2009 was a very weird year for me. My hubby and I (and the felines) moved across the state twice in five months due to his job. No other way to say it except That Sucked.

And yet, I also got my first contract offer. That Did Not Suck. In the end, I turned down the contract due to a sticky clause in the contract that the publisher wouldn’t negotiate. That was a tough call, but I know I have to be smart and keep an eye on the future.

Now it looks like I’ll have an offer from another publisher. This pub has a good reputation and may be a very nice fit for this book.

My mother has a saying: “It’s not real until it’s real.” She was referring to real estate deals where things could fall apart at the last minute. Nothing was real until the contracts were signed. I think I’ll be patient and follow her lead.

But given the suckage of 2009, I’d like to think that no matter what, 2010 will be a better year. And that’s what we all want at the beginning of a shiny new year.

So I hope that no matter how 2009 treated you, 2010 will rock your house in fantastic ways.

Onward!

Must pass along this hilarious music video geekdom on fonts. (I love Gill Sans!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHCu28bfxSI

Ever fantasize about a fantastic writing office / reading area / home office? Me too. I’m blogging about what would make the perfect space at NobodyWritesItBetter.com today, so come visit. :-)

No, not our new home. Still too many unpacked boxes. (g) But I’m blogging today at NobodyWritesItBetter.com, the website of the 2007 RWA Golden Heart® finalists. It’s my first post there, and in it I give thanks for “The Biggest A-ha” I had while at this year’s RWA writing conference. It’s probably not what you think. :-) Hope you’ll stop by.

Has nothing to do with writing. Well, it does, actually, but only in the comedic sense.

And if you’re a Child of the 80s as I am, this is a must-see!

 

 

Birdie nest in the wind chime

Several years back, my mother gave us a lovely wind chime in the shape of a kitty. She hung it by our front door, which is actually sheltered from almost all the wind (little did she know), but since we liked seeing it there we kept it where it was.

A couple of weeks ago, we were astonished to see a nest in our wind chime. A bird and her mate clearly agreed the wind chime was lovely–out of reach of the local live feline population and sheltered from bitter winds. We soon spotted a finch (whom we took to calling Birdie Mama) mothering some eggs. We loved looking out and seeing her warming the nest, and we even started coming and going out the garage door so we wouldn’t disturb her.

But something must have happened overnight. Early this morning, when my husband went to check on her as usual, she wasn’t on the nest. Thinking she must have gone off to get some food–even though her mate had been helping to feed her–we checked again a little while later. Still no Birdie Mama. Not a good sign, since it gets very cold overnight here in the high desert. And though we’ve been peering through the blinds all day, Birdie Mama has disappeared. In her abandoned nest are three or four tiny speckled eggs the size of your thumbnail. No doubt the unhatched and unwarmed chicks have died.

We’ve been mourning all day. :-(

Wow. ::Cate pumps the iTunes up to 11::

::bops around the website, blows on a curly unfolding party kazoo thingy::

Maybe it’s just me, but I think this place looks damn good. Wahoo!