I started writing this post last week but the Interwebs did not cooperate, so better late than never, right? (Hopefully it wasn't a sign of things to come).
New Years are always a time for reflection, for looking back on the year that has passed and thinking about the months to come. It's an artificial line of demarcation, of course--there was a time not so long ago when the English new year actually began in late March. Think about that: the year 1751 began on March 25th and lasted just 282 days, with 1752 then beginning on 1 January. Now that really would have been unsettling, especially for those of us who like to make New Years' resolutions: three less months to get things right!
My resolutions tend to be the same ones, over and over: try to lose weight, exercise more consistently, get more sleep, make time to relax, get organized, etc. Some years I do well, some years I don't. I've spent the better part of the past month alternately enjoying my family and the holidays and tackling my huge long To Do list that runs the gamut from "wash all curtains" and "fix drainage on east side of house" to "get Midnight Confessions ready to self-publish" and "make book video for Falcons" and "get Rent-a-Nerd guy to out and come fix all these bloody technical problems." I've been working like a dog on that list and I don't seem to have made a lot of progress. Nor have I yet started the resolved diet, and a seriously wonky back is making the exercise resolution difficult. Oh, and that long To Do list is not good for either relaxation or sleep. But I'm going great guns on the Get Organized part!
At any rate, looking ahead, I have a wonderful starred review for WHEN FALCONS FALL from Booklist that I'll be posting in a few days. I am working on that book video and it should be available soon. And Midnight Confessions and Beyond Sunrise are both about ready to go up for preorder. I've essentially finished Where the Dead Lie, the twelfth Sebastian St. Cyr book (but hush because I don't want my editor to hear--that To Do List is still far too long!). I've started brainstorming Sebastian #13, which involves Princess Charlotte and Hero and Alexi Sauvage, and at this point I'm pretty excited about it (but then, this is the honeymoon stage, before the actually plotting begins and things get hard).
As for last year, I had my first ever real book tour, I finally made it back to London for a wonderful research trip, I spent a glorious ten days in the mountains of Idaho with my sister, we made a whirlwind visit to San Antonio to be there for my Air Force captain-doctor's wedding, and What Angels Fear hit #34 on Amazon for an entire day, thanks to a Book Bub ad I've been pushing to get for years and finally scored. We had some heartache, namely the loss of my little Indie cat, but all in all it was a pretty wonderful year.
Here's hoping for a great new year for all of us! Cheers.
My resolutions tend to be the same ones, over and over: try to lose weight, exercise more consistently, get more sleep, make time to relax, get organized, etc. Some years I do well, some years I don't. I've spent the better part of the past month alternately enjoying my family and the holidays and tackling my huge long To Do list that runs the gamut from "wash all curtains" and "fix drainage on east side of house" to "get Midnight Confessions ready to self-publish" and "make book video for Falcons" and "get Rent-a-Nerd guy to out and come fix all these bloody technical problems." I've been working like a dog on that list and I don't seem to have made a lot of progress. Nor have I yet started the resolved diet, and a seriously wonky back is making the exercise resolution difficult. Oh, and that long To Do list is not good for either relaxation or sleep. But I'm going great guns on the Get Organized part!
At any rate, looking ahead, I have a wonderful starred review for WHEN FALCONS FALL from Booklist that I'll be posting in a few days. I am working on that book video and it should be available soon. And Midnight Confessions and Beyond Sunrise are both about ready to go up for preorder. I've essentially finished Where the Dead Lie, the twelfth Sebastian St. Cyr book (but hush because I don't want my editor to hear--that To Do List is still far too long!). I've started brainstorming Sebastian #13, which involves Princess Charlotte and Hero and Alexi Sauvage, and at this point I'm pretty excited about it (but then, this is the honeymoon stage, before the actually plotting begins and things get hard).
As for last year, I had my first ever real book tour, I finally made it back to London for a wonderful research trip, I spent a glorious ten days in the mountains of Idaho with my sister, we made a whirlwind visit to San Antonio to be there for my Air Force captain-doctor's wedding, and What Angels Fear hit #34 on Amazon for an entire day, thanks to a Book Bub ad I've been pushing to get for years and finally scored. We had some heartache, namely the loss of my little Indie cat, but all in all it was a pretty wonderful year.
Here's hoping for a great new year for all of us! Cheers.
7 comments:
Happy New Year! I think you get plenty done. Plus (selfishly) I'd rather you spent time writing than working through your to-do list! Hope your back improves soon, though.
To do lists. The bane of the resting man, or woman.
Candy Happy New Year as well. I have the same exact resolutions every year. So far I'm in worse shape than you with getting a start. But good luck on all of them. And I cant wait to read the book review. Its hard to believe we are getting so close to March now. Yippee. My sister lost her 13 year old Springer Spaniel this year. Really rocked their world and mine. In time I know another dog will be brought home but all the others are never forgotten. Hope your back is better soon. Best, Ali
Happy, Happy New Year, Candy! I love that you start to tackle the to-do list in the new year - I do the same thing...mostly because everything gets set aside during the holidays. That nasty wind storm we had in November put all of us behind out here. (Did your sister get hit by the wind storm? I know most of north Idaho did.) Love the animal pictures - are they helping around the house:-)?? Looking forward to the review and all the new titles, too.
Happy New Year! It is always energizing to hear about someone else's good intentions for the New Year, so thank you! Your ambitions are to be admired. My list runs more along the lines of "loose 2 pounds a month" (a monumental task, believe me), walk 2 miles every other day (also unbelievably hard to convince myself to do) and no more impulse shopping -- I have imposed a three day cooling period for all non emergency purchases. By the end of the year I will feel accomplished if I haven't accumulated enough material to write a book on the many varied meanings of the word emergency... Here's to your continued enthusiasm, and may your back improve so that it can support all your goals.
Helena, thank you! Unfortunately, I write better when my To Do list is under control, so it actually is helping my books!
Charles, no rest for the wicked.
Ali, thank you. I know, it seems like March is coming out of no where all of a sudden. And sorry to hear about your sister's old dog. I look at my four old cats and cross my fingers.
Lynne, thank you! I don't know if Penny got the wind, but she is really complaining about the snow.
Paz, thank you. I wish I could lose 2 pounds a month! One of the joys of porphyria is I need to be very, very careful when I try to diet. Hopefully we'll both succeed!
nice post........!
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