My Annual "Thankful For" Countdown

Today sentimental people all across the world reflect. Hear those motors running. In a these tough and bitter times, some may find this difficult. But personally, I just had the best Christmas of my life. No, I didn’t get that shiny new Maxima I’ve been sweatin’ forever. I didn’t get the “miracle printer” I wish someone brilliant (HELLO, I’m talking to you, Bill Gates) would develop so my sanity could return—I forget what it looks like. I didn’t finish my WIP, which will be the first full-length novel I’ve finished in over a year.

As my family of five (six if you count my mama’s faithful hound, Murphy) gathered at my parents’ house Christmas Eve for our traditional sleepover, everything felt absolutely perfect. I don’t know why. Somewhere between my hubby’s second drink and my sister and I locking ourselves in her room to wrap presents last-minute, as always, I thought, “There’s nowhere else in the entire world I’d rather be.” It’d been a stressful couple of months and I, of course, didn’t hit the stores until a very short week in advance. But every ounce of stress and woe lifted off my shoulders and, I believe, everyone else’s because we were together and it was Christmas and though my sister will be rocketing off to college next fall, I think we all knew we’d always be together for Christmas and happy just for that.

Soooo…now that my sappy *sniffle* soliloquy is over (no wisecracks, please), onto my “Thankful For” countdown of 2008:

This year I’m Thankful For…

10. Those On My Naughty List. Yeah, this one’s a new one. It occurred to me sometime in the last, I don’t know, questionable three months that without the people who routinely irk me (and, I admit, the flipside—those I can’t seem to help vexing), I wouldn’t have developed Ivy. Ivy is the flaming Irish ravenous coffee drinker I try to keep out of my posts. She’s a snarky, red-faced minx who has a deep, slanted affection for John McClane and villains—any villain (The Joker, in particular) and is at the height of her game during PMS when my dear hubby has been known to deftly vanish from sight. What’s so great about her? Way back when, I had no armor. There was nothing to shield me when that idiot in my C.P. English class said something crude and, later, when the rejection letters began piling in by the truckloads. What changed? Ivy was born sometime between December 2004 and April 2007. She festered in the dark, dank depths until one day she reared her ugly head and fought back with a vengeance and for the first time in my life, I stood up for myself. Without Ivy, I’d have stopped writing a long time ago and be curled up in the corner of my closet sniveling. At the risk of coming off as a schizophrenic and scaring off all my readers, couldn’t have done it without ya, be-yotch!

9. My new legal (it really shouldn’t be...) addictive substance (see December 24th post)

8. Blockbusters. This year reaffirmed my love of great movies, starting with National Treasure: Book of Secrets and progressing onto Iron Man and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Wall-E brought me to tears (stop laughing—we’ve already established that I’m a major mush) while The Dark Knight wowed me beyond anything I’d imagined...even after the hype. Hellboy 2 made me laugh and Daniel Craig *purr* returned in Quantum of Solace, thank you God! Ivy stirs whenever I reflect on the suspension of the 6th Harry Potter’s release. (Eight more months?!?! Stupid Warner Bros. *pouts*) Nonetheless, it was a year for movies and I certainly wasn’t the only one inspired.

7. The Brothers. Wrath. Rhage. Z. Butch. Vishous. Phury. And—my third favorite hero of all time—John Matthew. *sigh* JM—I’ll be here on my hands until your story hits the shelves. J.R. Ward—thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

6. Romance Writers. The numbers are in—what publishing industry’s numbers didn’t flounder in the last dismal months? You guessed it. The readers have once again decided. In these hard times, romance gives those who need it most a remarkable and cherished escape. Here’s to you, all of you, for giving light and hope to a dreary world. Toast that cyber bubbly!

