for the Holidays. From this moment ’til the middle of January (just past Three Kings Day), my posts are pre-written and timed for release. So if you’re new to the blog and leave a comment, know it’ll take a bit for your message to appear. I’ll check my comments every couple of days and approve them.

Expect in the coming days, more goodness from the Wicked Wednesday free read, a year end round up, a disappointing end to the Personal Writing Challenge but new goals for the future, and a New Year free story link fest you won’t want to miss. More on that later.

I’ll see you soon and thank you for making this year one of the best.

Some of you already know I like to sketch. Especially moments like now when I’m stumped by something my characters have done and need to figure out a way out of the plotting hole they’ve stuck us in.

So, I pulled out ye olde pencil and paper and sketched a holiday eye candy piece for the men who occasionally drop by this blog. Happy Holidays guys. Meet Holly.

I’ve got a lot of news coming, and not a moment too soon for the holiday, I suppose. Our family is going to be moving soon. This summer, actually. It’s an EDJ (evil day job) transfer. I’ll be moving out of country for about a year.

In the meantime, my family won’t be able to come with me but they’re moving to California to be close to family while I’m gone. For those wondering why, my son is Autistic and they don’t have the capabilities of meeting his needs in the area I’ll be working. Since his progress has been so phenomenal in the past six months, we really need to keep the momentum going.

Some of the weird questions and comments I’m getting from my crit partners makes me want to clarify a few things.

1. Yes, I’ll still be writing. Even more so, honestly, since I won’t be with my family and likely unable to sleep. If I don’t write, I’ll go stir crazy, so yes, I’ll still be writing.
2. I don’t view this as a vacation or an adventure (although it will be an interesting adventure, I’m sure). I’ve got a full time job waiting for me there, one that will push me harder in my career than any before. It’s going to be a challenge and one I have to meet.
3. I’ll still have access to the internet (that was a weird one, the internet is available almost anywhere now and I’ve been to some very remote locations in the world). High speed, as a matter of fact. It’s necessary for my job. So I’ll still update, still fight through NaNoWriMo, and still visit the groups. I’ll just be in a different timezone. My website will still be updated (hopefully) regularly and I’ll still have releases with all my publishers. That’s the beauty of having a virtual writing career. My ebooks release and are available instantly around the world. *WEG*
4. Leaving my family is the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do, but I’ve been contracted for a job and I can’t back out. We live in the age of webcam and instant messenger so I’ll be in constant contact with my family after work. We’re already testing the system to get my son used to seeing me on the television. He’ll be almost 3 at the time I leave so this year will, hopefully, be a distant dream to him later in life. (It’s already sending me through a rollercoaster of emotion…there’s so much I’m going to miss!).
5. I’ll have a camera so I’ll take a lot of pictures. There’s a lot of history there, so it’ll be wonderful. And I’ll be able to come home for a bit during the time I’m over there so I’ll get to be with my family then.

I think that about covers it. If you’ve got any other questions, please don’t hesitate to leave them in comments.

Alright, this is a personal post. If you want to read, click more to see it in its entirety. Otherwise, I’ll just post this bit of numminess for you:

(more…)

Hello all! I’m back from my vacation and ready to get back into the swing of things this Holiday season! In the past week or so a lot of wonderful things have happened and I look forward to telling you all more as we go along.

First of all, Wicked Wednesdays is returning! The NaNo hiatus is over and I’m happily moving along. So if you were missing your Angel fix, she’s back!

Writing-wise a lot is going on. I have a few things in the works for the coming year and my first Thursday Thirteen in a LONG TIME! I have 13 books! WOW! When this free read is done, I’ve contracted a coverart piece and a friend will pdf it for me. Free story for you all. Hopefully one you’ll enjoy and my way of saying thank you for being kick ass readers!

I’ll be doing a year-end round up to remember what craziness went down in ‘08.

And it’s reality check time. I won’t be able to complete 90K words in December and still be able to 1. go to work, 2. spend time with my family and 3. stay sane. Since all three of those are important, I’ve decided to let whiskey straight win. Le sigh. On a positive note, it really got my butt moving and reminded me why I liked writing in the first place. Also…realistic goals are important. Breaking 300K this year is amazing. Next year I’m breaking up the year into four mini personal writing challenges. Quarterly goals are far easier for me to deal with.

Well, have a great night all! No PWC update this week since I didn’t break 2K. Vacation really meant vacation LOLOL.

I have two releases this week. GingerSnaps: Serendipity 5A from Changeling Press on December 1st and Del Fantasma: Winter Break from Aspen Mountain Press on December 5th.

I’m taking some much needed down time with my family.

I’ve updated my Coming Soon page. The fabulous images are courtesy of my webman, Jerry. Hope everyone’s having a good start on their writing weekend! I’ll be burning the midnight oil to make my min reqs.

I’ll be posting more soon. Right now I’m recovering from a hellish three weeks at work, 70 Days of Sweat writing challenge is underway, NaNoWriMo hits the halfway point this weekend, and my Personal Writing Challenge is a bit off track, but I’m getting there!

If you’ve stuck it out with me this long, please email me or leave in comments something you’re thankful for.

I’m thankful for my family, friends, and those who enjoy reading.

Have a great night all!

For those who’ve served our military either from the home front as a family or as the Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and/or Marine and for those who are currently serving…

Happy Veteran’s Day