New Year Wishes/Resolutions/Things

Just like last year, I decided to leave all my resolutions for a few days after the first of January. To be honest, I don’t normally make resolutions. I am wary of long term planning as they have a tendency of running awry. However, I went back to the post I wrote last year around this time to see if any of the things I had wished for became true.

This is what has happened (resolutions for 2013 are in bold):  

1. Get my Spanish driver's license. I passed my written test a few days after Christmas, so now all that's left is for me to actually learn to drive. *scary shiver* 

I did get my driver’s license. It was an uphill battle which as you might remember from Facebook and here on blogger, I moaned and cried and got very depressed about. Fortunately, in July I passed the exam and can now legally drive in Spain. However, thus far I am not fond of driving and take the car reluctantly. The thing I hate most?  Parking. I get extremely stressed just thinking about having to park. *sigh* Maybe this time next year, I will be able to say that I now drive without a care in the world.  


2. Write, write, and write some more. I have three immediate projects that I want to finish:

         ·  Edit my Nanowrimo and submit it. I'm half way through with editing, so I should hopefully be done with this soon. 

I did finish editing my Nano and submitted it too. A Dragon’s Heart, A Demon’s Blood was my Nano in 2012 and it was published by Evernight Publishing. Not only that, but it was runner up in the Evernight Readers’ Choice Awards and garnered 4 and 5 star reviews.

Once again, for 2014 I’m hoping to finish editing my Nanowrimo (Lone Wolf) and submitting it. So far, the prospects are not looking good. Something about the story doesn’t feel right and I’m stuck, but things can change.

        · Write the fourth story in the Mercenary Tales series. 

Unfortunately, I did not do this. I have the plot in mind, but other projects got in the way. It is in my TO DO list.

         ·  Finish that Free Read I began writing back in November.

And to be honest with you, I don’t remember what this was.

3. Related with writing is the idea of learning some more about certain periods in history such as the Medieval Era.

This I did do. *smiles*

4. Blog more- not only write more but also interact more.

I think I managed to do some of this, but not as much as I would have liked.   

5. Keep up my Portuguese and French studies.

  

I finished my Portuguese studies and passed my French exam in September. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to sign up to either languages again.

6. Finally, what's probably going to be the hardest goal for this 2013: finding a media/communication job. If it were up to me I'd dedicate myself fully to writing but the economy is harsh and writing isn't bringing in enough money to survive and neither is my part time job-with no possibility of advancement. 

This did not work out. In April I started an online internship at a firm and that was the closest I got to a media job. For several reasons which I won’t state here, it was highly unsatisfactory and soon became more of a sporadic collaboration than an actual internship.

For 2014, I’m changing career paths. In just a few days I will be doing a CELTA course to become an English teacher and though I am very scared, I am also quite excited at the prospect of starting something new.  

Finally, my last goal was spending time with friends and family and I think I did accomplish that (more with family than friends, I must admit).

All in all, I believe, not a bad year.

 Now, allow me to sum up my 2014 wishes:

v  Write, write, write. Among the projects I want to do before summer:

Finish editing my Nanowrimo

Write book 3 and 4 in the Witches’ Mischief series

Write my story in a super secret anthology which I can’t tell you about just yet.

Find a home for my Christmas story

v  Do a year 2013 and concert scrapbook (I’ve never done one and I think it will be fun)

v  Learn and research more. (historical periods, music, baking...)

v  Keep blogging and attempting to interact more with everyone.

v  Pass my CELTA and start a new career path as an English teacher.

v  Spend time with family, pets and friends and cherish the moments. 

v  Learn more about myself. 

What are your goals? Are you fond of making resolutions? 

Silver Flash Wednesday: Candyce's Sweet Surprise

Dear flash readers, in honor of the Christmas and New Year festivities, today’s flash has nothing to do with Damian and Amanda’s story. Initially, this was going to be a 1000 word story but I got a little carried away… so read on and come back on Saturday, December 31st for the continuation and ending of Candyce’s Sweet Surprise.

Hope you enjoy ;-)

Beware: This story includes a lot of sugar, Christmas magic and two very hot men.

This week's prompts:

From Prompt Diva Julie Hayes: “Double your pleasure, Double your fun”

candy, indecision, balloon or

I thought I knew, but I was mistaken or

Ice, ice, baby.

