I decided to give up making New Year’s resolutions. I know, you’re wondering what took me so long. Like a lot of people, I see the New Year as a fresh start and a chance to make positive changes in my life. And the resolutions work, well in a way.

I did complete one of my resolutions by finishing my Master’s degree in Humanities. And I sold a series of steampunk books, which was my resolution to write outside my comfort zone. I didn’t lose much weight, but I did lose some. And I never made it to Paris.

This year I’m trying something different. I’m writing down fun things I want to do. Here’s what I have so far, but the list is something I plan to add to as the year goes on:

1. Finish office makeover

2. Learn French (read 3) at least enough to ask where the bathroom is, and how to find my hotel if I get lost

3. Go to Paris in the late fall

4. Read a book a week (when I’m writing as much as I am right now, that’s a tough one)

5. Spend more time with my favorite people

6. Ride a really scary roller coaster

7. Make a music video

8. Sleep more

9. Learn how to relax (I honestly don’t know how.)

10. Find one fun thing to do every single day that makes my heart lighter.

So that’s it, so far. It’s not a particularly great list, but it’s mine.

So what fun things to you have planned for the coming year? What are some fun things I should think about adding to my list?

As I have mentioned more than once before, I love TV. I’ve been a big fan since I was a kid, and I still am. One of the fun things about watching TV as a writer is thinking what I would do differently if I were able to write the episodes of the shows I love – how would I have done it?

This summer, during an anniversary blog event for Blaze, some of us wrote blog posts that did just that – rewrote some of our favorite TV and movies as Blaze. Unfortunately, a technical glitch kept mine from appearing, so Brenda graciously allowed me to post it now for a regular Blaze post (thanks, Brenda!).

Below is my entry for “It Would Have Been Better As A Blaze” and I’ll pose this question for conversation: which TV show would you like to get your hands on if you had the power to change it? and what would you switch up? Post your answer, and next week I will send out a backlist book and a little prezzie from Florida to one winner. Note: If you have not watched Justified at all, there are Season 1/2 spoilers in the post below.

Have fun!
Sam
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It would have been better as a Blaze… Justified

I feel almost sacrilegious saying Justified could be better in any way whatsoever – the show is amazing — but as a Blaze author, I can’t help taking my favorite TV shows and playing “what if?” especially given some of the recent turns in Season 2 of Justified. One of my favorite parts of Justified in the second season was the bad boy/sorta bad girl attraction between Boyd and Ava, but what about Raylan? His love life in season 2 really needs a Blaze rewrite, in my view.

If I were to rewrite Justified as a Blaze, I would go back to Season 1 and I would definitely NOT have had Raylan sleeping with Winona when he was still (sort of) with Ava, and I most definitely would not have had Winona end up pregnant in Season 2! For me, that’s where our hero, Raylan, takes a turn away from being the sexy hero I want him to be.

To correct this error, I would rewrite the part of season two where Raylan meets the fiery, red-headed bombshell representing Black Pike mining company, Carol Johnson. These two have perfect Blaze chemistry, in my opinion. Raylan doesn’t like her or the company she works for. Still, in my version of the show, he takes her up on her sexy offer to go to bed. For Raylan, it’s an ego-soothing roll in the hay after finding out Ava is now with Boyd. For Carol, it’s just a little fun – or so they both think (classic Blaze!). Carol, with her life in danger from the locals who want the mining company out, is capable of taking care of herself, but doesn’t mind if Raylan sticks very close. Carol is definitely a Blaze heroine.

Of course, their dangerous situation intensifies the hot attraction they share, but they also come from two different worlds. How could they ever be together? Carol would be the last woman Raylan could imagine falling in love with; she’s polished, corporate, professional — and she’s definitely not the kind of woman to live in a place like Harlan. This is clear when he goes to talk to her to tells her how he feels –but she’s already gone. Raylan figures he’ll never see her again –but then, her company decides to make Carol the permanent, on-site mining rep.

Raylan can’t easily forgive her for walking away, but will they be able to resist each other? Probably not. This would be just the beginning of a very hot Justified season that I think would definitely have been better as a Blaze!

