New Years Resolutions 2013...

So, it's coming up on that time of year...January first. The time of year when I make resolutions that I sometimes keep and sometimes forget all about. I've pretty much decided to give up on the goal of cooking dinner three nights a week. That was my goal for the last two or three years. I inevitably fail miserably at it because I HATE cooking. My husband really likes it. So, it makes more sense for him to cook. But, even with that, we're always going to be that family who considers a turkey and cheese sandwich to be a perfectly acceptable dinner choice. haha.

Other than the cooking thing, I tend to make goals that revolve around my writing. (huge surprise, right?). For the last three years, I keep making a really stupid goal, and I KNOW it's stupid while I'm making it, but I keep doing it anyway. I keep saying my goal is to have an agent. And, while I still WANT an agent, I'm not making that my goal this year because it's something I have no control over.

 I can't force an agent to like my work. Although I would if I could, I'll admit it. I wish I could run into Damon Salvatore  and borrow his nifty mind-control. Truthfully, if the agent was a girl, Damon wouldn't even have to use mind control if he'd just agree to dance around shirtless... BUT I'm definitely getting sidetracked here. What was I saying? Oh, right. Goals...

I did manage to keep my goal of writing a book this year, but I really wish I was one of those writers who could finish a book in six months instead of a year. Hmmmm... THAT sounds like an acceptable goal. Ha! I knew writing a blog post on goals would help me think of a good one! So, that's it. This will be the year I write a book in six months. I'm writing my newest book with a partner--my sixteen year old son, Chance, so I think, between the two of us, we can get it done.  And I think it's an awesome goal. Besides, in six months a baby can go from this to this:

THIS

TO THIS!

So, I can certainly write a book in that amount of time, right?

My other goal in 2012 was to read 100 books. I got close this year.  80 books in 2012. In 2013 I'm determined to reach 100. This time I'm going to keep track of it on Goodreads and get one of those nifty little reading bars everyone has.

I'm also going to have an actual schedule with my blog--something I haven't done yet. In the months of having this blog, I've realized that I almost always end up blogging Monday, Tuesday and Thursday--so that is the schedule I'm sticking to--with exceptions for blogfests or contests. :) 

So, that's it for me. What about you guys? What are your goals for the New Year? Did you reach your goals for 2012?

No Kiss Blogfest

What's better in a book than the kissing scene? I mean, really--think about it? What other part do you wait breathlessly for the entire time? And how entertainingly frustrating is the NO kiss scene--you know the one.

 Where the author dangles a kiss in front of you and you lean forward on your seat, anticipating the moment these two stupid people will FINALLY kiss and realize they're meant for each other. And then...BAM! Something happens to stop them.

I think the NO kiss scene is almost as good as the kiss scene. It gives us hope. :) And, for all of you that agree with me, there are still a few more days to join the NO KISS BLOGFEST!! 

Just head over to see FRANKIE DIANE MALLIS , sign up on the linky list, throw up an announcement on your blog and maybe a tweet or two to spread the word, cause everyone wants to read as many NO kiss scenes as possible!!!

I couldn't resist this one--although I STILL can't decide if I'm  Team Will or Team Jem. Can't she just have them both? 

Christmas Day...

Hi guys!

Just wanted to say I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was lots of fun. Everyone was very happy with all their stuff. It was a smaller Christmas than normal, but it didn't even matter. Me and my daughter Kassidy built an awesome gingerbread house, which we do every year.

 And Jace (my grandson) loved every single toy he got and ate way too much candy. At one point, he was eating candy in my bedroom and I asked if he wanted to go out to the living room. His response was, "No. I can't go out there yet because my mommy said I'm not allowed to eat this." haha...Jace is very articulate and sneaky for a two year old.

My two oldest daughter, Caity and Meggie, were awesome and got me and their dad a giftcard to Olive Garden and the movies, along with some clothes and stuff. Such good kids.

My awesome kids and grandson

 My son--Chance-- got the video games he wanted, plus quite a few shirts that all had zombies on them in one form or another, which pleased him immensely. It was definitely a zombie sort of year. haha. And Kassidy, my  mermaid-obsessed girl, loved the mermaid mobile I made for her.

