Onward.

I haven't had much luck with even-numbered years.

2008 was...let's just say it was a lot of words I'd rather not say here to protect the integrity of my blog. (I know, I know -- integrity? My blog? Psh. But I like to pretend I'm a respectable blogger.)

2010 was...not nearly as horrific (no one died. Whew.) but was in its own way a lot of words I'd rather not say here.

In contrast, 2007 was decent. I graduated high school. Started college. Met a lot of amazing friends I still keep in contact with. Got my first "serious" boyfriend. Was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and full of hope for my future and all that jazz that college beats out of you.

2009 was pretty darn good. It was my first ISPAW. I got interviewed by a FABULOUS young writer. I got the world's most superest super agent. Other AMAZING friends of mine got AMAZING deals with AMAZING agents/editors. All in all, 2009 was thoroughly anti-suck.

(Wow, I forgot how good 2009 was. I've been infused with a burst of hope allofasudden.)

So call me superstitious. Call me crazy. Call me a blasphemer and douse me in holy water. But I believe good things are in store in 2011. Not just for me, but for everyone.

I'm not going to make any resolutions. I'm not going to create a list of goals to be done by 2012. All I'm going to do is sit back and let 2011 bring me the best it has to offer in hope that it breaks the suck of 2010 with an infinite amount of awesome. And as I sit here typing this blog while Ghost Adventures jammers in the background (spikes! EMF readings! Oh my!), I can't help but feel a bit of hope. Because no matter how ridiculous New Year's makes people with their sudden promises for things they will never follow through or their determination to accomplish XYZ in the next 12 months, it's nice to have a definitive marker every so often to remind us that fresh starts are possible. We can start over, and move on, and close the chapter on our pasts while opening a fresh, shiny new page.

Happy New Year, blogites.

End of an Era

Because Showtime is one of those silly, teasing stations that keeps its goods high above us lowly television subscribers, I have been without the final season of The Tudors for almost six months.

You remember my Tudor obsession, right? And how way back when I had Showtime and all was right with the world, I'd indulge you all with round-ups every Tuesday?

(Good god, that was a year and a half ago. *suddenly feels very old*)

Well, thanks to the miracle of Christmas, I am now the proud owner of the season 4 DVD, which I just finished watching about ten minutes ago. And while I shan't spoil it for all ya'll sad folks who have not yet discovered the television bliss that is The Tudors, I will say a few things.

Firstly, it took Henry four seasons and six wives to realize "Hey, maybe I shouldn't trust every man in my court." Good job, dude. I bet Anne Boleyn wishes you'd figured that out a bit sooner, but still.

Secondly, SO thrilled with their shout-out to Anne Boleyn. I have an unhealthy obsession with her, and if I could so choose, I would so choose to be her reincarnated. Kick-ass, snarky females FTW.

Thirdly, the final episode of the final season was very -- appropriate. Very everything-has-ended-and-we-will-all-move-on-now. Closure, I think most people call it. And as I was watching it, I couldn't help but think how life is so, so not like that (this is where I get deep. Be warned). Movies and television like to give us this false sense of security in convincing us that when something in our life comes to an end, everything leading up to that moment and everything proceeding it will pass through our mind in a content, I'm-ready-to-move-on montage. Usually set to a really pretty orchestral arrangement.

(Oh, I'm the only one who thought that's how life was? I'm going to continue my deep thought anyway.)

It definitely helps to reflect from time to time. Analyze why you've lived the way you've lived. But life does not pass by as neatly as a television series, and all the loose ends don't get tied up as perfectly as they do in novels and movies. Unlike Henry VIII we don't get to confront all of our past demons in depressing dream sequences or say goodbye to everyone we love in a tidy little ceremony. We have to forge our own endings, decide how our own loose ends get tied up, and create our own closure. Not always, of course, but standing around waiting for our orchestal arrangement to sweep us into an ending is -- cowardly. And that makes for a really boring story.

So here's to The Tudors and to the brave, brave people who undertook one of history's most involved, complicated, and insane stories. Showtime, you rock.

Bring Back the Tail!!

Jump on over to Sam's blog for a contest of MASSIVE PROPORTIONS. Seriously, she's giving away so much stuff I can't even list it all here. Suffice to say, one of the prizes is a critique. By ME. Yeah, you know want that.

What are you still doing here?? Go, go, GO!

PIRATES.

PIRATES. MERMAIDS. and ZOMBIES.

Um, can someone say "The Perfect Movie"?

*hopes really hard that the popularity from this movie will encourage publishers to buy pirate/mermaid books*

Reminisce

I've been stressed lately.

