Pass the Optimism, Please

by Joanne Rock

As we close out a year and a decade, I’ve already started thinking about what’s on my To Do list for New Year’s resolutions—New Year’s Goals, really, since I tend to think about where I want to head next whenever the calendar changes.

The past year was a rough one for me, leeching away some of my hopes and faith in people, leaving holes in my heart. I’ve spent months trying to patch myself back together, pushing away old hurts to breathe deep and focus on the things I can control in life—my perspective, my projects, the people I let close to me. Sometimes, that’s all you can do after a loss. Put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.

But as the year comes to an end, I find I want to do more than just keep moving. In 2020, I’d like to patch up my weary soul and restore some of the optimism I seem to have lost. Unfortunately, that’s a goal that doesn’t come to fruition just by speaking the wish aloud. How do I recapture the old joy after a year of hurts?

First, I plan to unplug. Not right away, as I have work commitments to honor and I need to be online while I see those through. But once the bulk of my professional obligations have been met, I hope to take a hiatus from social media and even my phone. Remember the days before cell phones when you could go for a hike in the woods without anyone knowing where you were for the day? Granted, there is a reassuring sense of safety that comes with a cell tower signal. But there is also a sense of anonymity and adventure that is lost by being reachable 24/7. I think it would do me good to turn off the phone, disconnect, and just BE for a little while. I’ve looked outward for a long time, reaching my hand out to others whenever I could, and I’ve enjoyed that. But while I’m refilling the emotional well, I think focusing on just me could be helpful.

After that, I plan to re-nest. I’ve moved a lot in the past few years, and I think the merry-go-round of homes is a tangible reflection of the pieces of myself I’ve misplaced. I’d like to regroup in a physical way even as I regroup emotionally. I plan to find a home and lovingly remake it into my own space for a new phase of my life. My bedroom will be a place to invite good dreams. My workspace will be a place to invite stories in a way to encourage my Muse. Old things I don’t need will be re-homed and I want to store away as a little as possible. I’m going to create a clean, lean space that reflects me.

Next, I plan to travel, but not so much with a focus on places as on people. I have made many wonderful friends over the years, and some of them I haven’t seen in decades. I plan to reconnect with people I love by showing up in their hometowns and asking them to hang out with me. I’m calling it my Grand Tour. I don’t know how many people I’ll get to see this year, but even just seeing one or two friends so I can enjoy those old connections again feels like it would be spiritually renewing. I can’t wait for that part of the plan to happen.

Finally, through it all, I hope to be present to all the little moments I can be. My sons are grown, so I can now focus on me in a way that I haven’t in years. I loved my time with my boys at home, but now I will need to start loving this new phase of my life as it presents me with different opportunities and different people. I’m going to embrace the newness and find out what I can do to make the world a better place, or a happier place, with my time and talents. I’m trusting the universe to put those opportunities in my path.

Available 2/1/20

That’s my 2020! A new adventure. A new decade. A soul renewed. But it all starts with giving thanks for what I’ve learned up to this moment—even down to the hurtful things that have taught me what I’m made of. No one gets through this life unscathed, even optimists like me. Today, I feel weary. But I know that by year’s end, I will have wonderful new things to be thankful for, and it all starts with a plan for change. Cheers to you in the New Year, my friends. Thank you for reading my books and sharing my stories. I hope 2020 brings you all good things.

**What are you doing New Year’s Eve? Will you be mulling over the year to come? Smooching a loved one at midnight? Share with me and I’ll give one random poster an advance copy of RULE BREAKER, book 3 in my Mesa Falls series from Harlequin Desire.

Word of the Year

I know we're a few week into 2018 and most New Year Resolutions are already forgotten, but I think there's still time to...well, not make a resolution, I gave those up years ago.  Instead, I pick one word to build my year around.  I love that other people have joined me in the tradition.  I've used words like Stop, Moment, Awareness, Step, Optimism, Change, Stretch, Time, Hope...

I spent a great deal of time mulling 2018's word and finally landed on Chapter.  With that word I'm acknowledging that things changed last year and will continue to change next year.

