This cartoon pretty much describes how I have felt about New Year’s Resolutions in the past. I mean after a while I learned my lesson with this tricky little tradition.

Sure, I made a few resolutions in the past – many moons ago. What have I resolved to do? Pretty much what every other American resolves to do:

Many years I resolved to stop biting my nails. How they hay does one do this? To this day I cannot figure it out. My husband says, just stop doing it. Sure, I say, and you just stop scratching yourself. I don’t think he found the humor in that – ha ha ha. I mean how does one stop doing something that I don’t even realize I am doing until my nails are bitten so low they hurt and I have hang nails on my thumbs that require band aids.

So after several years of trying and failing I stopped resolving to stop biting my nails.

I have also resolved to lose weight. This just makes me want to eat more. I mean really you tell me NOT to do something and that just makes it all the more appealing. Just like the bad boy syndrome. Don’t even pretend that a bad boy isn’t appealing. LOL.

So after attempts at resolving to lose weight I started resolving to accept myself the way I am. That sounds all nice and pretty right? It’s a lot harder than it sounds. I still work on that every day. I will say that I think something like this comes with age. I stopped resolving this as well.

I’ve resolved to save money. Let’s all laugh now and move to the next one.

I’ve resolved to be a better person. This is very vague and wide reaching. Exactly what does this entail? I hold the doors for others at the mall, I try not to glare at people in public who annoy me (oh please like you haven’t been in line with someone behind you that is like “OMG did you hear…?” Actually, I didn’t hear but thanks to your loud voice – I have heard now!) I recycle, I try to take things in stride when I don’t like the way things go. But let’s face it. You can’t just become a “better” person because it’s your New Year’s resolution. You have to work at something like that. It doesn’t happen overnight. And invariably – I am human – and sometimes I get annoyed and tell people about it. LOL.

Eventually I looked in the mirror and realized that making a New Years Resolution was like guaranteeing myself that it wouldn’t happen.

So I gave it up. Why bother making a resolution I was destined to fail then feel like crap because I didn’t do it. *Shrugs* Seems like a vicious cycle to me.

I became like Gerald:

And I pretty much made fun of others who tried to make New Year’s Resolutions:

So to all of you Resolution believers out there. Keep on resolving. It’s a New Year and anything is possible!

Just for fun I googled New Year’s Resolution. I found this list of the top made New Year’s resolutions. Have you resolved to do any of these? Has anyone NOT resolved to any of these? Lol.

Top most made New Year’s resolutions

• Drink Less Alcohol
• Eat Healthy Food
• Get a Better Education
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Lose Weight
• Manage Debt
• Manage Stress
• Quit Smoking
• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• Save Money
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others

Happy New Year Everyone!!!! Now go enter the giveaway!!!


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Cambria Hebert is the author of the young adult paranormal Heven and Hell series. She loves a caramel latte, hates math and is afraid of chickens (yes, chickens). In addition to her many writing credits she is also the co-host for JournalJabber, a blog talk radio show that focuses on writing and books. She currently lives in Pennsylvania where she is plotting her next book.

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Heven & Hell Blog Tour
December 08th: Love of Books + Giveaway
December 09th: Indie Supporter + Giveaway
December 10th: The Unread Reader + Giveaway
December 11th: Xpresso Reads + Giveaway
December 12th: Supernatural Snark + Giveaway
December 13th: Rainy Day Ramblings + Giveaway
December 14th: The Bookish Brunette + Giveaway
December 15th: The Caffeinated Book Reviewer + Giveaway

As part of the Nine Lives Blog Tour, I’m excited to welcome author Amanda Arista here today! She’s here to share some very important tips about living with an author. Take notes, and make sure to check out the gift set giveaway Ms. Arista is offering as part of the tour!

Things that spouses need to know about living with a writer

So this might be bragging a little, but I have the world’s best husband. He knew he was in for something when I got that first contract. In the past two years, he has on a few occasions had to explain the intricacies involved in living with a writer.

In the light of the popularity of Skippy’s List (a hilarious list of what one man learned he could not do in the US Army), I give you the 10 Rules of living with a writer.

1. When conversing with your writer, you might need to clarify “is this a real person or a person in your head?” This will help avoid potential confusion in the coming conversation.

2. When the laptop opens, you might be doing more chores than the average spouse because your beloved is in another world and that other world does not have dirty dishes. Hence why he/she might spend a lot of time there.

3. Keep a stash of vices in the house. When the muse does not strike, you might need to help your writer lure the muse out with alcohol, chocolate, or a stash of movies with your writer’s favorite actor in it. This will help out all three parties.

