Yet More New Year's Resolutions...

I know. Every year people talk about New Year's resolution and how they're going to be good about doing something. I don't call them resolutions. I call them goals. Resolutions are things you want to change. Goals are things you want to achieve. I like the sound of that better.

So here it goes. These are my New Year's goals for 2008:

1. Take a little time for myself. I've been blessed this year to have a lot of success with my writing and my freelance copywriting business. Unfortunately, it's taken me away from doing some of the things I enjoy. Being the mom to 4 teenagers means I already have a lot on my plate, so it's easy to forget there is a "me" in my list of things to do. So my goal is to take 1 hour per day just for myself to do what I want. Whether that is to read a book, watch a movie with the kids or plant in my garden (when spring comes) doesn't matter.
2. Finish writing the third book in my series following Cradle of Secrets and Her Only Protector. So far, I'm finding Cash Montgomery to be the most romantic of the bunch. I'm a major sap for reunion stories too!
3. Draft the proposal for a new series for Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. I'd like to have the idea for at least 3 more books and have the proposals written for at least 2 of them.
4.) Number 4 is more of a hope than a goal since anything beyond the writing is out of my control. I'm hoping that Steeple Hill decides to publish Fly Away Home, a proposal I've submitted to them already. Wish me luck. While I love writing suspense, I do enjoy writing straight contempory stories as well. This is one of the reason why I was so excited when I sold to Steeple Hill. They publish contempory romance, romantic suspense, women's fiction and historical romances. How can you not find a wonderful inspirational book to read with so much to offer?
5. Personal goal: Write down all the stories my mother in law has told me over the twenty years I've known my husband's family. See, my mother in law and father in law grew up in World War II Germany. Their extraordinary stories of love, friendship, faith, struggle, survival and heartache about what they lived through propelled them to come to America. These stories are my husband and children's family history, something I'd like to preserve for them. I've often thought of trying to write down these stories and put them into a historical romance set in WWII. Who knows, maybe I will some day. For now, I want to make sure these stories are not lost and that my children understand what their Oma and Opa went through to bring them to freedom.

That's all for now. I have a lot of work ahead of me. But I don't mind. I'm one of the lucky ones to have been blessed with being able to do what I love doing. Writing wonderful stories that I can share with others.

Many blessings to you, Lisa Mondello