When each year winds to a close, I like to look back and evaluate my writing productivity. See how many books I finished writing. Compare that number to the previous year. Set my goals for the coming year. (I might not meet those goals, but I sure do like to set them!)

So, this is how much writing I accomplished in 2006:

1. Wrote a three-story anthology titled Loved by Gods. Here’s a brief description: In this anthology, modern women catch the attention of famous Greek gods. Ares, Apollo, and Poseidon–three of the most notorious gods–become prey…to love.

2. I completed the final story in my “Wolf’s Call” trilogy for Red Sage. I’m happy to report that I sold Caged Wolf and it will be appearing in an upcoming Secrets novella.

3. I completed my paranormal romance, tentatively titled Touching the Darkness. My agent is actually shopping this manuscript around for me now. Here’s a bit about the heroine in Touching the Darkness: Emily Drake is known as the Monster Doctor. Emily’s a psychologist with a very special talent–thanks to her empathic power, she can touch the thoughts and emotions of her patients. And Emily’s patients, well, they aren’t exactly typical either; they’re Other–vampires, demons, all of the creatures that humans fear in the darkness of the night.

So, the year is nearly over and I’ve completed two full-length stories and one novella. I’m working on another novella now–with the end goal of a “done date” for December 31st. I was on the Magical Musings blog the other day, and there was an interesting post about loglines. I made up a brief logline for my novella-in-progress. For anyone dying of curiousity (or even feeling vaguely curious), here’s my logline: A vampiress with a taste for bad boys is tracked by a bounty hunter willing to do anything to bring down his prey.

So how does this year’s output compare to last year’s? Well, in 2005, I finished two full-length novels and two novellas (both novellas sold to Red Sage–yay!).

If I can finish the novella I’m working on, I’ll have beaten my 2005 writing productivity level. Oh, I so have to do that…

Now, for next year’s goals…

In an ideal world, I would produce one novel every two months. But, well, I definitely do not live in an ideal world (and I’m guessing this is the case for all of the other writers out there). So, I’m going to err on the cautious side. Next year, I’d like to produce three novels and two novellas. Not too big of a change, so it certainly seems doable.

Anyone else out there want to share your writing goals for 2007? Or wanna tell me whether or not you met your goals for 2006?

I don’t post too many stories from the news–but this boy is just amazing. He survived “internal decapitation.” Yeah, and trust me, it’s as bad as it sounds.

If so, then I’ve got a website for you! The hubby sent me a link to these zombie pictures–along with a very strong hint that he’d love a couple portrait. For $80 ($160 for the couple pic) you will receive a portrait depicting you (and/or a loved one) as a gloriously grotesque zombie.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a great holiday–eat lots of turkey and dressing and enjoy your day!

I thought I’d list a few of the things I was thankful for:

1. The baby boy who is currently sleeping on my lap.
2. The husband who let me sleep in today because I was feeling a bit under the weather.
3. The mother who bought me so many books when I was growing up.
4. The friend who walked for hours with me on Monday–shopping, hunting for bargains, and eating cookies in the cold.
5. The book I finished writing just a few weeks ago.
6. The house that isn’t as clean as it should be, but, well, it’s mine and that’s all that matters.
7. The Christmas tree that will come down from the attic soon and fill my son with wonder.
8. The turkey thawing in the fridge–when it’s prepared, it might not be a Martha Stewart wonder, but I think it’ll be edible.
9. The people who love me and who I love–even when we drive each other crazy (which can be quite often!)
10. The holiday movie I’ll watch with my niece this weekend–and the hot chocoloate we will drink.

What about you? What are you thankful for?