Goals for 2010 or the meanderings of a stir-crazy author.

I live alone. Up front I'll say I like it that way. In the past I've lived with people, I've lived alone and I've lived with my pets. In my perfect world I would live with my dogs and my books and be perfectly happy. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but I don't want to live with them. And I hate to say it, but if I had a chance tomorrow to move to another place, I would jump at it. Three times now I've picked up everything I owned and moved to another country. The first time, at 22, to Los Angeles, a totally foreign place to a naive small town Canadian girl, where I didn't know a soul. Eight years later I moved to Hawaii, pregnant, where the only person I knew was the guy I moved over there with. While not as alien as L.A. Hawaii had its own unique culture and took getting used to.

Then in 2005, one month after my mother died, I moved again, alone, to Bermuda, where I also didn't know anyone. Each time I made those moves I did so with a great deal of excitement. I hate the physical process of moving, but I love going to new places and experiencing new things.

Now a new year is coming. Like most people I spend a certain amount of time thinking about what that new year will bring. Fame? Fortune? yeah, right. I don't write the kind of books that make people famous. I sure don't write the kind that make anyone rich. But is that really what I want? Nah, I don't think so. I want to write the kind of book that I want to read. I want to be read by people who want the same, and who look forward to my future books.

Would I like to move again? Give that one a resounding YES. I would love to move to another place, even if it was only another city in Canada. Is it likely to happen in the near future? I'd like to think it's possible, but I'm not counting on it. So instead of moving, I may have to be content to travel. Around a year ago I paid to attend the 2010 Left Coast Crime. This would be the first time I've been back to L.A. since I moved away in 1988 and I miss it. Right now those plans are up in the air, and depend upon finding a place to stay. I'll know by Januray 14th whether it's going to happen or not. If it doesn't, I have plans to attend Lee Lofland's Writers Police Academy in North Carolina in September. While no substitute for L.A. it would be an invaluable weekend for my writing, giving me hands on experience I can translate directly into my writing.

I'd love to make it to Toronto for Bloody Words, since this is the 10th anniversary of the conference which I used to go to regularly. I've always had fun there, but though it's close to me, the timing may not be good.

So my goal for 2010 is to keep writing, keep trying to please the people who have loved my books so far, try out new things and get out of Canada at least once. Is that too much to ask for? God, I hope not.