As the year ends, I’m going to do what my heroine Milagro calls a “state-of-the-chica analysis.” I’ve had two books published, NANCY’S THEORY OF STYLE (under the pen-name Grace Coopersmith) and HAUNTED HONEYMOON (Casa Dracula Book 4). I’ve sold a young adult gothic, THE SHADOW GIRL OF BIRCH GROVE, to Tor, and contributed a story to THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SCOTTISH ROMANCE, to be released January 4, 2011. I’ve been mentioned in the New Yorker’s book blog, spoken at book festivals, and learned that when editors say “winter 2012” they mean January 2012, not December 2012. I should be happy with all I’ve accomplished, but I see what’s desperately missing from my list: time spent reading books. All writers start out the same way: we love to read. We want to spend much of our days in imaginary worlds. We want to be surprised, engrossed, thrilled, and moved by the characters and stories we discover in books.  We love stories that transport us to other places and times, from ancient Rome to a far off future in another galaxy. We can usually learn something from characters, whether they’re diligent forensic scientists or inquisitive homemakers. It is a marvelous feeling to…