New Year's Resolutions, Anyone?

The end of December is an exciting time as it heralds in a new year full of possibilities. 2012 means new books to read, new releases to look forward to and new books to write.

Thank goodness for New Year’s Resolutions to keep me on track.

This afternoon I had a houseful of nephews in addition to my own two girls so, to maintain the surprisingly protracted peace through artful means, I decided to survey the assorted crew.

After explaining to four children aged two, six, seven and ten that New Year’s Resolutions are the goals that are important to them in the coming year, I got a variety of responses.

My ten-year-old daughter’s major New Year’s Resolution was predictable: find an agent.

She’s an aspiring novelist with a completed horse-racing novella about a mare’s rivalry with her stable mate as they compete for the Breeder’s Cup Classic and the friendship between their grumpy 64-year-old horse trainer, Henry, and a 17-year-old male apprentice. An unusual story for a ten-year-old girl (who’s just been shortlisted for UK short story competition, adds her mother proudly). Anyway, unknown to me, Sophie has already queried a number of agents she found on the internet.

The fact that the following resolutions are those of a seven-year-old boy is not surprising:

Eat More Chocolate Every Day, and;

Get better at playing Poptropica, Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters.

It was my six-year-old daughter’s resolutions that made me revise mine. The normally fiery, hundred-mile-an-hour, ‘too loud’ little Lillie gazed up at me with her big blue eyes and told me without hesitation that she had three resolutions, and they were as follows, in her own words:

“Practising the flute.” (Since Lillie does not own a flute and has never had flute lessons this is obviously a big hint to mummy.)

“Eat more vegetables.” (This was pretty amazing coming from someone who has to be bribed with chocolate or threatened with a termination of her Moshi Monsters subscription to eat anything other than broccoli.)

And finally:

“Spending more time with Mummy.” (A heart-melting moment, I’m not ashamed to admit.)

My sisters tell me that Miss Six is my punishment for having been equally as wild (and, in my case, apparently, heartless) as a child but post-natal hormones changed all that. Watching the news is always a weepy affair and I embarrass my children horribly when I start sobbing at the Telstra ads.

Pre-children, my idea of torture was to be seated anywhere near one on a long flight but since having my own I’m happy to entertain other people’s, as long as I can give them back.

Children – and teary reunions -  also feature in many of my stories, including Lady Farquhar’s Butterfly, which releases today as an e-book after earlier hardcover and Large Print editions. It has the following premise:

Falsely branded an adulteress by her late husband, Lady Olivia finds love with the man whose birthright she unwittingly usurped in order to safeguard the future of her son.

So what’s the wildest, most out-of-character, or unusual New Year’s Resolution you’ve heard, either from your own children or a friend? I’d love to hear.

And a Happy New Year to Everyone!

Beverley Eikli writes Regency Romantic Intrigues about beleaguered heroines trapped by convention in a man’s world (and worthy heroes who come to the rescue to thwart a dastardly villain or two). She also writes erotic Regency Romances as Beverley Oakley. You can read more about her books at www.beverleyeikli.com or www.beverleyoakley.com.