Plus, we found out that Chance got the lead roll in our community theater's production of Our Town. He just got done doing "A Christmas Carol", which is all teenagers. Our Town is the adult production. The theater director saw Chance in A Christmas Carol and thought he was so good she called and asked him to take the roll of George Gilbert, which was really cool.

As for me, I got an extremely amazing Dark Tower T-shirt, along with a shirt that reads,  "Stephen King rules" and a "Overlook Hotel" t-shirt. haha. I think my kids know I like Stephen King.

I gave my husband this very-fitting T-shirt:

haha...this is SO him!!

And, all in all, it was an awesome day that ended with eating too much dinner and sleeping twelve hours straight. haha Today everyone is caught up in playing video games, so I'm going to catch up on some writing. How about you guys? What did you do for Christmas? Did Santa bring you what you wanted?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

So...what books are you guys hoping to find under the tree this year? I would like Days of Blood and Starlight, Reached, and The Fault in Our Stars (I'm the only person in the YA universe who hasn't read this book yet).

BEST TREE EVER

On the non-fiction side I'd love to get 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less and Manuscript Makeover.

What about you? Any other gifts besides books you have your fingers crossed for?

This has got to be a short post, cause I still have lots to do today!! Cookies to bake and a Gingerbread House to decorate with my daughter and presents to wrap. I think the thing I'm looking forward to the most tomorrow is seeing my grandson's face when he spots all the presents under the tree. And, just because I love to show him off, here are some pics of my favorite little guy...

JACE GETTING READY TO SEE SANTA

JACE ACTUALLY SEEING SANTA haha

THURSDAYS CHILDREN...

So, today is THURSDAY'S CHILDREN,  hosted by RHIANN WYNN-NOLET and KRISINA PEREZ. Thursday's Children is a bloghop that is all about posting on what inspires us. Make sure to check it out and we'd love it if you guys would join in!!

So, this week, I'd like to talk about two things. One, is that I have to introduce you guys to someone. I saw him yesterday at the bookstore, fell instantly in love and had to have him. I named him, "Agent Inkblot."
I figure, if he's my agent, I no longer have to worry about all that pesky querying, right???

Plus, I'm positive this is what the physical manifestation of my muse would look like. J Note all arms for typing!!

MY MUSE: AGENT INKBLOT aka: INKY

I have decided Inky is my good luck charm and will usher in a new era for me. THIS is my year. I'm going to throw myself into my new WIP, send out a million queries, and things are going to happen. Provided, of course, we don't all get vaporized by aliens, or smashed into by a giant asteroid or something tomorrow....

And, now to my second point of this post. Speaking of muse's--have you ever noticed your muse can talk to you anywhere? Even when you least expect it?

Like, earlier today I was putting up my blogpost for DAVID KING'S Build Me-A Blog Hop. As I was picturing these random items I wanted in a blog banner (a steampunk watch running backwards to represent time-travel, a guitar cause one of my characters plays, a slingshot cause one of my MC's is an awesome shot etc...) Anyway, as I was including these things, the image of a Tarot card just popped into my head.

And I realized, out of nowhere, that my new MC, Liv, is slightly clairvoyant and can read tarot cards. Mind you, before this particular moment I had NO clue that Liv was a seer who read tarot cards. It makes perfect sense, cause she was raised in a traveling circus. Anyway, it was one of those flashes of pure inspiration where you realize that somehow, this new idea is going to be a pivotal part of the story.

This is what Inspiration feels like to me

Do you guys know what I mean? Those split-second ideas that you know are going to change everything? It was one of those moments. VERY cool. I love it when that happens. It's absolutely magical and one of my favorite parts of being a writer.

So, that's my question for you guys... When is the last time you had a flash of inspiration like that? What was it about? A story idea, or a characteristic of a MC or something else? What were you doing when you were hit with the idea? And do any of you have a good luck charm like my inky?

Build A Blog Hop

First things first--my blog is still broken. Once in awhile (when my blog is in a happy mood) I can reply to someone's comment on here but, mostly, I can't. I apologize and I promise to come visit your blogs since I can't talk to you on mine!!

Hi Guys!

