I was going to say something pity and meaningful, but after reading Neil Gaiman’s blog post, I’ll let him say it instead since it’s way better than what I could have done:

I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you dream dangerously and outrageously, that you make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked. And most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now) that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

Wishing each and every one of you a fantastic 2009.

Hola, peeps! How’s everyone spending the last Saturday of the year?

I’m chez moi, trying to shed the Cough That Would Not Die(tm). Round 3 of meds and more codeine. I *know* it’s just a matter of time, but boy, howdy (to use a Texian phrase), it’s a total PITA!

I’ve been drinking green tea with honey/lemon, sucking on OTC cough drops and taking meds. At least I got some sleep last night (whew!).

I spent a lovely quiet Xmas day at home, nursing the cough and reading. I had a lovely invite from JP to join their extended family for a great dinner, but sadly, my cough makes it nearly impossible to be in company. It’s annoying to others and quite hard on me.

Oh well, I’m hoping that 2009 will be the year that the Lima gets well. I keep taking my vitamins and supplements and crossing my fingers!

Of the amusing: XKCD and Google trends. theamusedone, I *know* which one you’re responsible for!! ::g::

Hola, LJ and a very happy Hanukkah/Christmas to all who celebrate!!

In the spirit of year-end clean up, I’ve been going thorugh my extremely too-long f’list and doing some trimming. It’s totally nothing personal, just got a whole lot out of control.

My friending policy is easy: if you want to read my blog, feel free to friend me. Nearly all my posts are public, since this is a public blog.

Hope everyone has a fantastic holiday.

Vegas, I mean.

Did they just go there?

spoilers

Happy solstice all!

I wish each and every one of you the best of the season.

Thanks to everyone who came to my book launch party on Tuesday night. It was a great success and I enjoyed meeting you new folks and getting to chat with old friends and fans. I should have some photos to post soon.

It’s been a bit of a crazy week with projects due at work and holiday stuff, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the great cards I’ve received from beledibabe, brooklinegirl, mrsronweasly, doll_revolution, aerye, tex, starrcat and birkilib. If I missed listing you: I suck at lists. Please forgive. I LOVE getting cards. All the ones listed above are displayed in my office, on my shelf or on the walls. I love to share my dorkiness with my staff.

I sent all my cards out – the last batch went out in today’s mail. w00t!! If you signed up to get one via my LJ post, those went out last week, so you should have them by now. If you *didn’t* get one and were expecting one, please shoot me an email and I’ll apologize profusely, blame my muddled brain and send one out immediately. ::g::

FYI – if you are on Facebook, I’ve created an author profile page, separate from my regular Facebook profile. My buddy J wanted to become my fan, and to do that, I needed to set up that page. So, I maneuvered the not-so-great UI and managed to figure it out. Go, me.

Been working on Blood Kin, the work in progress formerly known as Book 3. Loads of intrigue, plots and all sorts of fun going on. Whee!! It’s eating my brain, so anytime said grey matter isn’t occupied with work stuff, it’s off in Keira’s world, making things up and doing awful things to characters. I love it!

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe!!

If you’re in the local area (DC metro), I’d love for you to stop by my book launch party tonight.

More details here.

Last month, I was a guest blogger on Amberkatze’s blog. This month, after reading Blood Bargain, she’s giving a copy away to a lucky commenter.

Why don’t you pop over there and join in the fun?

And don’t forget, if you would like a holiday card from moi, please be sure to fill out your snail mail info here.

There’s definitely one big silver lining about being sick (yah, same cold/sinus/rundown stuff as per usual, this time with bonus cough and now 3 sets of meds) – one can stay home and READ.

Although earlier in the week, I was mostly just sleeping, this weekend, my attention span got a little better and I devoured the most recent 2 books in Jenna Black’s Devil series.

If you’re looking for a good new urban fantasy series, this would be a great one. I adore this series beyond the telling of it. I bought the first book only a couple of weeks ago and immediately bought the next two. It’s been a long time since I raced through a set of books.

What I love:
The premise – very interesting and unusual. The world created is detailed and yet, no boring infodumps, go Jenna! She does a fabulous job at revealing the details through action, dialogue and showing the reader.

Morgan, the protag – tough, but yet vulnerable in many ways; her relationship with her BF, her brother, her family is real and handled well.

The lovely and so very hot and endearing relationship between Adam and Dominic. There’s a truth to their interactions and love doesn’t mean they don’t screw up.

Note to theamusedone – I think you’ll really, really like these guys.

Lugh and Raphael – Jenna makes these guys fascinating – likeable, yet extremely dangerous.

The plots – interesting in their own right, and I like the overall arc mixed in with each book’s discrete plot line. Answers are given, yet more questions raised in just that right mix of “omg, I must keep reading”.

So major kudos to Jenna Black. I’m looking forward to her continuing this series.

I stayed up way too late last night reading The Devil’s Due, right after I finished The Devil You Know. This is definitely a sign that I’m hooked.

Buy these books at your favorite indie bookstore.

If you’re in the DC area and want a signed copy of Blood Bargain, I’d love it if you came by the official book launch party on December 16th.

Location: Matrix Group International, 1033 N Fairfax St. 2nd floor, Alexandria, VA 22314
Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

More info here.

RSVP to admin AT matrixgroup.net.

Hope to see some of you there!