What is your gift?

I got one of the best books I've read in years for Christmas this year. It's called, "Become a better you," by Joel Osteen. Now, I can see some of you cringing. This is not a religious post. I have found this book to be truly inspiring. It has opened my eyes to things which were right in front of me, but I failed to see.

Each of us has a gift. Whether it's writing, or architecture, or teaching, whatever. We all have a gift inside of us that God intended to be shared with the world. How amazing is that? According to Joel, and many others I have heard phrase this similarly, when you are working in your destiny you can feel it. You know that this is what you were always meant to do.

That's how I feel when I write. This is what I was always meant to do with my life. I can't imagine a time when I didn't want to write, or I didn't have a story to tell. That is my gift, my treasure, and I long to share it with the world. True, not everyone will accept or understand what I have to say. But many will, and it's for them that I write.

I don't write for the critics who judge so easily and I don't write for the skeptics that say you can't achieve your dreams. I write for the dozens of readers who have emailed me to say how much they enjoyed my work. I write for the aspiring authors who might find some small spark of inspiration in someone else's perseverance. I write for everyone who has ever longed to see their dream come to fruition. I write because it is my dream.

I sincerely believe that we have what we say we'll have and that we get what we expect. I expect good things in this new year and I wish the same for you. Don't let this be the year that you almost wrote that book, or you almost applied for that job you really want. Let this be the year that you took one step closer to sharing your gift with the world and fulfilling your dream.

From the bottom of my heart I wish you more love than your heart can hold, more success than you can manage, and more money than you can shake a stick at. LOL Seriously, I'd like to thank everyone who has both inspired and encouraged me during this past year. Here's to the New Year, may it be more prosperous than the last!

I'm not the Grinch after all

I know it's a few days early, but I wanted to take a minute and wish all of my friends and readers a Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, please don't be offended. I wish you many blessings and peace on earth, no matter what holiday you celebrate. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you only the best.

What do you do late at night?

I'm sitting here listening to the rain. I have a book that I meant to finish editing, and a video game that I meant to finish playing. *sigh* I just can't seem to get away from the sound of the rain.

It's shushing sigh against my window pane is such a cleansing sound. It makes me smile. It makes me take a deep breath and wonder why I'm in such a hurry again. Where have I really got to go that can't wait a few hours?

It's been raining here (Florida) since about 2:00 this afternoon. That's not unusual for this time of year. At least, not in Florida. It's a damn good thing that I like rain. LOL I'm not sure how we ever got named the "sunshine state." All we ever get are freaking rainstorms and hurricanes (which is like an extreme badass rainstorm on crack, for those who have never experienced one.)

Ah, I have to stop typing. The clicking sound of my fingers hitting the keys is interfering with my enjoyment of the rain. Good night.

Fashion Macabre

That's the name of my new Cafe Press store. The store, like me, is just a little bit warped. Here you can find Club Red T-shirts as well as Pack Leader shirts for your dog. There are also some fun "gag" items that you're sure to love.

Check it out:

http://www.cafepress.com/fashionmacabre

It's still a work in progress:)

Writing Horny

That's right, this post is about writing horny. See, writing horny is a lot like going to the grocery store hungry. Sometimes, you just shouldn't do it. You always end up with something you didn't need, but it looked good at the time. Maybe you crave something sweet, so you end up with chocolate instead of fruit. Or, maybe you end up writing about a vampire foursome, like in my case. LOL

You know how it is. You're home alone, you're bored. You think, "Hey, maybe I'll write a little while I've got a minute." And the next thing you know, Dracula is naked.

The point is, when you write horny (just like shopping hungry) you always end up taking something home with you that you should have left at the store. There are times when the vamps should keep their clothes on and times when they desperately need to take them off. Then there are other times when I desperately need them to take it off.

Maybe the next time I write about vampires, I'll just get an ice pack instead of a glass of wine.

The New Face of Joker

Yes, my obsession with the Clown Prince of Crime led me to go searching for photographs of his latest impersonator. AND, be still my heart, Heath Ledger is even more grotesque than I had imagined he would be. Of course, considering that we're talking about the Joker, that's a compliment. I like Heath anyway. Something about him makes me want to hurt him and ... well, I like that. I also dig guys who wear makeup. LOL No wonder I find Marilyn Manson so attractive! AH, in my own accidental psychoanalysis I have figured it out. The very first man in makeup that I had a thing for was JOKER.

Personally, I like that whole psychotic, "I don't want it on straight" approach to his makeup. Besides, after having acid in his face has it ever occurred to anyone that he can't SEE well enough to put it on straight. I wouldn't. If you're already screwed up that bad, why not REALLY give people something to look at, eh?

Let me know what you think about the pictures. They're pretty raw compared to what we're used to seeing of Joker. I cringe at the thought of Two Face.

p.s. Did you know that yahoo spell check considers the f-word a proper word? ahahahahahahahaha Hey, you wondered what I did when I wasn't writing, right?

This is my favorite. This is how I always pictured the Joker when I read the comics years ago.

Yikes!

This is definitely the most disturbing.

Red is a Romance Junkies Blue Ribbon Favorite!

Red has just received the blue ribbon favorite of the month award from Romance Junkies! I am so excited. I can't tell you how proud I am to display this little graphic. To think that they read so many books, and like mine this much is just thrilling.


You can read the review here:
http://www.romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/paranormal/Red.shtml

Happy Reading,

Tracey

Scrapbook Pictures

When I have a few minutes, I love to scrapbook. So, I thought I would share some of my most recent pages with all of you. I was just messing around with some pictures of my cover art here, and this is what I came up with. Since that's what's going on with me right now, that's what ended up on my pages:)

I've also added last year's leprechaun. LOL

I've got some new watercolors that I'll try to put up sometime soon. Hope you enjoy these, and if you like to scrapbook, feel free to put a link to some of your pictures in the comments.

Ever feel good for no reason?

Well, have you? I'm having one of those days. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a down kind of person, nor do I suffer from bi-polar syndrome. LOL I just feel great today and I have no idea why. Nothing particularly good has happened. Although nothing bad has happened either. Maybe I'm just glad to be alive:) That's always a good possibility.

Either way, I feel great today and I thought I would share it with you guys. I also wanted to take a minute to thank my readers for their continued support. I recently mailed off the first check to St. Jude from my royalties and that felt wonderful. Hey, maybe that's why I feel so good:) After all, it is the season for giving.

I also wanted to thank everyone for the letters I have been getting telling me how much you are enjoying the werewolf hunter series. I cannot fully express how much that means to me. I do my best to answer every letter personally. I'm just so thrilled that people like it enough to take the time to tell me:)

Well, once I got to writing, I guess I figured out why I feel so good today. LOL I hope you all have a good day too. Guess I should get back to work:)