Goodbyes and Hellos

I wonder if it's a sign that the first day of our new blog schedule is also mine. I can't even blame Pepper for it since I'm the one who created the schedule in the first place. She'd probably call it payback. She'd probably be right.

Though it's January 1st, I'm not going to talk about resolutions. I don't do them because I always know I'll fail. I have lists I make all year 'round anyway, so resolutions tend to be these huge, global ideas that only depress me when I don't reach them.

Instead, I'm going to talk about this past year. This past, amazing, unexpected year. A lot of stuff happened to me in 2007, not the least of which was getting published with Pepper as Jamie Craig. It's because of her we have our contracts with Juno. In this relationship, I'm the big scaredy cat. I don't deal well with rejection, so Pepper - who's much stronger than I am - deals with submissions to new houses. She often is the one to encourage me to try something new - though I'm going to take full credit for shoving her with both hands into the paranormal world. My life is far richer for having her in it, and not just because of all the characters I get to live with now. We're best friends for a reason.

2007 also saw changes in my home life. My son started kindergarten so I'm officially alone during the day now. That gives me more time to write, more time to dedicate to building a real career at this. Pepper loves that. Except she's still in school and once the semester starts, I'm trying to work around her schedule, my kids' varying schedules, and my husband's. It's probably a good thing I live for schedules, lol.

I also saw a lot of my family for the first time since returning to the States in '04, some of them for the first time in nearly 10 years. It was a sad event that brought us all together, but it was nice to reconnect with them and prove to my kids that they have more family than my husband's parents.

2007 saw my first online radio interview, introduced me to the joys of Johnny Hazzard, and got me back to Vegas for the first time in a decade. I fell in love with Gordon Ramsay, talked to a friend I haven't seen in twenty years, and said goodbye to one of the women responsible for molding me into the person I am today. 2007 will be one of those years I look back on in thirty years with fondness.

Now I'm excited about what 2008 will bring.