My New Year goals are a distant dream, so it’s time to reassess and refocus. This mean getting up earlier and committing to my original plan which was no internet until words were done. It’s such a simple goal.

And truth be told, the internet is like a block of chocolate you regret eating. By the time you’ve finished you feel bloated and mindless. Just as I can feel brain cells dying when I eat and drink too much crap, when I fill my mind with the internet I get a sensation of shrinkage in the intelligence stakes.

I’m reading a lot.  Every thing from category romance to fantasy to literary fiction. Not much crime and not much erotica, the two things I write. And I’ve almost completely given up watching television. Like lots of people I know, if I want to watch something I get it on DVD. My current obsession is In Treatment.

The constant rain is driving me mad. My garden is a jungle because I can’t get into it! On the other hand, the wildness is wonderful. I’m hoping autumn will be clear and crisp.

Onward!

The last thing Ruth Cavanaugh wants in her life is a man who thinks he can control her. So why is she having lust-filled dreams about Jake Fitzgerald, a man who values control above all else?

Jake can’t believed prickly but sexy Ruth has invaded his dreams so thoroughly. He’s happy she’s there, but what can he do to convince her she’s got the wrong idea about him? He has a few ideas and they all involve letting go of control once and for all. He’s more than willing, but is she?

After being attacked in Court by a sex offender, prosecutor Calliope Marchant wants to rest and heal. But after a chance meeting with her first love Mitch Taylor, she decides to reignite their tempestuous affair. Thinking some sizzling sex with no emotional attachment is just what she needs, she doesn’t count on falling for Mitch.

When Mitch sees Callie again, the pain of the past rears up, as well as the promise of a future he wants to grab. But can he let her know who he really is? Will she be a willing participant in his unusual sexual needs?

Two stories previously published as Playing with Trouble and Ghostly Desires. What do you get when Jake Horsley, Australia’s richest man, marries Chrissy, a hooker forty years his junior? Trouble. Especially when she also loves another woman. Honest and straight forward, Chrissy won’t lie about how she feels about Jen. But Jake isn’t worried. Chrissy is everything he’s always wanted, wild and unconventional. He knows he can’t limit her and doesn’t want to. Trouble however, has other plans. Jake’s son David, appalled by his father’s marriage, plots to hurt Chrissy. Protecting herself and those she loves will challenge everything she’s ever believed about herself and what she’s capable of.
Thea thinks a resident ghost is the perfect addition to the ramshackle mansion she’s inherited from her eccentric uncle. But sexy Judith, a ghost from her past, wants to upset her plans. Thea thinks it’ll be no problem.She’ll just get her into bed and win her over. Judith, however, has other plans . . .

One thing I learned about myself was that I could never live in a tropical climate. The humidity slays me. My joints swell and my mind melts. I’m writing this at home in the Blue Mountains were the temperature is 11C but is supposed to feel like 7C. There’s a howling wind outside and I’m happy as a pig in mud. Cold weather suits me and my writing.

I was staying not far from Mullumbimby on a gorgeous property full of clumping bamboo which is the good bamboo that doesn’t run and become a pest. Now I’ve developed a lust for this plant. Since several varieties originate in China and cope with the cold, I’m busy devising a plan to grow some. The picture here is a bright yellow bamboo which was lovely but there was also a black bamboo with stunning green stripe. I feel an obsession coming on.

As to the goals, the main one is the erotic novella that I thought I’d finish on 9 January 2012. That’s looking more like 16 January 2012. Everything else recommences from tomorrow.

In November 2010 I got a part-time job which suits me down to the ground. So I had a lot to be grateful for in 2011. I earn enough money to live on and have a lot of space to write. But one of my worst character traits is self-criticism. Even though I substantially got my writing groove back after some years of letting life getting in the way, I still berate myself for not developing a consistent, reliable writing practice.

Nevertheless, I wrote half a novel, a couple of novellas and some short stories, but my inner critic tells me I could’ve done more. And she’s right, I could’ve.

So this year I’m putting forward some SMART goals. Goals that are specific, measurable, attainable realistic and time-bound. I like Paula Roe’s model so I’m following that.

Writing

• Do morning pages most mornings (see helpful blog post from Anne Gracie on this)
• Finish first draft of erotic novella by 9 January 2012
• Finish first draft of romantic mystery by beginning of April
• Finish four 25K erotic novellas by end of July (all of them already half done)
• Write 5,000 words a week
• Do not get onto the internet until words are done for the day
• Reassess goals for second half of year in July.

Promotion

• Write a blog post every weekend
• Contribute to The Coven blog every nine weeks and to the Hot in Oz blog (time to be determined)
• Get some advice from colleagues about developing a promotion plan (I am clueless about this)

Craft Education (developing/strengthening skills)

• Learn more about the self-publishing process
• Learn how to use Photoshop more effectively
• Re-design website
• Ask writing colleagues for encouragement/support
• Attend RWA Conference

Health/Relaxation/Inner Self

• Walk most days
• Do not drink alcohol during the working week
• Investigate the possibilities of body work/therapy during January

Outreach

• Do more balanced crits ie mention the good as well as the not so good.
• Continue being a judge in RWA comps
• Research and write on some craft related topics

So can I do all this? No reason why I can’t. We’ll see.

There are a variety of staged challenges and you can sign up to do some reviewing.

It will certainly challenge me to read more literary fiction which I’ve neglected over the past few years and some science fiction which I rarely read.

Have a look and sign up!

Buddha looks happy and so am I. As I write, I can see my huge pink azalea and deep read camellia blooming their heads off.

I’m deeply immersed in the first draft of my crime novel and finishing off a novella. The lure of outdoors is almost too much to resist though.  Some rationing is in order. If I can get my 1,000 words done. I can fertilize some more roses and maybe go and buy some lobelia for a hanging basket.