4. Ignore the questions. Your writer is not trying to actually blow up anything, nor is your writer trying to actually break into an apartment. They probably don’t have actual criminal intentions.

5. Be available for research. Writers can only write what they know and helping look for the answers is sometimes really exciting and has personally lead to some of our best stories as a couple. For example, in Diaries of an Urban Panther, the scene where the romantic lead Chaz shows the heroine Violet how to shoot a gun is pretty autobiographical.

6. Expect the unexpected when asked “What are you thinking about?” Understand that the answer to that question might range from “what to have for lunch” to “taking over the world with a laser beam from space” to “how to narrate sex with a were-panther.” Please gauge your comfort with any of those answers as well as your surroundings before you ask that question.

7. When your writer is crying at the computer. It is nothing that you did, but you are responsible for quietly supplying Kleenex.

8. Your writer might be part of a tribe. You will need to make peace with this and understand that you might be in a conversation with all of them and not understand a single thing they are saying. It’s okay. They speak their own language.

9. Learn the language: know the 12 steps of the heroes journey so that when someone cracks a “Crossing the threshold” joke, you laugh along with them.

10. Make sure to walk your writer. Writers have been known to sit all day at the computer and be stuck in their own world. Please make sure that they get out and eat at some point. Caloric intake is secondary to word count in a writer’s mind, so you might need to remind them that they can not survive on words alone.

Amanda Arista
facebook | goodreads | twitter | website

Leave a comment or ask a question and you will be entered to win a Diaries of an Urban Panther gift set at the conclusion of the Nine Lives Blog Tour, running August 20th to September 3rd.

Nine Lives Blog Tour schedule:

Aug 20: Books and Kisses
Aug 22: LovLivLife
Aug 23: Paranormal Cravings
Aug 24: Bitten by Paranormal Romance
Aug 24: Aloha Interview
Aug 26: Fictional Candy
Aug 27: Booking It Reviews
Aug 28: Reading Romances
Aug 28: The Unread Reader
Aug 29: Ramblings from this Chick
Aug 30: The Book Queen
Aug 31: Paranormal Haven
Sept 3: Supernatural Underground

Nine Lives of an Urban Panther
Diaries of an Urban Panther #3
Avon Impulse, 480 pages
Amazon | goodreads

Dear Diary,

With new supernatural creatures popping up at every turn (Ghouls? Really?), the city divided, and my long-lost cousin blazing into town, I’ve got a lot on my mind. Oh, not to mention I’m supposed to be planning a wedding. Chaz has got to be the best, most patient (and probably clinically insane) fiance around.

But defeating my sworn enemy in a battle for the souls of Dallas is going to require more than just my full attention. It means learning to depend on everyone—especially Chaz—if any of us are going to make it out of this alive. Because if Plan A doesn’t work, I’m going to need them for Plan B. And Plan C . . .

Ocean’s Surrender
Denise Townsend
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
July 24th 2012
Type: eBook, ISBN: 978-1-61921-262-6
Genre: Paranormal, Red Hots!!!, Shape-shifters
Buy: Amazon | Goodreads

When a lonely woman has lost all trust, it takes an otherworldly creature to restore her faith in mankind.

River is still recovering from the attack by an ex-boyfriend a year ago that left him dead, and her grievously injured. Damaged emotionally and physically, she is continually tormented by her attacker’s brother, who blames her for it all. Worse than his blame, though, is her own—River believes she was at fault for letting the attack happen.

Fen can sense River’s emotional pain like a beacon in the night. A selkie, he is compelled to help her on her path to healing, both emotionally and physically. Leading her on a journey to claim her own strength, he also helps her draw closer to Leo, the paramedic who saved her life that dark day…and who has never forgotten her.

Product Warnings: This book features an abused woman, a man who wants desperately to help, and a sexy selkie who knows just how to heal what ails them all.

Guest Review:
Tradermare here with a guest review. Many thanks to Missie for inviting me to post here!  I got hooked on Denise Townsend’s sexy selkies when I read Ocean’s Touch back in the spring, and I was thrilled to receive an ARC for her second release, Ocean’s Surrender.

Ocean’s Surrender is a lovely adult paranormal fairy tale, with a supernatural seal shapeshifter instead of a white knight in shining armor coming to the rescue. This is a feel-good, romantic story of how a young woman comes back to life with the help of the people around her and a little special magic from a prince of the sea.

