Wow...Where the Heck Did January Go?

I'm sitting here looking at my calendar in shock because January is gone. I know why I missed it. I was writing a book that took all my concentration.

I can admit now that the book was one of the most difficult I've ever written. Not because it was a bad idea or I'm a bad writer, but because it was a great idea and I'm an author who wanted to do it justice.

I love it when a book falls together easily. Who doesn't? LOL But the challenge of having such a great idea, with two spectacular characters, is even more appealing. I can see readers picking up this book and not being able to put it down. There's nothing ordinary about it.

Which was why it tortured me...and I tortured back! A book like this is the highlight of my year...maybe even my career.

Or maybe it's a turning point? That would be interesting!

But whatever happened with that book, it was a joyful experience. I think the book is coming out next January. I will keep you posted on the release date.

Now, I'm off to Walmart. I've barely shopped in the past four weeks. Our cupboards are bare and we were down to eating Honey Nut Cheerios and macaroni...and hot dogs! As long as I stayed away from the hot dogs, I also stuck to my diet. I'm into it over three weeks now ... very close to four...and just about ten pounds down.

Let's hope my cholesterol is also plummeting!

susan
MAID FOR THE MILLIONAIRE, July 2010
MAID FOR THE SINGLE DAD, August 2010
A COUNTRY TWIN CHRISTMAS, November 2010

Still Low Fat After All These Days...

Most people wouldn't be celebrating after only 17 days on a successful no fat program. But after five years of steadily increasing weight and absolutely no will power (or want power) to finally be sticking to a program is liberating. Fun. I feel like bragging. But I won't because I know that as soon as I brag I will fall off the wagon! LOL

I'm not a weak person. Typically, I'm very disciplined. You should see my work schedule. I work nearly every day. I give myself Sundays off, but some Sundays I can't think for all the ideas bouncing around in my head and it's self-preservation to actually write those days. Better than rest.

I teach an online class nearly every month. I try to get them posted in the Coming Attractions pages for the susanmeier.com website, so that writers who want the benefit of my experience can sign up for the classes, but I'm not always diligent about that.

I also go to at least three live conferences a year. Most of them I teach a class.

I read blogs, guest blog, do the job of membership chair for PASIC.

Right now, I'm researching beach houses for summer vacation with 3 of my sisters and a niece (and their husbands and kids!).

So why couldn't I be disciplined about eating? It was crazy!

But I finally think I figured out the magic. As I told my sister on Cake for Jake Day (his 5th birthday), the decision becomes simple when your cholesterol is high. (Thanks to God-awful eating habits for five years!) On the one hand you continue eating cake and potentially have a heart attack. (Yes, I know it's a tad dramatic but some days I need a true kick in the pants) On the other hand, you don't eat cake and you get your cholesterol down and you don't have a heart attack.

I guess you can see from that that drama motivates me. LOL

But I also have a lovely, smaller-size suit hanging outside my closet door. I want to wear that to the NOLA conference the first week in March...and it just about fits. So I've got lots of motivation like wind at my back!

I've also gotten some great recipes for things like chicken. Once I get permissions from the writers who gave them to me, I'll be posting them in the Homecooking Blog just a few clicks away on susanmeier.com.

So stay tuned!


susan

Interesting Week

This has been an interesting week. Not only did I finally hit the point where I liked the first 100 pages of my new book enough that I could move on, but also I stuck to my low cal diet.

I feel as if there should be a billboard somewhere congratulating me!

Lots of people think that writing books gets easier as you go along. I'm now well past 40 books (I should really count them someday) and yet this book has been difficult. Not because I've forgotten what to do but because I really, really, really want to get it right.

The characters are amazing. The storyline is wonderful. I'd hate to screw it up with poor execution! LOL

That's the kind of thing writers agonize over. We don't really care about reviews...we love the good and forget the bad! LOL We care about sales. We certainly want our books to get out to the public. But a lot of that is out of our control so we let it go to the universe.

But...execution of story? Finding a really great story with wonderful characters and making sure it's executed in such a way that it makes you laugh and cry and root for the hero and heroine...That's poetry to us. Nirvana.

So if it takes a little longer to get something in...we're okay with that as long as our publisher is too.

susan

The Holiday is Officially Over

Seriously. Enough cookies already!

A week before Christmas, I went to the doctor for a little problem. As she and I were talking, she flipped through my file and low and behold there was a cholesterol report from 2008 (that no one had called me about), and, people, my levels were nothing to brag about.

I tried cutting back before the holiday, but that didn't work. I kept saying, "I'll eat at this one party, then tomorrow I'll get on track." I never really knew how many parties I went to or celebrations I participated in until I tried to stop eating!

So now, here it is, Monday morning. January 4. The excuses are gone. (So are most of the cookies and candy.) And I have to start somewhere.

I'm asking a few of my writing friends to contribute low fat recipes to my Homecooking blog. I'm hoping we can get my cholesterol down and have some fun at the same time.

susan...the cookieless.