Gerry Bartlett here, author of the REAL VAMPIRES series from Berkley. Like my vampire Glory St. Clair, I have an antique business. Too bad it was on the historic Strand in Galveston. Hurricane Ike swooped in and dumped eight feet of water in the shop. Of course, as a writer, I love books and had to watch a mini-bulldozer shove hundreds of my precious volumes to the curb. Sigh. Can you blame me if I’m more than ready to kiss 2008 good-bye?
Enough of looking back. Time to look ahead. To a new year. And I vowed a long time ago to never start another year with resolutions. They last just long enough to give me a serious case of the guilts. You know those resolutions. One: Lose weight. Yeah, right. I stick to that diet just until temptation crosses my path. Writer, know thyself. And when a chocolate chip cookie calls my name? Gerry answers.
Second same old, same old: Get organized. Sure. Just as soon as I find that box of color coordinated folders I bought in 1998. Oh, and the label maker. Love the label maker. But I lost the directions in 2002. Yup, I’m an organizational nightmare.
So forget the resolutions. It’s on to the revolution. I’m revolting against all the “shoulds.” Gerry “should” get up and go to that 6:30 (in the morning?) boot camp exercise class at the Y. Gerry “should” write for eight hours a day—not go out to lunch or hit the mall for that third pair of boots. Gerry “should” eat sensibly—eat the sacks of salad instead of letting them go mushy and brown and then tossing them. Gerry “should” break up the dust bunny orgy going on under her couch.
You get the picture. Some of those “shoulds” are more important than others. But there’s no need to torture yourself. I do need to exercise. But that 6 p.m. circuit training is a heck of a workout and one I might actually get to. If it’s a matter of my livelihood (that writing thing), maybe it’s time to examine my priorities. Lucky dust bunnies, you’re off the hook. Party on. The bottom line is that 2009 has got to be better for me and for you. Are there areas in your life that need your attention? Take care of yourself first. Sometimes we forget that we’ve got to be our own number one priority or we can’t be there for the others who might need us.
Gee, now I’m sounding serious, not like the funny girl who gets vampire Glory St. Clair into trouble in REAL VAMPIRES DON’T DIET. Not to worry. If you need a chuckle to take your mind off the winter blues, there are plenty of them with Glory and her friends. That was one book Hurricane Ike couldn’t soak with salt water. It wasn’t in print yet.
Have a safe and prosperous new year and, if you want to start off 2009 with a new book, leave me a comment below or click here for a chance to win a Barnes and Noble gift card.
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