The place is Eastport, Maine and at the center of the story is River. She’s suffering the after-effects of an abduction and harboring guilt over the manner in which she was freed from her attacker, not to mention dealing with continued aggression from her attacker’s brother.  Her emotional wounds are serious and complicated by a past full of responsibility brought about by her family situation. And River isn’t the only one in pain. Her brother Jason also carries an emotional burden from the events of the previous year, too.

All of that emotional pain acts like a beacon calling to the magical selkie, Fen. He’s an empath, drawn to the troubled heroine by the intense quality of her pain. He is compelled to help her “for to do otherwise would be like leaving a wounded animal bleeding in the forest.” Here’s how Fen describes her emotional state:

“Loneliness vied with guilt, which was currently slap-fighting anger, which had sadness in a rough headlock.”

Fen knows he faces the difficult task of convincing River to trust him, as well as getting her to trust  Leo, the paramedic in love with her. River has feelings for Leo too, but the scars from her trauma leave her unable to open herself to that relationship. It’s not going to be easy, but in one of the loveliest scenes in the book, Fen uses both his animal and human forms to break through River’s considerable barriers so the healing can begin. Even then, these four characters face additional challenges on the road to recovery.

No offense to the incredibly sexy selkie, Fen, but the real star for me in this book was Jason. His interactions with Fen, River and Leo are so touching and heartwarming. In many respects, he is responsible for River’s healing just as much as Fen.

I loved the characters in this story and my only comment is that the majority of the book is so emotionally charged, the erotic scenes in this book seem mechanical rather than sensually romantic in contrast. I think I would have liked this book just as much without them, although I do love that sex was part of the healing process for River.

Ocean’s Surrender pulled me in during the first chapter, held my interest throughout, and left me with a smile on my face. It’s a perfect summer read, whether you are at the beach or only get to experience the sand and surf vicariously through the pages of this book. Ocean’s Surrender will take you there, and if you are like me, you’ll be wishing for your own sexy selkie.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Many thanks to Tradermare for her wonderful guest review today!

For those of you following The All Male Review challenge, I’ve got another treat for you today. Male author of YA fiction, Estevan Vega, is here today to share why he chose to go down the dark side…I mean, FUN side, and write YA! Please welcome him to the blog.

The Accidental YA Writer

When I was 12, I decided to write and publish a book. I knew that my target market, if I wanted any shot at hitting it big (you know, limousines and private yachts and an endless supply of mint chocolate chip ice cream), was to write for the adult (the non-porno variety, of course) market. I figured, all the best writers wrote adult fiction (whether it was legal thrillers, spy novels, romances, etc). Therefore, if I wanted to leave my literary thumbprint on this world, I had to write for adults.

Then Servant of the Realm came out in ’04. I was 15. A friend of mine approached me and suggested I write for the teen market. After all, SOTR had many elements of a teen novel, even though it was on the verge of adult. Plus, Harry Potter was a huge success, and she figured the best way to establish myself as a credible writer was to write what I knew, which was basically about being a kid. I argued that I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into a genre I wasn’t sure would be right for me and how I was more “mature” than that and blah, blah, blah. Bottom line: it wasn’t for me.

My second novel, The Sacred Sin, a psychological thriller, came out in ’07. It was a gritty adult story. I was only 18, so naturally I had to be as Bad-A as possible. But before this book even came out, I had begun writing A Boy Called Arson, later shortened to just ARSON. It was a more “literary” style of novel, meaning I got all kinds of touchie-feely with my emotions. ha My protagonist was 17, but the story, I felt, was adult-themed. As I worked on it, and worked on it…and worked on it over the course of three years, I studied the literary landscape, as well as other authors and other styles, and I took criticism and advice. In addition, I discovered that the story, while in parts leaning toward adult, was also very YA, and I knew young people would be into it. Let’s change that…I hoped they would be. My two main characters (Arson and Emery) were both 17, they both had issues all high school kids go through (and add the ability to create fire and the penchant for wearing masks), and the story just felt like it belonged in the YA market. Granted, some people to this day aren’t really sure what it is, one of the reasons is due to the POV change, which is unique in YA. Another reason is for content. Is it paranormal, thriller, literary, romance? And I guess, the real answer is yes…to all. ARSON is cool because it is a story about a boy who is born with the ability to create fire, thus paranormal in nature. It is a literary style novel because it is very introspective, and by the time you reach the final page in book one of the trilogy, you literally feel like you know these people, can feel what they’ve gone through. And yes, it has romance. I am the accidental YA writer, hear me roar. But now that I’ve arrived, I think I like it here.

Does a book have to cater only to one genre? I don’t think so. My stories often blur the lines of real and non-real. I like to blend different genres and more often than not, you awesome readers are pleased with my Molotov concoctions. I think that’s why The Nashville Examiner put ASHES (book two in the Arson trilogy) in “a genre all its own.”