In 2017 I lost my mother in July and losing her has left a hole in my life.  I went back to school in August and discovered so much glee in Ceramics and My Novel Freshman Experience.  My family is another year older and they're lives are changing and evolving, and I'll confess, I feel such a sense of pride when I look at what amazing people they all are.

So 2018 sees me in a new place...a new chapter if you will.  By choosing that as my word of the year, I'm reminding myself that even when change is hard, I should more than accept those changes, I should embrace them!  I should try and make this chapter the best one yet.

So even though we're a couple weeks into the year, I hope you reflect on what you want from 2018.  Do you have a word of the year?

Happy New Year, my friends.  I love stopping by this blog every month.  Thank you to everyone who's followed my pottery adventures and a huge thanks to everyone who's picked up a book, left a review and shared a bit glee with me!

Holly

PS The 3rd book in my PTA Mom trilogy it out...Once Upon a Valentine's 
and
Hold Her Heart is on sale for $.99.  It's one of my Romance+ stories...a story about woman's journey that includes romance, but romance isn't the reason for her journey, nor is it her final destination!

Have A Holly Jolly....

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas and Chanukah, Kwanza, Winter Solstice, Happy New Year...Enjoy whatever holiday you're celebrating!

Oh, I love the Hollydays...er, Hollidays...er, Holidays!
I think that shows in my books.  It turns out that I've written a lot of Holiday romances.  Even in books that aren't precisely holiday romances, there can be a scene or two that focuses on celebrations.

Why?  It's not just my name!

I love writing holiday stories because of my family, friends and the fact they represent glee!  If you follow me on social media you know how much I love glee!  There's something about getting together with people you love and spending time.

This year, the holidays are going to be a bit different here.  We're not getting a tree.  We had a flood in the basement and everything from my family room down there is in the living room up here.  Tomorrow the plumber is coming to install a new back-flow preventer.  Then Monday, the flooring guy is coming to install a tile floor (after ripping up wet carpet, I'm not putting that down again). He's hoping to be done by midweek.  Less than a week before Christmas.  So no tree.

But to be honest, that doesn't dim my Hollyday spirit.  And my kids are part of the reason why.  We all agreed as a family to forgo exchanging presents and are instead donating the money we would have spent to an orphanage.  As every one of my kids said they had everything they needed and gave gleefully gave up their gifts to give to others...well, I don't need a tree.  I don't need anything like that.  My kids are more of a shiny symbol of the season than any tree could be.

Yes.  I love the holidays and have written a lot of holiday stories.  And my family is one of the biggest reasons I believe in and write about the holiday spirit!

Whatever holiday you celebrate, may it be filled with family, friends and the holiday spirit!

Holly

Check out some of my HollyDay Stories:

Happy New Year....er....There Goes January!

What's that quote about the road to..somewhere being lined with best intentions? Yeah...that one.  I'm the kind of person who ends a year and begins the new one with the very BEST of intentions - about life, health, practices and commitments--but it doesn't take very long before I fall or drift away from them.

This year, 2017, it took me less than 3 days. Pitiful, right? My first resolution was to make sure to send out/actually mail physical birthday cards to my family and closest friends. Well, my son's birthday is January 4th and let's just say, no card was in the mail!  And I can neither confirm nor deny that my daughter-in-law's birthday card was in my purse until yesterday...

In my defense, I can say I have not been sitting around eating bonbons! I've been recovering from the holidays (which were wonderful!), writing A LOT (lots of stories needed words!), handling some family issues and working with my new website designer to get my new website ready for its launch! I've also been launching that website and holding an almost-month-long celebration of the site that ended yesterday.

Now, I'm looking at the end of January, what's next? Well, more writing, of course! I am in the middle of a new contract with Harlequin for more sexy Highlander romances (and the next one is underway). I'm also working on several other special projects that I can't really reveal just yet! Sorry to be a tease, but things are still in the works and once they're of
ficial, I'll share them widely and loudly. (very exciting stuff coming!!)