5. Logan. Wow. Just grab the tissues and watch— http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl0HLn118pM

4. Mums. These were given to Jake and me as a housewarming gift from two wonderful new friends from GCC. With Ivy and an isolation streak, I don’t make friends easily so thank you so very much for taking this little birdie under your wings. You’ve made me all the more thankful for GCC and the organization of RWA as a whole. Sending good writerly vibes your way and yes’s across the board in 2009! :)

3. Our New House. I don’t know if I mentioned this here, but this summer Jake and I were forced to find new living space. He was working out of town at the time and I traveled with him because he was gone a week at a time and we both have problems with separation anxiety. Strange, I know—two stubborn arses, been together four and a half years now…. It’s a wonder we can still stand the sight of each other. Anyhoo, we had the weekends only to look for a new place and with the three rambunctious labs in tow that was difficult. Giving them up was never an option either of us considered. We found a place at the last minute. Quite frankly, we were lucky to get it. The weekend of July 4th his family helped us move in. I will always remember the first night. Our power had been turned on that morning. We had our king mattress sprawled across the living room with a little lamp on the floor and a movie ready to play on my laptop between us. We looked at each other as we tucked in and just burst into joyful fits of laughter. Our first house! Weeeeeee! We are truly blessed.

2. Those Voices In My Head. Thank you for keeping me awake at night. Thank you for interrupting me at my day job and making me scribble furiously on random scraps of paper at the risk of being fired. Thank you for staying with me long enough to write your stories. Thank you for staying with me long enough after I finish your stories to bug me when I’m supposed to be writing about somebody else. This goes to you, Todd and Celestia, and you, Mark and Valentina. This goes to you, too, Stella and Judd, and even you, Briar and Cole. It goes to all you villains and secondary characters. And it goes to the newbies who entertain me endlessly, Thad and Simone. Thanks for sharing, peeps. And though it’s getting noisy and crowded up there, to many more!
*a collective groan from above*
—Oh, shut up!

1. Love. Yeah, that hearts-on-fire hoopla I write about. Only it’s not hoopla, as some ignorant cynics would have the general public believe. (Wahaha, the readers have chosen!) My life is overflowing with love—love of family, love of friends, puppy love… I even love my computer Keats—down to his last, teeny circuit. I’m also, of course, addressing the kind of love I used to dream about at night—the kind I found in that first romance novel. The kind that lasts forever. Jacob, if we haven’t been through it all, bring it on. I know now more than ever that nothing is big, bad, or tough enough to come between us. Here’s to going into a new year stronger than ever, honey love!

Now…back to work…

Happy Holidays!

Yep, that’s giddy me with my beautiful baby! Denied Origin was due out in print mid-November. As a TWRP author, I get one free copy. Only I forgot to inform my publisher that I wanted that free copy until the day of the release, Friday the 14th. I called my mama Monday night to tell her that it hadn’t arrived yet though I’d been waiting by the window with my nose pressed to the glass for the mail-lady to come around every morning. She admitted that Friday she had received not one, not two, but three copies of Denied Origin in print. How in the world did she move mountains and manage an impossible feat like that? Amazon pre-order. *slaps forehead* That easy, huh?

So yours truly waited by the window every morning that week, growing more and more itchy then grumpy then, by Friday when a full week had passed, just plain BAH HUMBUG! I told my dear Jacob, “I’m not waiting by the window today. I’m going to mind my own business, let the morning flit on by like a leaf on the wind, not noticing, then go out after lunch to the mail box and not get let down once more when it doesn’t magically appear.” “Riiiight,” was his know-it-all reply. Now I was on a mission to prove to him and myself that I have some self-restraint. Some. *wink*

I slept in a good while, fixed some brunch, took it to my desk at the back of the house—as far away from the front windows as possible—and sat down to “write.” What really happened is I ended up procrastinating until lunchtime. For some strange reason, I couldn’t hold a sensible thought in my head. I went to fix lunch and somehow my feet got confused and veered toward the front door instead of the kitchen. New house; still get mixed up. *sheepish grin* Across the lawn…to the mail box…open the slot…gasp! OMG! It’s HERE! All the neighbors saw a maniacal, pajama-clad brunette doing the Snoopy dance in her driveway.

The package somehow managed to tear itself into shreds *shrug* by the time I got it to the front door then viola, my baby dropped right into my hands, perfect, touchable, smell-able. I preened it, petted it, hugged it, nuzzled it…then wiped it down so furiously with tissues CSI couldn’t have found even the teeniest remnant of a fingerprint on the shiny surface of that amazing, Covey-Award-winning, Rae Monet cover. I set it carefully on the ottoman, angling it toward the door so Jake would see it as soon as he came in from work. I must’ve picked up the phone a dozen times to call him because I wanted to tell him so bad! But no. Surprise.