YA or adult or paranormal or romance. Call it what you will. I’ll just call it ARSON.

Spread the fire!

Estevan Vega
goodreads | facebook | twitter | website

Arson
Arson #1
Estevan Vega
Stonehouse Ink, 318 pages
Amazon | Goodreads

ARSON GABLE FEELS LIKE A FREAK. HE CAN CREATE FIRE. HE NEVER ASKED FOR IT. HE NEVER WANTED IT. BUT HE CAN’T SHUT IT OFF.

Before now, three things were true: he both loved and despised his grandmother; his life was going nowhere; and he was alone. But when a strange girl–who feels more normal behind a mask than inside her own skin–moves in next door, Arson hopes to find something he’s never had: purpose. After years of living in fear, he will be forced to confront his haunting past and embrace the unknown as he walks the fine line between boy and monster. Edgy, realistic, and breathtaking, Arson, the chilling chronicle of an isolated teenager with unimaginable ability, is set to ignite the hearts and minds of a new generation.

Thanks to author Estevan Vega, I have one signed copy of Arson to giveaway. Open to U.S. mailing addresses only.

• If you’d like to enter this giveaway, just say ENTER ME in the comments.
• Open to U.S. mailing addresses only.
• Retweet for extra entry, leave RT link in a separate comment box.
• Ends 07/25 at 11:59 pm CST.
• Winner will be selected using random.org and announced on this post when giveaway is over.

Jennifer of Some Like It Paranormal does such an excellent job of keeping me up to date on all the latest books that go bump in the night, along with sharing about the swoon worth boys in said books, that I just had to know more about her.

Thanks so much Missie for having me on your blog! Like everyone else I just love your Book Boyfriend Meme! One of my favorite parts of reading is discussing all the great swoon worthy boys.

What do I do when I’m not reading?

I love animals! In my life I have had a million pets. Everything from cats, dogs, mice, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs. Cats seem to flock to me. I’ve always had a cat and always will. Right now I have three. I love spending time with them.

Devil

Scruffy

Simba  – He just turned 17

I love to hang out with my friends and go out to clubs or bars. I love dancing. I especially love going to Dive Bar in Sacramento because they have mermaids swim in the fish tank above the bar. They finally have mermen for the ladies too! It is really neat to watch.

http://divebarsacramento.com

I live close to San Francisco and also love going out there to eat and drink. Smuggler’s Cove has a pirate theme and really cool drinks served on fire. Anything on fire is cool! lol

http://smugglerscovesf.com/trapdoor

Although I live in California sadly I don’t go to the beach much. I wish I did! I live hours away from the beach and the ones by me are really cold. When I get a chance to travel south I do love visiting the beaches in Santa Barbara and Malibu. I’m not good with cold so I usually just dip my feet.

I don’t live near the beach but I do live by the river. I love to go rafting on the American River in Sacramento. We usually go out there every weekend and just float down the river with some drinks. Really relaxing and fun. Also once a year I try to go white water rafting on Cache Creek. More rapids and excitement. We go rafting down the river, camp, then raft again the next day.

http://www.gotwhitewater.com

I also love to zip line! I went for the first time in Puerto Rico and now I try to find lots of different local places to do it. I found a cool place that also has cave tours. Now I really want to go on a cave tour soon too. It’s a great compromise for my friends since they are not quite as good with heights as me. I went skydiving once and really want to go again but I haven’t been able to talk anyone into going with me.

http://caveandmineadventures.com

Usually before summer I try to cut off 10 inches of my hair to donate to http://www.locksoflove.org. I cut it a bit late last year so I’ll need to wait a few more months this year. I have a ton of hair so I love giving it away to a good cause.

That’s a little bit about me when I’m not reading! I try to find a few adventurous things to do each year since I do spend most of my time reading, especially in the winter. I really love snuggling up with my cat and reading when it’s cold outside. As a California girl you won’t catch me outside when it is below 60 lol

Thanks again Missie!

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Jennifer! I love your adventurous life. I’ve always wanted to try rafting and zip lining, though I don’t think I’d ever be brave enough to try either. I know there is no way I’d ever go skydiving. I once tried bungee jumping and discovered, while I was 120 stories above ground, that I’m deathly afraid of heights. Next time, please take a picture of that merman. I need to see what a catch he is. LOL

When I’m Not Reading is a feature used to spotlight book bloggers I follow. Missed a featured book blogger? No worries, check out past guest posts here: Featured on When I’m Not Reading.