Ahh, that old adage, 'when it rains, it pours.'  Sure does!  I'm sick with some sort of cold/flu/sinus thing, both my kids are sick, I've got a book proposal to finish revising and send back to my agent, and I probably should start thinking about promotion for Unveiled!  And did I forget to mention Christmas shopping?!  As usual, I'm doing pretty much all of that online, but for some reason it seems that my kids have a half-dozen birthday parties to attend this month, too.  Don't people know you shouldn't have babies in December?!  Kidding, of course.  My page proofs for Unveiled wll arrive right in the middle of the chaos, no doubt.  Any day now, I'd say. 

Okay, I'm going to try to look on the bright side....I'm VERY excited about the manuscript I'm currently working on.  I really feel caught up in this story, more than I have in a very long time!  I'm having a lot of fun with it.  Now if I just had long stretches of time to actually sit here and write the darn thing!  I know some writers make sure they write each and every day, with page goals and all that.  I'd like to be that disciplined, but it just doesn't work that way.  Maybe when my kids are in school full-time, but that's still a couple years away!  In the meantime, I write when I can.  I don't watch TV anymore, except LOST on Wednesday nights.  I LOVE that show!!  And I sometimes wind down at night with a movie on DVD--right now I'm in a Colin Farrell fix, and luckily my husband is very indulgent (doesn't hurt that most of the Colin Farrell flicks are 'guy movies').  In the past couple of weeks, I've seen Alexander (not good, but interesting, at least), Phone Booth (fabulous!), The Recruit (entertaining, I thought), A Home at the End of the World (terrific!), and Tigerland (also terrific!!).  I've still got Daredevil and S.W.A.T. to go, both of which are on cable all the time. At first, I'd avoided his movies, because I was sick of hearing about him and his 'bad boy' image--but you know what?!  He's INCREDIBLY talented!  Now I'm REALLY looking forward to the upcoming film about John Smith and Pocahontas in which he's starring. He's moved right to the top of my 'favorite actors' list, along with Colin Firth, Hayden Christensen, and Viggo Mortensen (don't I have eclectic tastes?!).   

Okay, I guess that's enough rambling for one day...gotta go take the dog out!

  Kristina

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I finally decided to start an online journal, to chronicle this exciting time in my life.  I'm a published author now!  My first book is on the shelves.  I can barely believe it--most days, I DON'T believe it.  But then I'll pop into a Barnes & Noble or Waldenbooks, Walmart or Borders....and there it is, undeniable proof.  That bright pink cover staring back at me, with my own name emblazoned on it. 

As I reflect back on this year, I have SO much to be thankful for.  A wonderful, supportive family--a husband who never once doubted my talent; two gorgeous, bright daughters; wonderfully loving parents; and a smart, funny sister.  A terrific circle of friends, who turned out in record numbers to my book launch party/book signing earlier this month.  And my dream realized...a book on the shelves, wonderful readers who delight me daily with their warm, supportive e-mails and letters.   A fabulous agent who believed in me and my book from the get-go, and an equally fabulous editor who made my dream a reality.   Does it get any better than this?!  Well, I guess making the NYTimes bestseller list someday would be pretty cool....

While it's not the NYTimes, Unlaced  DID make the Bookscan bestseller list for the past three weeks--every week since its release--and while I don't really know what this means, I think it's a good thing! 

So thank you...to my family, my friends, my critique partners, my publisher, my editor, my agent--everyone on 'my team.'   And thank you to everyone who has read Unlaced.  I couldn't have done it without all of you, and I remain eternally grateful and thankful--and not just on Thanksgiving!

 Kristina