When he drove up, I jumped off the barstool I’d been using to angle the overhead lights to spotlight it just so. I couldn’t wait for him to walk himself to the door. I went out in the cold, grabbed him by the arm, yanked him inside and grinned at him wildly. He frowned. “Are you okay?” I gave a shrieking giggle and, unable to restrain myself one more second without joyfully imploding, I spun him toward the ottoman and pointed. Two idiots did the Snoopy dance in the living room. After we wound down, he reached out to grab. And what did I do? Slap. “Don’t touch it!” I squealed, holding it to my chest like a mommy protecting her baby from the BBW. “It’s sensitive,” I added in a whisper. “Riiight.”

Now—at this very moment—my baby stands against the wall of my office, still perfect and untouchable, on top of the snarky printer I forced into semi-permanent hibernation (another story, another time). On occasion—like, um, every five minutes—I glance up, see it, let out a shrieking giggle and start singing, “Merry Christmas to me! Merry Christmas to me! Merry Christmas to meeee! Merry Christmas to mee-eeeeee!”

Hope everyone gets their heart’s sweetest wish this holiday season!!!!!

*Photo credit to Finishline Signs & Graphics*

What Happens When Amber Drinks Too Much Caffeine???

The true nature of this post is to discuss my latest infatuation. I am now officially a coffee drinker. Oh, woe, Amber! How did this happen? Dunno. One minute I was an innocent, no-coffee-thank-you-sweet-tea-for-me-cuz-I'm-a-little-lady-from-the-South, the next I'm bringing home my mommy's back-up 4-cup coffeemaker (nothing bigger needed since my smart hubby refuses to drink the stuff), coffee filters, and a bag full of pumpkin spice flavored coffee grounds I purchased at my favorite bookstore, Books-a-Million (if you like flavored coffee, TRY IT!!!!)

I'm convinced this all started the week of Thanksgiving when my mother, my sister, and I went to do a little pre-holiday shopping at the new Kohl's store. Somehow my sister and I ended up fixated on a display of Christmas-y ceramic and travel mugs. My sister wanted the travel mug that said "Dear Santa, Let me explain..." because she wanted it for hot cocoa on the way to school, leaving me with no choice but to get my version of that in ceramic: "Dear Santa, Let me tell you the whole story..." I get home with my new mug and...what do I do with it? It's too cute to leave in the cabinet for the once in the blue moon when I fix hot cocoa. What's a girl to do?

Drink coffee, apparently.

But coffee-drinking is not my latest infatuation. No, my very-latest-to-the-minute infationation is coffee mugs. The "Dear Santa" thing started it all. Soon I see cute coffee mugs floating around everywhere! One for each holiday. One for each day of the week. One for each day of the year!!! Ha,ha! One for each person on your you-must-buy-them-a-Christmas-present-or-perish-from-the-earth list!

These are the super-cute ones I came across while perusing my local BaM:

One for your boss: "Are You Talking To Me Before I've Had My Coffee This Morning?"

One for your single friend: "Men Are Like Chocolate: Better Rich"

One for your married friend: "Mom's Taxi"

One for your hubby (and my personal favorite): "Does Not Ask For Directions"

The Mighty Nora is into it, too. At her Turn the Page Bookstore site (http://www.ttpbooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TTPB&Category_Code=TNS) you can buy the "Coffee, coffee will keep me sane" Eve Dallas quote travel mug. (*ahem* Can I have one with Roarke's face on it?)

Even my publisher has caught the must-have-coffee-mugs craze! You can get the TWRP logo mug in small or large. Look how pweetty: (http://www.cafepress.com/TWRP.57407757)

There's a mug for every personality on earth!!! But, no, I only bought one mug this holiday season, my perfect mug soulmate which features a blond (my fickle muse, Tink, whom if you've read my blog before, you probably know just by the sneer I'm currently wearing) lounging in a chair in her bathing suit on a sunny beach with a phone to her ear (that's me on the other line calling her home so I can stop this potentially-helpful-to-someone-other-than-me procrastination and reach my daily word count). The mug's overhead caption reads, "I'm in a meeting!"

SO, still don't know what to get that whoever in your life for Christmas? Have you not been listening to me, you insane-last-minute-shopper you!

Coffee mugs!

*incessant ramble ending now*

Stay tuned for more caffeine-induced, holiday-flavored storytime!