The best thing has been watching my grandbabies getting bigger by the day! Princess Alexis is 2 now and has unleashed her babbling - she's talking to everyone and everything but I'm lucky to understand every 10th word! The funniest thing is that she can clearly say 'aubergine' rather than eggplant. Princess Sydney is 14 months now and has discovered her favorite places to sit in their house -- the windows in the dining room and the ledge in the refrigerator!  They are both the exactly right height for her to back up to and sit down. Too cute!



So, what's been happening in your life since the holidays and the New Year?  Good intentions carried through? Or miserably failing like me? More important - what good books have you read lately? I have managed to do that! I got an advanced copy of Kerrigan Byrne's THE DUKE (it comes out in February) and wow-oh-wow this is not to be missed! If you like dark and tormented heroes, along with a sexy, smart story that makes you swoon and cry and cheer, you should give her series a try!   

Terri is thrilled to release UPON A MISTY SKYE, her novella from the USA Today Bestselling anthology ONCE UPON A HAUNTED CASTLE. Available on all retailers today, it's the story of a forbidden love between enemies and the ghost that helps them! 

The next will be UPON A HIGHLAND MOOR in the anthology FORBIDDEN HIGHLANDERS  coming on April 18 - available for preorder now!   Visit my website for all the latest news!

Susan Sands: So Long 2016!

I'm not one to bemoan a year its insults to my life, but the same as many of my friends, this one's been a challenge. It's not because talented celebrities passed, several far too young. No, it's because of the changes the year has wrought on my life and those I care about. Nothing is ever all bad, though it can certainly seem to lean that way sometimes.

My dad has a very aggressive form of dementia that has become the major focus of mine and my mother's lives. I have no siblings to help, so I'm the one who helps with decisions and heavy lifting, both physical and emotional. Most of you have some experience with Alzheimer's or dementia--it's just a fact of our culture today. It touches everyone. I helped moved my parents from my childhood home in Louisiana to an independent living senior apartment near my home in Georgia. It's worked well for me because now I don't have to travel or worry nearly as much, but it's not without its learning curve for us all. I can't imagine being ripped away from everything and everyone I've known for over forty years, in addition to spending every waking moment caring for someone who was, until very recently, partner, support, and strong shoulder to lean on. My mother is grieving for all she's lost in the past year, as am I.

The writing has been

hard this year. The third book in my Alabama series took on a deeper tone, as books do when authors are in emotional turmoil. It manifests in the story. That's not a bad thing, unless you're trying to keep it light. Hopefully, by the time I finished the book, I managed to strike a balance between the newfound gravitas and what my readers enjoy about my humorous, hopeful, and Southern family fiction. Oh, and there's romance, of course. It's all still there.

So, while I'm sorry to hear about the uber-talented famous folks leaving the earth, I tend to look inward and grieve the loss of my own, and those whose losses are closer and more personal. My sweet friend lost her brand new husband and soulmate, and a writer friend has battled fires, floods, and mudslides. No, I don't blame the year, but I'm certainly looking on the bright side for the upcoming one for so many reasons.

My wish this year is that we all achieve our secret wishes and goals. The ones we are afraid to say out loud. The ones that might sound selfish because of all the bad things happening in the world. I wish for positive changes in our attitudes toward the future and one another. Have hope--about everything. Find a way to make someone's day better--every day. Treat the invisible as if they are the most important person you've met all day. Good things happen to good people. We are all we have, folks.

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Christina Hollis: Three Ways To Give Your New Year A Great Start

Here's how to raise your spirits from their post-holiday slump...

Feed The Birds...A plague of grey squirrels meant we had to temporarily stop using our bird tables. Watching birds is a big part of our everyday lives, and suddenly the wintry garden was still and quiet. 

At least finding stocking fillers was easy this Christmas. We all bought each other squirrel-proof bird feeders! It’s lovely to welcome back the local winged hoards. 

Our new feeders hang from smooth, squirrel-proof metal poles, but in this battle of wits I’m sure those pesky egg-thieves won’t be put off for long. Most of these feeding stations are close to the house, but a good distance from bushes where our cat might hide. He spends a lot of his time indoors and has always preferred catching furry critters to birds, but you never know...

