End of the Year Tally

I'm so excited to be a part of this great new blog and I am humbled by the terrific company I get to keep here! For my first post I totally lucked out and got to hang out here on the last day of the year.

Now as much as I love suspense, I also have a burning desire to know what the future holds for me. I've always been one to look ahead to the coming year on New Year's Eve. It's a brand new start, a shiny new coin waiting to be spent on some wonderful surprise. It's also a time to set goals. For me, that means giving myself a daily calorie maximum, a weekly word count minimum and a monthly spending limit.

But 2010 has been a pretty awesome year for me so I want to look back as well. When I started counting the ebooks I released I was pleasantly shocked to discover there were nine of them. I also signed with a terrific agent and sold a book to Carina Press. It'll be a challenge to outdo 2010 but one of my goals is going to be to do just that -- to make 2011 even better than 2010.

I think it's important to look back from where I came in order to figure out how to get where I want to go. I've seen what works and what doesn't.

So here's my challenge to you: Post your two or three biggest goals for 2011 in the comments. Sometimes saying it aloud -- or in this case, tossing it out into the blogosphere -- puts extra pressure on to get it done. I'll go first.

In 2011 I want to:

1. exceed 7,000 words every week or 350,000 words for the year.

2. lose at lease one pound a week - every week.

3. exceed my 2010 savings goal by $100 per month.

And since I've seen some great recipes here, thought I'd throw in one of my family's favorites, a Wynter original I've never shared before, although I've been asked. (You should feel honored:-)

Wynter's Famous Hummus

1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained

2/3 cup fat free sour cream (can use low fat instead)

3 tablespoons tahini (optional - to make recipe fat free, leave this off)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (more or less, depending on how spicy you like it)

dash salt (optional)

dash cumin

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Serve with pita chips.

I'm looking forward to blogging with all the talented authors here. My first book with Carina Press, Protective Custody, comes out in May, but I'm not a brand new author. I have many books with Ellora's Cave as well as a couple with Red Sage and Loose Id. You can find me on the web at www.WynterDaniels.com.