I can't believe 2010 is over, and it's officially 2011. I've been super busy, mostly with holiday stuff, of course.

Christmas is not a big deal in Japan, but Hero Material and I celebrated on Christmas Eve at Mario's Bistro. Very yummy Italian dinner. Unfortunately the restaurant was a bit smokey from a lot of smokers, and we couldn't linger as much as we'd like because the cigarette stench gives me a major headache (which then makes me nauseous, which is not a good thing, especially for a pregnant woman!).

Then I tried to stay warm. I know it snowed a lot in America, and it was the same in Japan. Thankfully we didn't get any snow in our city, but it was freezing. Burrr…..

New Year's was lovely with home-cooked meal and so on. On the fourth, Hero Material and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It was really romantic. I'll post some pictures soon, I promise!

The biggest goal for me this year is to stay healthy. This is more important than before since I'm pregnant. And the second biggest goal is figuring out how to do what I need to do (spending time with Hero Material and balancing work and writing) with the new responsibility called motherhood.

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. Here's to another fantastic year.

Sorry for the late update! I've been less than glowy for a while. (I think the pregnancy glow is a myth!) But I'm finally okay now. :)

2010 has been a difficult year for many people. If I listed challenges and so on, I think I could probably end up with a novel. Instead of just thinking about difficulties, I wanted to think about good and positive things, so that I can end the year on the high note.

Because no matter how hard 2010 was, I have so many things to be grateful for.

• I'm grateful for my family and friends who are always there for me.
• I'm grateful that Hero Material and I have gainful employment and that we can provide for our first baby when s/he comes next June.
• I'm grateful for the support network of industry professionals and other writers and readers I have. They've been instrumental in keeping me sane.
• I'm very very grateful for my readers.
• I'm grateful that I'm in relatively good health.

What are you thankful for this holiday season?

October was a great month — personally and otherwise. I'm pregnant, and my baby's going to be born in mid-June. And yes, I found out that I didn't gain as much weight as I thought. I know it's shallow, but it made me feel better. :)

Yesterday I met a friend of mine who's pregnant with her second child. She told me my doctor is really famous, which I didn't know since I chose her for her excellent English. Then my friend added, “She's also very good at performing abortions.” It's a totally cultural thing, and she didn't mean anything malicious. She was doing her best to reassure me that my doctor's a renowned expert in every aspect of pregnancy and that I should feel 100% anshin (peace of mind and spirit) about my first pregnancy. But it just sounded so hilarious, I burst out laughing. (So did Hero Material when I told him.)

As for non-personal news, I can't share any yet. But I'll definitely update everyone as soon as I can.

On the writing front, I'm trying to go through All's Fair 1st beta comments — alas, there are more issues than I'd expected — and do NaNoWriMo this month. I'm trying not to do to much — my brain's turned into mush and I tire easily these days, even when I'm just reading a book! So I'm trying to do little bit at a time and rest frequently so that I don't feel exhausted.

(Other than being tired easily, foggy-brained and sleepy, I'm doing pretty well. No morning sickness or anything like that. So I count myself lucky. :) )

Hope everyone has a lovely and productive November!

September's been pretty productive.

I finished Step 5 for All's Fair, and now it's all with my 1st beta.

A Goddess to Love was supposed to be done by today, but for some reason, I couldn't seem to get in the right mood for it, and I kept nodding and not making the changes I know I need to make. Maybe it's because I spent like more than two months on revision…? Anyway, I'm letting it sit a little longer.

I also had a chance to talk with Agent, and I started outlining / arcing a new story. I don't know much about it except that the heroine is an assistant / nanny, but since I'm the one writing it, a lot of people are going to die. (Don't worry, h/H get their happy ending!) Actually I think the body count in the new nanny project is going to be greater than the one in All's Fair, which features assassins as heroine and hero, plus a Russian mafia boss.

Who said romancing a nanny was safe?

I've listened to multiple workshop tapes from 2010 RWA. Many of them are excellent and inspiring. I highly recommend getting the whole set if you can. It's cheaper than buying each workshop separately.

I also had a chance to watch some really good low budget Asian horror drama. The plot's pretty straightforward, and the supernatural elements are pretty familiar (to Asians, that is!), but I loved how they managed to create awesome mystery and tension by continually escalating the stakes and intensifying the internal and external conflict of all the characters. I just couldn't stop watching. Thankfully it had only sixteen episodes. (Some dramas go for over 50 episodes.)

As for reading, September has been a lackluster month. Jeannie Lin's Historical Undone was good, but the rest of the books I started were mediocre, clumsily written / plotted, and/or just boring. A couple of them got hyped quite a bit, so I'm sure that didn't help.

Fortunately I just got Sin Undone by Larissa Ione, who has yet to disappoint. So that should make up for September. :)

Can you believe it's already September? 2010 is two-thirds over!

I've been busy with the All's Fair revision — the final round before I send it to my first beta reader.

The progress bar above shows that I've gone through ten chapters out of twenty-one (48% complete).

September's going to be pretty busy. I plan to wrap up All's Fair and get some beta feedback. Then I'm taking some time off to finish the final A Goddess to Love revision (already have the beta feedback) and read Neuromancer and Snow Crash. (No, I've never read either of them. I know, I know…)

Afterward, I plan to consider certain elements in All's Fair and its sequel plus a sekrit novella project. They're all stand-alone projects — you don't even have to read them in order, but there is some definite overlap in world building (same time period, though in different parts of the world) and recurring characters.

P.S. I just finished Kresley Cole's Demon from the Dark. If you haven't read this book, OMG, do it now!

To kick off the month of August with style, I'm hosting ten wonderful guests from August 3 to August 16.

They'll be covering various topics from the genres they love, their personal experiences / stories and awesome things they've learned while writing, etc. I've even got a tendonitis expert lined up to help with wrist pain. So please stop by!

As for me, I've had a very productive working month in July. I've finished up to Step Three for the All's Fair revision. My accountability group has been enormously helpful in motivating me and keeping me working hard. (If you're interested in joining, please check it out here.)

To reward myself and to “reset” my eyes for the next step in the revision process, I plan to read during the next two weeks. The following titles are currently on top of my TBR list (alphabetical order by author's name):

• The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl
• Negotiating a Book Contract by Mark L. Levine
• Succubus Blue by Richelle Mead
• The Awakening by L. J. Smith
• The Struggle by L. J. Smith
• Passion by Lisa Valdez

The ever-wonderful BookDepository just dispatched Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce as well, so hopefully I'll get it before August 15.

I hope your summer's as productive as mine, and may your August be blessed with awesome books!