Give A Bit Back...another way to raise your spirits is by helping out your local food bank  They will be grateful for donations of dry goods like pasta, rice and dried potatoes, tinned food and long-life goods such as UHT milk. Toiletries, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste aren’t glamorous, but they’re needed and always welcome. And rather than throw away unwanted presents in the post-holiday clear-out, see if a charity shop would like them. Hand on decent copies of magazines to the waiting room in your local clinic or hospital. They'll make hanging around a bit less stressful. 

Find out more at http://bit.ly/1iNf2Gw

Be Good To Yourself... get some fresh air. During the shortest, darkest days of the year, things always look better in daylight. Even if the weather’s foul, get outside the four walls of home for an hour or two. The sun’s still up there somewhere, and exposure to natural light will raise your seratonin levels to increase your feel-good factor.  If you feel the need for company, there are bound to be other people out and about, trying to work off all that good holiday food. Once you've had some exercise, you'll have earned some time alone with a good book!

What’s your favourite way of lightening the post-holiday gloom? Comment below for the chance to win a copy of my latest release, Heart Of A Hostage. I'll draw the name of the winner at random on 21st January.

When she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women.  Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold nearly three million books worldwide. Her latest book, Heart Of A Hostage, has just been released. You can catch up with Christina at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, and see a full list of her published books on her website.

Roxanne Snopek: Two Tips for a Healthier 2016!

I’ve got two great things to share with you today: one fitness tip and one recipe. How great is that, being that it’s the first week in January and we’re all focused on starting the new year off right, and aren’t yet depressed because we ended up eating the last of the Christmas fudge instead of throwing it out, like we told ourselves we would?

Anyway, I’ve promised myself for the past several years that I’d get more exercise, particularly yoga, which you’d think would be easy, because I love yoga. Unfortunately, going to yoga class involves leaving the house, a barrier many work-at-home-borderline-kleenex-box-slipper-recluses may recognize.

But recently I discovered a great way to bring the yoga class to me, via apps! Whoo-HOO! All you need is a quiet spot with a mat or carpet, and your favorite device. You get the soothing voice of an instructor, pictures of someone in the postures and voila, you just follow the instructions to bliss and great abs. Or so I tell myself.

Doing yoga – even on vacation - makes me feel better about ...

Here are the three I’ve found:

Down Dog http://web.downdogapp.com/ This has options for your level of experience, the kind of music you want and the length of practice. I’ve done it several times already and really like it. I’m using the free version so far, but there’s also a monthly membership I might upgrade to, if I get bored.

... eating on vacation...

I’ve also downloaded Yoga Studio. http://yogastudioapp.com/ Billed as “The #1 yoga app for iPhone” this one has many more options, making it more customizable to your own needs. As it’s only $3.99, I downloaded it but haven’t tried it yet. Early days.

There’s also All-In Yoga http://sport.com/all_in_yoga.html As I love to have options, I downloaded the free version of this one on my phone too, because, why not, it’s free. I haven’t played around with this yet, to say whether or not I like it.

So far, my “do more yoga this year” resolution is going great, thanks to these apps. (You’ll notice I kept my resolution fairly vague. It’s the key to success.)

As for the recipe, it’s called 5 Minute Magic Green Sauce and it comes from Lindsay of Pinch of Yum. http://pinchofyum.com/5-minute-magic-green-sauce

Or indulging in the occasional Krispy Kreme...

It’s basically a pistachio-avocado pesto. Lindsay says she could eat it every day for the rest of her life and I GET IT. It’s delicious! Here’s the recipe:

5 MINUTE MAGIC GREEN SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

1 avocado

1 cup packed parsley and cilantro leaves (combined)

1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed

2 cloves garlic

Juice of one lime (or two – get lots of limey goodness in there!)

½ cup water

½ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup shelled pistachios

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.       Pulse all ingredients – except pistachios – in a food processor until incorporated.