I’ve been reading a lot of posts and comments about people’s vacation spots lately, and while we didn’t take a summer vacation this year, I did just finish planning a short winter break in Feb — time to get away from the snow! While we love to travel and explore new places, we also enjoy going back to a few well-known vacation spots that we never get tired of.

The first is Cape Cod. We love that area so much we have even considered moving there, and luckily, we have mobile jobs so it’s really a possibility. We started going to the Cape regularly back in the ’90s, and for a while, went every year. Then, we had several years in between with no vacations or trips to a lot of new places, and last year went back to the Cape. We loved it as much as ever, and don’t plan to wait so long to visit again.

Our other repeat vacation spot is St Pete’s Beach, FL — we also started going there in the ’90s, and it’s our “go to” vacation spot for winter. My husband used to live in Clearwater, so he knows the area, and has a lot of friends and family around. We have a hotel we like where we can usually get a room that opens out right onto the beach for a reasonable price (this picture taken from that room). There are a lot of restaurants and sites we like to revisit, while usually discovering some new ones as well.

The benefits of the repeat vacation spot are numerous — you know the area, so driving or finding a place to stay or to eat is not stressful, and yet, if it’s a large enough spot, there’s always something new to enjoy. You can relax and truly have a restful stay, or be as busy as you like. You have a rough idea of cost already, so you don’t find any pricey surprises when you get there.

So, do you have places you like to return to again and again? Maybe your return vacations spots might become new places I’ll plan to visit at some point.

Sam

PS: If you haven’t see it already, check out my new webpage.

Well, the words Monday and Fun may not go together very well, but I thought we could use a little fun to get the week off to a good start. So, I’m going to pop one of those fun (I hope) questions out here for everyone to answer, and if you do, you’ll also be in the running to win a backlist book of mine.

My husband announced to me the other night that his new choice for “another guy who would be cool to hang out with” had changed from Billy Bob Thornton (much to my puzzlement), to Bear Grylls, the adventure guy from Man Vs. Wild.

That got me thinking about who I would hang out with, male or female, just because I think they would be fun or interesting. The only rules are that they have to be someone current and in the world (so no historical or fictional figures). But past that, anything goes.

I would definitely hang out with Bear, as well — I love his show, and I’d love to listen to his adventures and survival advice (though maybe talking to his wife and family could be even more interesting, and I am not sure I would want to go on one of his adventures, as my husband would love to do).

But here’s my “official” list, in no particular order; these folks are all equally compelling and interesting to me:

Pauley Perrette — I really like her energy, and we both enjoy supporting various charitable causes. I would also love to hear her stories about being on the set of NCIS, and from what I have heard from her in interviews, I think we’d have a lot to chat about (and with any luck, maybe Mark Harmon or Michael Weatherly would stop by *G*).

Jason Crandell — my favorite online/Yoga Journal and DVD yoga instructor. Being a newbie to yoga, I would love to get some yoga instruction from an expert. Seems like a really nice guy.

Sue Grafton who is one of my favorite writers, and I would love to know what she’s going to do after Z.

Rick Bayless — I really like his Mexican cookbooks (and his Frontera salsa at the store!), and given his travels and experience, I’d love to spend a day cooking and visiting with him. He’s also into Yoga, so we’d have that to talk about as well.

Phil Keoghan or Jeff Probst — would be a blast to get the inside scoop on The Amazing Race or Survivor and get to know these guys a bit outside of their hosting roles.

So those are some of mine, though there are others that would probably come to me later. I’m drawing a blank at the moment, but I’m sure more will come to me.

Who would you like to hang out with? Share, and I’ll pick three winners to receive a backlist book of their choice later today (Virtually Perfect and About Last Night are the only ones not available, sorry).
Sam

Is there anyone who doesn’t love cookies, or who doesn’t have a special cookie in their life? Maybe one your mom made, or one your family loves? Or decadent ones at the store that you only let yourself buy for a special treat?

