A "Thank You" Giveaway!

I've been doing this blog for a few years now, mostly as a way to reach out to and interact with those who read my books, and talk about the writer's life. It took me a while to really get into the swing of things, but this year, I think I hit my stride. Or rather, you all did.

The blog hit 50,000 page views not too long ago, which knocked my socks off. I can't believe that many people actually thought I had something interesting to say! I've got a bunch of great followers (I hope you'll be one too, if you're not already) and people seem to be starting to pass the word along, which is wonderful. And I've had all sorts of fun contests to give things away--including copies of my new book--with a truly enthusiastic response.

In short--damn, you guys ROCK!

You've made me really happy by coming here and sharing my world, whether you show up for the contests, to hear about my writing, or just to see the cute cat pictures. I wish I could give you each a big hug. But since I can't, I'm going to give one lucky person a $25 Amazon gift card. You can use it to buy yourself a copy of one of  my books, or anything else your little heart desires.

Here's how it is going to work:
All you have to do is tell me what your favorite part of the blog is, or which was your favorite post, or anything else about why you come here. On December 31st, I'll end the year by pulling one random commenter's name to be the winner. And one lucky person will start out the new year right...with FREE BOOKS!

If you feel like it, you can do something nice for me: go click "Like" for one or more of my books (they're all conveniently listed on THIS POST ). I read somewhere recently that the "Like" button on Amazon makes a big difference...but only once you hit 50 Likes, which none of my books has yet. Or put up a review on Amazon, B&N or Goodreads.

But you don't have to. All you have to do is tell me what you like about my little blog, and you'll be entered into the contest. My way of saying THANK YOU for all your support, encouragement, and friendship this year.

Damn, you guys ROCK!

2012 -- Beginning A Year with Good Intentions

It has been interesting to see people talking online about New Year resolutions (pro and con) and the approach they intend to take to the New Year. It is a good time to reassess and start fresh, and there is no right or wrong way to do so, just what works (or what you hope will work this year, by golly) for you.

I'm not a resolution kind of girl, myself, but for the last few years I have set a list of goals. Two lists, really; one professional, with my goals for my writing career, and one personal, with my goals for pretty much everything else. (You know, that's the one that says, "Exercise more." Every damn year.)

The goals approach has actually worked pretty well for me, and I've ended up most years with a lot of the items I'd aimed at crossed off the list. (All except that damned "Exercise more." Damn it.) Write another nonfiction book and a novel. Check. Get an agent. Check. Spend less time online and more time writing. Check. Exercise more. Oh, shut up.

But there has been a drawback to this approach--one that actually made me stop and decide to do something different this year. It's not that setting goals wasn't successful; it was. It's that I found myself being SO goal oriented, some important stuff didn't get the attention it should have. Stuff like, you know, PEOPLE. And, um, exercise more. (DAMN IT.)

Also, I was just working too much. Working at what I loved, which is great, but also, just working. I went to four conferences. Gave a bunch of online writing classes (each of them lasting for about 2 1/2 weeks). Wrote another book for Llewellyn. Wrote another novel. Started a bunch of novels that didn't work and beat my head against the wall a lot. (That should count as exercise, right?) Epubbed my first novel. Wrote articles, edited manuscripts for some writing pals and my main critique partner, blogged, networked, and so on. And that's without counting in the day job, and making jewelry on the side.

What I didn't do much of was spend time with family and friends, or relax, or, you know EXERCISE MORE. (Sigh.)

So what does that mean for this year? I'll still have goals. Pretty much the same goals as the last few years: get a fiction book contract, continue to build my writing career, find true love...exer--oh, never mind. But I'm not making a list. I know what the goals are, and I'll keep working at them.

But this year, I'm starting with some Intentions instead. My main intentions for the year are simple: joy and peace. (Well, simple to aim at. We'll see how well I do at attaining them.) But generally, I'm going to try to PUSH less, and GO WITH THE FLOW more. And maybe trust that the universe will bring me what I need/want/aspire to without me having to shout at it quite so loudly. Also, I'm going to exercise more.

Oh, stop laughing.

What are your Intentions for 2012?