2.       Add pistachios and pulse until mostly smooth (depends on what consistency you want.)

3.       Serve as a dip, spread or sauce – or add additional water or oil to thin the sauce for use as a dressing or a marinade.

Lindsay adds that you can sub walnuts or almonds for the pistachios and it’ll work, but she doesn’t think the taste is quite as good. I *LOVE* the pistachio version; those babies are expensive but worth it for this stuff. (I suspect pine nuts would also work but I have no data to back this up at the moment.)

Magic Green Sauce will cancel this out. Right??

I mixed this Magic Green Sauce with cooked farro, spinach and halved cherry tomatoes for a hearty and delicious salad. You could use quinoa or couscous, probably and it would be just as good.

I could eat this up with a spoon. (Actually, I did!) I’m with Lindsay on this: it’s AWESOMELY YUMMY!

Anyone else have current favorite recipes or fitness tips to share? I’m off to do some yoga, followed by some Magic Green Sauce salad. I hope to see lots of suggestions when I come back! J

CJ Carmichael: How Harry Porter helped with my New Year Resolutions

Christmas is a chaotic time of year at our house, mostly because we (Mike would say I) choose to make it that way. I love to decorate our house, to buy and wrap gifts, and to bake special treats (even if everyone is cutting back on sweets these days). This year Mike and I made it even more crazy by deciding to get married on December 27.

We had our reasons for picking this date—mainly because Mike’s daughters from Nova Scotia and Montreal, and my father from Saskatchewan, were going to be coming to Calgary for the holidays and this way they wouldn’t need to make a special trip—but I don’t think either of us were prepared for just how exhausting it would be to combine two such momentous events into less than a week!

I’m happy to report that everything went well, both Christmas and the wedding. (Check Facebook for photos. I’ll be posting more soon.) But once the last out-of-town guest left town, we were ready to veg. We decide to combine an afternoon cross-country ski in the Rocky Mountains with a marathon session of watching Harry Potter Movies. Tonight we just finished Movie Four: The Order of the Phoenix, and when it was over, I realized that thanks to Dumbledore and Sirius Black I had found my three resolutions for 2016:

Resolution #1:

 Every year I make choices about what stories I’m going to write. Sometimes these choices have been driven by book contracts, market trends, or other such external factors. This year I’m going to write stories that stretch my abilities. I’m going to strive for excellence, for honesty, and at the same time let my imagination soar.

Resolution #2:

Sometimes I am too much swayed by my desire to get along with others, to be helpful and, yes, liked. This year I want to focus on standing up for what is important to me. More than anything, this means spending my time on activities and people that matter to me, rather than taking on projects to please others.

Resolution #3:

I admit I’m someone who loves to dream. Reading and writing are extensions of this love...but it is possible to live too much inside your own head. I want to pack this year with my beloved hiking and skiing adventures...and this year I want to start journaling these adventures, as a way to truly focus on each unique experience.

Resolved...to keep resolving

I’ve always enjoyed making resolutions and setting goals for myself at the beginning of each year. I realize not everyone does. But I feel, even if I make 80% of my goals by the end of the year, or even 50%, at least progress has been made.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. And if you’re the sort who likes to make resolutions, I’d love to hear what they are. Share below and I’ll choose one random commenter to receive a $10 Starbucks gift card. (Cause if we’re going to keep our resolutions, we’re going to need coffee...)

Happy 2016!

C. J. Carmichael

New Year -- New Books by Susan Sands

Hello All! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season. We celebrated Christmas in our household, just barely. We nearly missed most of it due to my trying to finish writing the new book. I'd promised to have this baby finished by the end of the year, but too late I realized that the end of the year involved writing during Christmas vacation, which also included time normally set aside for decorating, shopping and cooking. Oh, and I'd made plans to travel between Christmas and New Years. So, yeah, Christmas was a near miss.

For the first time ever, the only decor we had in our house was a lovely tree decorated by my sixteen-year-old daughter (she did a fantastic job), and the gifts purchased in haste on Christmas Eve by yours truly. We did manage to make our traditional homemade cookies somewhere between my manuscript completion on the 23rd and Christmas Day.