In my spankin’ new release, MAKE YOUR MOVE, Jodie Patterson owns a Chicago bakery, and the frosting on her special “Passionate Hearts” cookies is very popular. With the help of a special formula created by her best friend and business partner, Dan, a scientific genius, the frosting provides a little erotic kick to female pheromones, helping women who eat them get any man they desire.

Now, I have never had a cookie that did that, exactly, but a few that come close. One family recipe for a cookie we often make is my husband’s favorite, and when I make them, he certainly gets a spark in his eye — a rich cookie wrapped around a mix of fudge and nuts, dusted with powdered sugar. I brought some to the Toronto Harlequin offices on my last visit, and I don’t know if they sparked any libidos, but I did get notes from people who seemed to like them just as much as my friends and family do. My own personal favorite is a simple but delicate sugar cookie I make (and I do shape them into hearts and frost them) and they really melt in your mouth. I grew up making cookies, especially all kinds of ethnic, Italian and Ukrainian recipes that I learned from my mom and her friends, and they are a regular fixture at Christmas and holidays.

However, I love store cookies, too. Pepperidge Farms make the most sinful ones, I think, especially their Amaretto Milanos, though Brussels are my absolutely favorites. On a more everyday level, I won’t pass up an Oreo, and love Nutter-Butter cookies, too! I will say one cookie I never did enjoy was a Fig Newton, but I know several people who love them.

So what is your favorite cookie? Does your family have special cookie recipes you always use, or that everyone loves? Share, and one commenter will win a copy of MAKE YOUR MOVE along with these gorgeous Harry and David cookies (US shipping only), and two others will win signed copies of MAKE YOUR MOVE (all eligible).

We’re heading out to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie this weekend. While I didn’t think I wanted to see it when I first saw the previews, it hits me as the best of the Christmas/New Years offerings, and I am a horrible movie person. Hubby wanted to see Avatar, and I was so thankful when he changed his mind after reading several reviews.

I don’t know why — it must be some kind of entertainment ADD — but I can sit and watch 3-4 hours of TV (I am a complete TV addict, but I think it’s a mixture of the variety, something new every 60 minutes or less, and I can get up and take breaks), but making a 2 hour movie can be a stretch, and ones that are longer than that seriously challenge my ability to sit still. It was torture for me to go through the LOTR series with my husband, who loves it… when he rewatches them at home, at least we can get up, take breaks, walk around — but sitting through them in the theater was my version of movie hell.

Though at least the stories were good — one thing that put me off of Avatar is that people only talk about the special effects. I could care less. Give me a great story with no special effects, please — the story is what carries me through and makes me forget I am sitting in one place for 2+ hours. If the characters are compelling and the story makes me want to see what’s going to happen, it’s worth the money. I stay clear of movies where people’s recommendations hinge on “but the cinematography was amazing” or “you have to see the special effects.” No thanks. Of course, most movies have some kind of effects, but I think the point is more that the effects shouldn’t be the point of the movie — they can enhance it, but a movie should still be about the story and the characters.

That’s what’s so nice about books (and TV, when you think about it — the special effects in Buffy were often rough and hokey, but look how much we love it). They can’t rely on special effects, it has to be all about the story. If the story fails, you’re toast, and I’m thankful for that.

Are flashy effects enough for you when you spend at least $11 (usually more) on a movie ticket? Or do you want to be carried away by compelling characters (Jason Bourne, for example — few special effects, amazing movies, all) and great plots? Have you been to see any movies over the holiday, and what did you think? I’ll share my opinion of Sherlock Holmes after we get back, and I’ll look forward to hearing yours.

Happy 2010!
Sam

I’ve decided I don’t want to do New Year’s resolutions any more. They cause me too much stress. Every year it’s the same. I promise to eat better and exercise. I promise to work smarter not harder. I promise to travel and spend more time with family. By February everything is hopeless and I feel like a failure because I haven’t done any of those things.

So I’m trying something different. A little reverse psychology. As long as I make my daily deadlines for columns and such, and my book deadlines, I’m free to do whatever I want. Well, within reason. I’m taking two graduate classes this semester so that will go into the mix. I also have some speaking engagements and things like that I have to do. BUT other than than, my time is my own.

