New Year, New Name, New Goals

A beautiful wedding, a fun honeymoon, and a happy trip home to Georgia for the holidays put an end to a decade that was full of hard times and heartbreaks. Of course, it wasn't all bad, but any decade that brings two devastating housefires, a number of difficult relationship endings, and a physical assault that will haunt forever is a bad decade overall. It feels amazing to be letting that go and stepping forward into a new year, a new decade, and a new name. A new life with the right man. A new me with renewed confidence and real goals for the first time in a very long time. I know that the future holds amazing things for us, and I am anxious to get started on the hard work it will take to build that future.

I want 2010 to be a year where I work hard and see results. In 2009, I set the groundwork by finishing my first novel and getting it submitted to a major publishing house. The day before we left for Las Vegas, I got a rejection letter, but that does not mean it isn't a well-written novel. That's the thing about Harlequin/Silhouette. A novel can be well-written, but if it doesn't fit into their line the way they need/want it to, they just aren't going to buy it. But I am still very proud of the novel that I wrote and the work I did. This year, I want to do more.

I am hard at work on Pandemic, my YA zombie apocalypse novel. Although I am agonizing over the specific format I want to use to tell the story (first person POV? third? /shrug), I am enjoying the process. It's been largely sitting to the side since early December, but with the new year already 4 days old, it's time to get to work today organizing this novel and moving forward.

My writing goals this year are to finish two complete novels and get them submitted to major agents and publishing houses. If I could do one full novel last year, then this year it's two. I know I can do it. And I also know that they will be better than the one I wrote last year.

As always, I also have weight loss goals. Having lost around 10 pounds last year, I feel that I have built up a good momentum for 2010. My goal is to Jazzercise 3-4 times a week and keep working to eat right and take my vitamins. Since I doubled my writing goal, I need to at least double my weight loss goal. 20 lbs. Minimum. Of course, a huge bonus would be 30 pounds, which would put me right at my total goal weight of 150 pounds (and hopefully into a size 7 jeans).

As for any other goals, I just want to be a good wife. I want to work with my amazing new husband to save money and build a solid foundation for our future life together. A new beginning can come at any time, but there seems to be a certain energy in this new year. Can you feel it?