Sufficed to say, I don't recommend an end-of-year deadline, self-imposed, or otherwise when you have competing loyalties.

I'm now in Louisiana with my parents for a few days enjoying the food and my hometown. Yesterday it was seventy-five degrees; today it's forty. My suitcase contents don't reflect the changes in temperature, sadly. 

As unprepared as I was for the change in weather here, I'm more than ready for all the exciting changes the new year holds as I prepare for the release of my second novel from Tule Publishing. I can't wait to share the details as they are finalized. I can say that this book is a connected  story to my first, Again, Alabama, and our target date is sometime in April.

I hope you all have a wonderful new year with lots to look forward to and celebrate!

Susan Sands

e-mail snsands@gmail.com

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/susannsandsauthor

Twitter: @SusanNoelSands

Blog:  Sweet Home Alpharetta at: http://susansands.com

My New Year’s Writing Resolution by Joanne Walsh

At the last meeting of the writers’ group I belong to, the members were agreed: share our New Year’s writing resolutions and then our progress through the coming year.

I’ve always liked the concept of New Year’s resolutions but I’ve never been very good at keeping them, mostly because I tend to throw myself into new things with huge amounts of enthusiasm and then find I can’t keep up the pace or the interest; either I become distracted, or dispirited because life inevitably gets in the way.   

The resolution I really need to make for 2016 is to write regularly, as I want to complete at least two new novels by year’s end.  I’ve got the ideas, I just have to find the means to keep the passion flowing!

I’ve taken a look at the advice that’s out there about keeping resolutions, and the consensus is that you need to do the following things to succeed: focus on one goal; take small steps; have a mechanism of accountability; celebrate success; work on changing thought and behavior patterns.

So I am resolved to write for 30 minutes a day, every day, with email and every other intrusion shut off.  First thing every morning. I will be accountable to my friends in my writer’s circle, and they will be my fellow celebrants.  I will train my brain to adhere to this routine of application and reward.   Will I stick to this?  Watch this space!

Happy New Year...okay, well, the new year is almost two weeks old, but I'm still celebrating!!

This is the time of year to look at who you are and decide who you want to be.  Every year I try to move a little closer to my ideal self.  And rather than New Year's resolutions, I've using a word of the year as a touchstone.  I've been using a word of the year for...well, years now!  It's nice to see that the trend is catching on!  Yep, that's me...a trendsetter!  LOL

I've had words like last years, Step as well as Optimism, Change, Awareness, Moment...   I pick a word, post it prominently on my desk and try to use it as a focus for the year.    I've been mulling 2015's word for a while now and hit upon it last night as I was drifting off to sleep.  Drumroll please.  The word is...STRETCH.  Like last year's Step, the word has both physical and mental applications.  Physically, I'm hoping to try to add a bit of yoga to my daily 10,000 step routine (btw, I did make my 10,000 steps every day last year!!).  I'd like to become more limber and flexible.  I'd like to become more limber and flexible in my inner life as well!  I want to step out of my comfort range and try new things.  I want to expand my way of thinking and try to look at things from a new perspective.  

Yes, I like the word Stretch!  It makes a great word to center my year around!   I think I'll need that limberness as I look at my year's schedule!  I've got three releases (Carry Her Heart in April, Her Second Chance Family in August, and The Way We Used to Be in November).  I've started scheduling speaking gigs...there's Ohio and NY so far.  I've got a lot of books to write for 2016.  And I have some family trips planned...a cruise and in the fall, my husband and I are meeting my best friend and her husband in Florida!  Yep, I think that a bit of limberness is in order!  How about you?  Do you have a word of the year??  If not, you've still got time to find one!

Holly

PS 2015 is a year of giveaways for my subscribers! Not a subscriber?  You can sign-up here and be automatically entered in the year's giveaways!

Lilian Darcy: New Year's Indulgences

Every New Year, like many people do, I make resolutions. They’re all about working harder, eating better, getting fitter – all the hard, challenging stuff.

This year, I’ve decided to change things around a little. I’m not going to focus on my resolutions, I’m going to plan my indulgences.

