I got a gift card for Christmas. Fifty big ones to spend at a local book store - my favorite kind of gift to receive. I finally made the trip on Tuesday to use it, and I found myself scooping up titles that, this time last year, I never would have considered. I love to read all kinds of books, but my fallback has always been Romance. I fell in love with this genre years and years ago, and I still love it today. But Tuesday, I only bought one romance. This one:

Believe It Or Not by Tawna Fenske

I LOVED Tawna's first novel, Making Waves, so I HAD to buy her next. I can't wait to dive in! Other than that, all my other purchases were from the Young Adult/Teen Fiction section:

Ash by Malinda Lo

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Like I said, these are very strange purchases for me. I steered away from this type of book when I was a teen, and, well, pretty much always. Until The Hunger Games. Now, I'm curious. Now, I'm excited. Now, I just may be in love. This most certainly doesn't mean I'm going to join the ranks of Young Adult writers out there. No, I'm still madly in love with the Romance genre and I simply MUST write it. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy other genres, right?

So, what about you? Have your reading habits changed? Your writing? Have you read any of these books? Do you have any recommendations?

I purchased a cheap planner from Target last week while I was out finishing Christmas shopping, and I plan to use it to track my writing progress. On the first page, I made a list of my writing goals for 2010. They include:

1. Write at least 500 words a day. (Much more feasible than the 1667 that I did this past November)
2. Finish NaNo '09 project. (My poor pregnant MC needs to have that baby!)
3. Revise NaNo '09 project. (It needs to NOT suck when I get my CreateSpace copy!)
4. Finish the Tierney/Jack story. (This is the one I've been working on for years. This is the year I finish it. I swear it!)
5. Revise said story. (For peace of mind, if nothing else, this project needs to be done.)
6. Plan NaNo '10 project. (No last-minute scribbles of plot points on scraps of paper again!)
7. Do at least one "mini-NaNo" before November. (Maybe use it to finish one of the above.)
8. Go to writing groups regularly. (They help make me a more productive writer.)
9. Read more books. (Yes, books. Not just magazines or blogs. But real, actual BOOKS!!)
10. Write in journal or blog daily.

There, 10 goals for 2010. I am determined. I am serious. I am 100% dedicated to getting back into the swing of things. I am a writer.

I.

Am.

A.

Writer.

And I will write, damn it!
6.