ALRIGHT, 2012. LET'S DO THIS.

Wow. Another year gone by. Let's just check last year's list of resolutions and see how we did. *eyeballs list*

Yes, well, there's always this year. Ahem. So why don't we start from scratch, shall we?

2012 WILL be the year that I:

• Attend my 1st RWA Conference. This year it's in Anaheim and I. Will. Go.


• Tend to my neglected lil' bloggy-blog, at least twice per week. *nuzzles blog*


• Go to Belize. One of the most beautiful, laid-back places on the planet.


• Pray the Mayan calendar has no actual truth to the whole end-of-the-world thing.


• Work out/or do something physically active at least 5 days per week.

And if I don't stick to my resolutions? Well, there's always plenty more scratch to start next year.

Friday Fluff

After 2 false starts, I'm finally reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" - for real this time. I am intrigued by the story, and I enjoy the writing, but for the 1st third of the book, I just could not get into it. I have this unfortunate problem, though, of needing to finish a book once I've started it - even if I don't come back to it for 2 years and have to start it again from the 1st page. Luckily I'm on page 503 - nearly there! It's a rough life, I know.

What else is new? Well, here are a few of the things I'm crushing on right now:

1.) Daniel Tosh. I've watched Tosh.0 a few times, (when my brother stood over my shoulder, twisting my arm), and despite laughing here and there, I found a lot of it to be a bit mean rather than comical. THEN I watched one of his stand-up routines and was very impressed. He's got perfect timing, original material and sharp intellect that reminds me of the late, great Patrice O'Neal. So Daniel Tosh can now count me as a fan. His life's goal, I know.

2.) Maria Menounos. She's the most down-to-earth celebrity I've seen. She has a book out called "The Everygirl's Guide To Life" and it is fabulous! She's self-deprecating at times, funny at times, and painfully honest the whole way through, even openly discussing going through people's trash to find her own treasures. Um, yeah. She's my new hero.

3.) My husband and I found 2 new shows purely by accident (and boredom) this week. One is "New Girl" with Zooey Deschanel, who is such a hapless dork, oblivious to the embarrassment she causes herself, she reminds me exactly of, well, me. Ha! The other show is "Raising Hope." Seriously, truly funny, original, brilliantly written and acted. I hang my head in shame for just now realizing these awesome lil' nuggets on Fox exist.

4.) LMFAO - "I'm Sexy And I Know It" is the most fun song I've heard in an eternity. It's infectious and mood-boosting, and my whole family loves to rock out to it. And let's be honest, we all needed a bit of song-sunshine after Adele's depression-inducing ballads. Am I right, or am I right? (I still love you, Adele. You are my #1 go-to for drinking alone.)

5.)TWITTER!! I've had an account for a while now, but only just started really connecting with people in the last few weeks, and next to my Kindle, Twitter is the new fight my husband has to contend with for any of my attention. If you're on Twitter, let's connect!

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone.

Are You There, Blog? It's Me, Helena.

Wow, I haven't blogged for over a year! *coughs dust*

The good news is that in that same amount of time, I have written another novel, made a few hundred writer-friends on Twitter, and read about a dozen good books.

2012 is nearly here, and this year I've resolved myself to post at least 1 or 2 blog posts per week, along with continuing to write and touch base with Twitter, and read as much of others' blogs as I can.

Whew! Considering I only get 2 days per week of actual writing time, that's a lot!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I see a few cobwebs on here I need to clear out.

Still in the Closet?

I am a writer, because to me the pen is therapeutic, it is expressive, and it is powerful. I hope both of my children are writers. I relate to other writers, and I feel happy just being a part of the writing community. Yes, I am a writer.

I've been known to quickly jot an idea down on a paper towel using my kid's crayon. I have played hooky from work to sit crammed in my small car with my netbook on my lap, happily writing. When I'm not actively writing, I sometimes mentally plot or edit my work in progress.
I do these things, because I am a writer.

Funny thing, though, is that very, very few people know that I am a writer. In fact, I could count on one hand the number of my friends who know I write. So okay, I'm a closeted writer.
This week, I "came out" as a writer to a friend I've known for nearly ten years. When I did, the most amazing thing happened. She came out too! She's not only been writing for a major publication for some time now, she's a member of the freakin' Associated Press!

We both had the same question for one another: Why didn't you tell me?

And we both had the same answer: I don't tell people, because I don't feel like a real writer yet. That struck me as odd. Her byline is seen globally. Yet, just like little ol' unpublished me, she too is hiding away, writing in the closet, not ready to tell anyone of her passion.

Waiting for someone else to deem us worthy of the title of real writer? It definitely gives me something to think about.

On another note, I have good news. I placed 6th in the 79th Annual Writer's Digest Contest in the Mainstream/Literary category for my short story "Deathbed Confessions." All the top 10 winners are printed in the November/December issue of Writer's Digest, available on newsstands now. You can also check out their website for more info on contests. Okay, so I'm still not published. But to have placed out of over 12,000 entries made me feel proud. And hey, now that I've been paid for my work, I guess you could say that makes me a real writer now, huh?

Validation is good for the soul

Isn't if funny how a bit of validation can not only reinforce your belief in your talent, but also give a much-needed boost to bang out more chapters in one day than you have in months?

That's what I got this week, and the feeling is indescribable. The feeling that says "I AM a real writer. I can do this."

That's all for now. I've got a neglected WIP waiting for me.

Well, that was fun!

Okay, the fireworks are over, the barbecue is eaten up, and the guests we've hosted the last couple of weeks are gone.

Now it's back to business.

1) WIP - I am fortunate enough to have two entire kid-free days to devote to my current project. I've outlined, plotted, and planned for several weeks, so I'm looking forward to knocking out several chapters. I'm very excited about this one.

2) RWA Conference - Can't wait!!

Much to do, much to do...