UGH!! I'm so late!! Soooorrryy!!! Today is the BUILD ME A BLOGHOP hosted by DAVID POWERS KING.  The rules, as explained by David, are: 

Welcome to Build Me A Blog - Hop!

Here's how this monkey's going to swing:

- Join this blog (if you already have, that's one less step!).

- Copy the button. Post it on your blog (link back to this post).

- Sign the Linky at the end of this post (closes Dec 19th). 

- On December 20th, by 8 AM MST, include in your post a 200 word description of your dream blog/site/banner/avatar/etc. What would it look like? I'll read all the entries and select three winners who wowed me so much that I want to see their description come to life!

Winners will be announced December 24th. See prizes on David's site

Clearly, I'm quite late with this. My excuse is a good one though, since I am currently suffering the agonies of the flu. Because of that, I forgot to post this last night and then didn't pull myself out of bed and onto my laptop until two o'clock this afternoon--at which point I remembered that I was supposed to have my entry up. 

I'm sure my lateness disqualifies me, but I wanted to play anyway, just for fun, cause it was an awesome blog-hop idea!! So, here is my description of my dream banner... 

I know an apple tree covered in blossoms would be the dominant thing I’d want. Around it would be tons of exotic plants, grass, flowers etc...All the vegetation, besides the flowers and apple tree, would be shades of blue.

I know the vegetation isn't all crazy and exotic blue, but I like the tree

I’d want my girl MC leaning against the apple tree. She has vivid maroon hair cut in a jagged pixie. Silver stud in her nose. Huge grey eyes. Vine tattoo on her neck. BUT—here’s where it gets tricky--I’d want two other girls somewhere around her. Both of them would be translucent. One would have purple eyes and long dark hair, the other medium length wavy red hair and bluish-green eyes.

Up in my purple sky, I’d want a suspension board (skateboard-looking thing) flying by with a silhouetted guy crouched on it. Also, three overlapping moons.

I’d want four animals amongst the vegetation. A giant dog with blue spots. A small, fox-looking dog. A black rat. A black cat. (The small dog and the rat have to be together.)

And—scattered in the grass-- a steampunk watch with the time running backwards, a slingshot, a guitar, a black cloak, a small vial of glowing-blue liquid, a tarot card, a knife and an apple.  

So, did I make it hard enough? Haha. You did say it could be my dream banner, so I let my imagination go wild. The pictures I could find didn't do the image in my head justice but, what are you gonna do, right? 

Again, really sorry for being late on this!! I'm off to see some other people's dream blogs!!

Teaser Tuesday

It's Teaser Tuesday again, hosted by Miz B at SHOULD BE READING.  Anyone can join in...

To play along just grab whatever you're reading.
Open to a random page.
 Share two teaser sentences.
Make sure not to share any spoilers!!
Give the Title and Author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR pile!

I have yet to manage to read a single Christmas book. I swear I'm going to get to one eventually! I had planned to read one this week, but I'm participating in the "End of the World" giveaway. Because of that, I was going through some old books, looking for one I loved enough to want to give it to someone else. (The point of the giveaway.)

I came across a very-battered old favorite--Twilight Eyes-- and was instantly sucked into chapter one.  So, guess what I'm reading this week? haha This is one of Dean Koontz's older books that's quite a bit darker than a lot of his stuff. But  the concept/setting are both awesome. I am totally addicted to YA and I kind of chuckled when I realized that the MC, Slim, is only seventeen. Over the last couple years I've realized all of my favorites before the actual genre of YA became recognized were ALL about teens.

Anyway, here is my teaser:

I told myself that my ability to see through the goblin's human disguises was an unquestionable as my other psychic talents. I knew my other powers were real and reliable, for numerous people had benefited from my clairvoyance and had been astonished by it.  And, damn it, I could see goblins too, and the fact that I was the only was who saw them was no reason to distrust my vision. 

So, that's it for this week. Please click HERE to check out my End of the World Giveaway and win a couple cool  books!! You don't have to do anything to enter but leave a comment on the giveaway post. Merry Christmas guys!!

Also, be sure to leave a link here to your own TT post, or tell me what you're reading in the comments!!