Freedom. It’s something I haven’t allowed myself in a long time. Say I want to take a nap on a Thursday afternoon, well I’m free to do that if I want. I no longer want to make myself feel guilty, because I should be working. If I want to spend an hour trying to get through that last castle on the Mario Bros. game, I can. If I want to sleep in on a Saturday, throw the ball with the dogs, and eat gluten-free pizza for breakfast, I can do that too.

I have tendency to always come from this place of guilt. It’s one of the reasons I’m so productive. I never give myself a break, but that’s about to change. Mind you, it’s not any kind of resolution, I’m calling it Grace. Giving myself Grace. Time to figure out what it is that makes me happy. Take exercise for example: I don’t like traditional exercises like running and tae bo kind of stuff. But I do love to dance. And I love the Wii games where you do downhill skiing and snowboarding. The NFL has this new campaign to get kids moving. It’s called Play 60 (Or something like that). They’re idea is to get kids outside and moving. I’m using it a bit differently. I want to do something for 60 minutes a day that makes me smile.

What I want from you are some ideas. What are some fun things I could try? What would you like to try?

May I suggest you check out the upcoming release TAKE ME IF YOU DARE. It’s loads of fun and I can guarantee you’re going to have a good time. It’s available in ebook this month and in print in February.

Are you making any resolutions this year? Are you trying any fun and crazy things? Tell me, I want to know.

I want to live at the North Pole with Santa Claus. I have this idea that everything is perfect there. They most definitely have a white Christmas. There’s always enough hot chocolate to go around, and there are lots of elves to help with everything from toy making to house cleaning.

I could use a few good elves. I need an elf to help me promote my upcoming Blaze, “Take Me If You Dare.” I need an elf to finish my annotated bibliography for a school project. I need an elf to do my holiday shopping and write those holiday cards. I need an elf to write these three proposals for new book projects that I promised before the first of the year. One of those pointy-shoe folks to do the cooking and the cleaning. One to write all my TV and movie columns over the holiday would be nice. And those are only the first few things on my list for December.

My children will tell you I’m short enough to make a perfectly good elf, and quite honestly if I could clone myself I would. What I’ve learned over the years is that when it comes to holidays, you do what you can. I try to get done the things that make me and my family happy, and the ones that pay the bills.

That means I may not send out those holiday cards, but I will provide a lovely buffet meal on Christmas Eve for family and friends. I will most likely do the majority of my shopping online, though at least one day I’ll stop by the mall to enjoy the decorations and to get that feeling of the holiday bustle.

I’m determined that I will make time to do the things I enjoy. That might mean working some late nights the first part of the season, but that is a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I will DVR my favorite holiday programming, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, A Charlie Brown Christmas, to watch while I’m wrapping presents. Ugh. I’m so bad at wrapping presents. I can’t tell you how many times someone has said, “Oh, how sweet, you let your kids do the wrapping.” I’m not kidding. I know they make those beautiful bags you can just slide stuff in, but I like watching people rip open that paper. We’ve already decorated for the most part. By we’ve, I mean my husband set up the tree, and I did everything else.

This year we are traveling for Christmas Day, which means even more to do. But it’s okay. We’ll have Christmas Eve here, as we have since the kids were tiny. None of it matters as long as we are together. My kids are older and I know there will come a time in the future when I will have to share them, but for now I’m holding on as tight as I can. The best part of the holiday for me is when we are sitting around on Christmas Eve singing carols. The kids grump and complain, but the one year we didn’t get to do it because of a family illness, they were depressed.

Normally, Christmas isn’t about the gifts for me, but I’ve been very lucky in that department the last couple of years. This year all I want is for us to be happy, healthy and together. Though, um, I will be purchasing all those December Blazes for myself.

So I want to hear about your plans for the holidays. I’d love to hear about some of your holiday traditions, food or fun stories from the past. Is there a gift you want for this Christmas? Don’t be shy! If you don’t celebrate Christmas, tell us about your holiday traditions too. I’m always curious.

Santa, if you’re reading this. I’ve been very good this year, except for that one time, and um… You know what? Never mind.

Happy Holidays Ya’ll