What, couldn't tell? I guess I do a good job of hiding it between bouts of rocking back and forth and mumbling incoherent phrases at the wall.

(I've named the wall now, actually. Larry Siegfried. Sometimes he responds to my muttering. Usually with this strange twisted whine that sounds an awful lot like the whine my dog makes when she doesn't get enough attention...oh. Oops.)

Anyway, today I did something I haven't done in a long, long many moons.

I wrote stuff.

And not just the oh-I-had-an-hour-free-so-I'll-hastily-scribble-in-some-edits writing. This was honest-to-goodness writing. An entire day of 150+ pages of unhindered writing insanity. Which subsequently resulted in the completion of "The Massively Insane STREAM PIRATE Revisions of 2010 (working title)".

Yes, I COMPLETED something. This year has been nothing but beginnings for me -- I began a few novels (and reworked the beginnings of a few novels...my character Max can personally attest to this, as he/she has been stuck in he/she land, seeing as I can't quite decide to make him/her a boy or a girl now...) and didn't really intend to finish anything. Finishing stuff was on the backburner, right next to "figure out what to do with life." I had more pressing matters to deal with. You know, like buying a new laptop. And finishing school. And attempting to learn karate.

All in all, I would've been happy if I came out of this year with little to no esophagus damage. (Because stress causes heartburn...sorry, not sure my witty analogies are carrying tonight. Going to explain them all.) So when I started "The Massively Insane STREAM PIRATE Revisions of 2010 (working title)", I tacked on the (working title) because I expected to change it to "The Massively Insane STREAM PIRATE Revisions of 2010-2011". I expected it to take a backburner to the backburner, and be the project I got to when I absolutely had nothing else to do. And most days I was content to not even open the Word doc. Pirates? What pirates?

But spending today completely immersed in my pirate fantasy world made me happy. The kind of unnameable happy that just sits there, grinning like an idiot for no reason. Because even though my life is a giant whirling vortex of WHAT DO I DO NOW OMG, my pirates are still there. And they still rock, even harder now that they survived the Massively Insane Revision.

So as the holidays continue to get crazier and 2010 winds to an end, make sure you create time to get lost in your stories. It grounds you in a way nothing else can.

*rubs eyes*

Wha...wha...what is this thing?

Oh yeah. My blog.

Hey. So, it's been awhile. How are ya? I'm good. Gooooood. Well, okay, not THAT good. More like just "gooood". Yeah, that's about right.

Apparently graduating from college does not leave one with oodles more freetime, as displayed by my lack of postage. No one ever told me that constantly worrying about your future ambitions, hopes, and dreams and not having a CLUE as to what to do next can take up a LOT of time/energy. Who knew, right? I know I'm floored. And while I'm on the floor, I think I'll take a nap.

*twenty minutes later*

A bit better.

Anyhoo, apparently stuff has been HAPPENING in the blogosphere whilst I've been rocking gently in a corner by myself and muttering incoherent blabberings at the wall. I'm tired, so instead of linking things, I'm just going to write super excitedly. You can find links to everything in my sidebar thingamajig over yonder. Dontcha love my post-college vocabulary?

Firstly, a certain agency sister had a certain flipping awesome book come out.

Yay, Stephanie! Yay, Anna!

Go buy it. Now. I'll wait.

*waits*

For those of you who already bought it, more news:

Renee Collins over at Midnight Scribe is now repped by FOLIO. Let that sink in. Huge, huge, HUGE congrats to her -- she's nice and pretty and talented and one of those all around awesome, calm-cool-collected types that make the rest of us look madly inferior. When I met her a few months ago (ha, look at me. Talking like I'm all important and stuff.), it was in Carrabba's (mmm) and she had an a-freakin'-dorable newborn with her during the entire meal. And while I would've been on mega panic-mode with a baby (mainly because, you know, I would've been going "How the heck did I get a newborn??"), she was totally cool and whitty to boot. So congrats, Renee -- take the publishing world by storm!

Hmm who else who else....

Oh, so the Roecker sisters have this book coming out. Not like it's going to be FREAKING AMAZING or anything. And they finally got a COVER for it. But not only that, you can vote on which cover you want to see sitting in the bookstore. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, guys.

I'm missing something. Not surprising.

So as not to overload on postage after such a long hiatus, I shall leave it at that while I go stare at my unfinished revisions of STREAM PIRATE before surrendering to the inevitable exhaustion and ending up on WoW for the rest of the night. Yes, I got a WoW account. I'm undecided as of now. Let me get back to you once I figure out how to stop DYING. That glowing orb-angel thing is my new BFF.