Winter Blessings

Every year around this time I start playing my favorite game: What's the weather going to be in Austin today? I can't help it. I'm just not made for cold weather and I pine for the warm days of summer. This year, however, I've decided to do things differently. Instead of pining, I'm going to take a moment to think about all the things about winter that make me happy. Here goes.

1. Slammin' boots. And I got a new pair this year. They're a chestnut brown, knee high, and they have a gold buckle on the top so they look supper cute with tight jeans.

2. Hot chocolate and tea always sound good. These are two of my favorite drinks and it just gets too hot in the summer to drink them, but I can drink them anytime the mood hits me now.

3. Snuggling under a down comforter. Really, is there anything better?

4. With it being so cold outside, I don't feel bad about indulging in more inside activities like, say, reading and writing.

5. Baking! I always do more baking when the thermometer dips and there's nothing like being surrounded by the aroma of something in the oven whether it be sweet or savory.

So, yes, these are my favorite things about winter. Do you have any? Or are you one of the people who prefer the cold and have to come up with a list for scorching days of summer?

M.I.A. ?

When I tell people I'm a writer (I'm actually still getting used to saying the words) they almost always have the same response. "I'd love to write, if only I had the time." I smile and say something encouraging, but all the while a little voice is screaming in the back of my head, "You don't have the time, you find it. You force it if necessary." Yes, I'm a stay at home mom, so I can maybe find a couple extra hours in a day to write. Maybe. Some days. Next year will be different, both my children will be in full time public school, so I'll have whole blocks of time where I don't have to change the channel, switch Wii games, pour juice, fix snacks, read stories, play hide and seek...you get the idea. But that's next year. This year my five year old is still home with me, which means I've got to work my writing around taking care of him, too. It's not that I'm complaining. Really, I'm not. I wouldn't change my life for all the gold in Spain (Does Spain have a lot of gold? I'm not sure about that one, but let's just go with it). But it does get a bit irritating for people to assume I've got oddles of time to write. I don't. Case in point: I haven't written much in the past two months and I know it's because I'm not forcing myself to sit down and write.

A couple months ago, my Godmother passed away. She introduced me to my faith when I was a teen and gave me a home to live in while I was in college. She was one of the most independent and inspirational women I've ever met. So when I came home from the funeral I started cleaning, and running errands, and filling my time with everything but writing. And I had plenty of stuff to fill my days without ever opening Word for anything but edits. I had so much stuff to do, I didn't even realize I was avoiding writing until a week ago. So today, I am forcing myself to sit down and write. Could I find other things to do? Absolutely, but I'm a writer.

On the brighter side of things, Ink in the Blood is complete and has an official release date of March, 1st 2010. And even after all the rewrites and rounds of edits, I found I still like the story. Also, I've talked a bit about my dragon/shifter/fantasy novella on here in the past...I'm pleased to say Samhain offered me a contract for it. I don't have a release date for that one yet, but I will keep you posted.

So that's from here. Hopefully I'll get the sequel to Ink and my sci-fi piece done and will be able to submit them soon.

I hope this holiday season finds you surrounded by the comfort and joy of the people you love.

Chandra