1)     Spend More Time Outdoors

I’ve really been enjoying this lately, whether I’m out in the open air gardening, walking or cycling. I’d like to move more of my regular activities out of doors, when possible. I’d like to eat, read and listen to music out of doors more often in 2015. And maybe sometimes just sit.

2)     Read More

As a writer and editor, reading has been a professional requirement for a long time. Now that I’m moving into retirement, I’d like to read more for pure pleasure and let go of that critical professional perspective that can get in the way of reading enjoyment. I’d like to read more non-fiction, more classics, more books-that-I-wouldn’t-normally-pick-up.

I also want to jump into the kinds of familiar reads that I know I’ll love – books like the Bachelor Auction series from Tule Publishing that’s launching in February.

3)     Do Some Jigsaw Puzzles

I haven’t treated myself to this indulgence very often in recent years. About ten years ago, my husband gave me an enormous jigsaw puzzle,18,000 pieces in total, divided into four separate sections of roughly 4,500 pieces each. I’ve only ever done one of the sections. Last Christmas I started a second one, but packed it away before I’d put much of it together, feeling that there just wasn’t time. This year, I’m going to get it out again and complete it, and so what if it takes months? I might do a few smaller puzzles, too, for light relief.

That’s all I’ve thought of so far, but I fully intend to think of a few more indulgences and embrace them.

How about you? Don’t give me the R word, Resolutions, I want to hear about your planned Indulgences for 2015.

Hope you have a great year!

Lilian Darcy

P.S. If you’d like to indulge yourself with a free ebook, The Sweetest Thing, the second book in my Montana Riverbend series is free on all major ebook platforms.

Happy New Year...or rather, mid-January!

I know that we're almost two weeks into the new year, but I thought I'd talk about my resolution here anyway.  Well, not really a resolution.  Once upon a time, I had those, like most other people.  And like most people, I'd broken them before I reached this part of January.  I tried to purposefully pick resolutions I knew I could keep.  One year, I decided I would do a shot of tequila.  I like margaritas, and had never done a shot.  So, with Mr. Burhenn's help (he taught me how to do it one handed--hold the shotglass, lemon wedge between pointer finger and thumb, salt on the knuckle of your thumb.  Yep, one fluid motion.) I wrapped that up before January was over.  Yep, I was a winner!

Still, those easy resolutions didn't seem to really improve me.  I mean, yeah, I can handle a shot (although I'd rather sip a wine or beer, personally), but I don't know that it makes me a better person.

So, a few years back, I decided rather than any kind of resolution, I'd try for a word. One word to build my year around.

I've found this really works for me.  I've used words like Optimism, Moment, Awareness, Change...

As the new year approached, I gave some thought to what I wanted to improve on this year.  And I came to a decision.

Drum roll please...

I went with the word STOP.  

I'm going to use the word as a  reminder to myself to stop and find the glee every day.  To stop and take a breath.  To stop and look for those moments of wonder.  

There's always so much going on here.  I try and balance my large family's needs and my writing.  I try to be there for people who need me.  As a pseudo-science geek, I can't help but think that an object in motion tends to stay in motion...unless some outside force acts on it.  Well, I want to be my outside force.  I want to stop the motion and simply appreciate...well, everything!

I know that we're almost two weeks into the new year, but finding new ways to improve yourself doesn't come with some time limit.  So, maybe you made a resolution and this will serve as a reminder to keep going with it.  But if you didn't, maybe you'll find your own word.  Some touchstone for the year.

This is going to be a crazy busy year for me.  I have four books coming out and two more short stories. I promised Lee that I'd come here and blog once a month, so you'll be hearing more about those.  But this first blog of the year, I didn't want to talk about my books...I wanted to simply wish you a great year, and share my word and the reasoning behind it.

 I hope you find your own resolution or word of the year.  And although it's mid-January, I hope you have a great year!  I hope you find your own moments to stop and appreciate what's going on in your life...that you stop and find glee...that you stop and take a breath...that you stop and find the wonder!  

Holly

www.HollyJacobs.com

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