Don't forget to visit the other great flasher's! (links at the bottom)

Candyce’s Sweet Surprise.

“Double your pleasure, double your fun with Madame Noelia’s special offer: Buy 2 pay 1”

Candyce stopped in her tracks and stared at the words neatly scribbled in red and green chalk on the A-frame easel sign. Madame Noelia. She glanced at the store. She’d walked through this street everyday for the past 9 months and she had never noticed this place. Candyce didn’t understand how she could have missed it. The door and the window frame were painted in bright red, whilst the store sign was drawn in fancy white glittering letters.

However, even had she not noticed the flamboyant colors, she would have seen the display window. Her mouth watered as she stared at the vivacious assortment craft fully placed for everyone to see: Candy Canes, M&M’s, Twizzlers…
How long had it been since she’d treated herself to some good old calorie-full sweets? She’d been dieting to fit into her New Year’s dress for the past three months- and for what? Her date dumped her at the last minute with some lame excuse. Now she had a gorgeous dress but no one to celebrate with. She had consoled herself hoping that something magical would happen during Christmas but it had been the same old, same old.

Candyce sighed. Yeah, she definitely deserved a break. It was time to break her diet and enjoy that little pleasure of life called chocolate! Resolute, she pushed open the door. A bell chimed above her head and the smell of cinnamon, coupled with mint, caramel and gum assaulted her senses. Her mouth watered and her stomach churned. Yes, this was definitely what she needed to get over the Christmas blues. She looked around, unsure of where to start.

“I’d start with the caramel apples.”

Candyce jumped and turned towards the voice. Behind a large oak counter and an old cash-register machine stood a plump elderly lady with snow-white hair, round rimmed glasses and a warm smile.

“Although, correct me if I’m wrong, I believe you’re more of a chocolate enthusiast.”

Candyce nodded. “How did you--?”

“I know a chocolate lover when I see one,” the woman winked. “I think, my dear, I have the perfect thing for you. Come with me.”

“I—“

“Come on, I don’t bite,” the woman stepped from behind the counter and beckoned Candyce to follow her through a back door. “We only have one box left, that’s why it’ not on display, but it’s the best chocolate in town, I assure you…” The woman’s voice died off as she entered the chamber. Candyce took one last look at the street. What harm could an old lady do? Besides, if that chocolate was so good… Hurrying across the store she entered the storage room.

“Ma’am?”

“Back here.”

Candyce slowly took in the chamber. Barrel after barrel and box after box of sugar coated edibles were piled everywhere. The savory smell permeated everything. How anyone could work here and resist eating all of this, was beyond her comprehension.

“Ma’am?”“You may call me Noelia.”

Candyace started as the old lady materialized before her, a red velvet box in her hands. “I think you’re really going to like these.” She said, opening the package and pulling out a white bonbon. “White chocolate with cherry liquor inside; there’s nothing quite like them. Come on now, don’t be shy.”

Smiling, Candyce took the piece of chocolate and bit into it. Thick liquor dripped onto her tongue, mingling with the supple texture of the white chocolate. Candyce moaned. Hastily, she ate the rest of the bonbon, unwilling to waist a single drop. She closed her eyes in ecstasy as the full experience of the mixture hit her. She swallowed slowly, the liquor a soft burn in the back of her throat, immediately soothed by the sweet chocolate.

“Thank you, Noelia that was amazing.” Candyce opened her eyes to semi-darkness. She heard the door’s bell chime. Perhaps the elderly woman had heard a client and had hurried back upstairs, leaving her here, in the dark. A shiver ran down her spine. Noelia sure was fast for one so small. Candyce began to make her way across the dimly lit storage room, careful not to upset any of the neatly stacked boxes. She was almost at the door when she tripped on a badly placed barrel of gummy bears. Throwing her hands forward to stop herself from falling and the barrel from rolling away she fell into nothingness.


Air exploded out of her lungs as her back crashed against a yielding surface. She took in a shaky breath. What the hell had just happened? She had fallen through some sort of trap door into another chamber and onto a mattress. The room glowed with an outerwordly light. She glanced at the ceiling, looking for a source of light. Her jaw dropped. Directly above the bed was a black hole with colorful dancing lights. The rest of the ceiling was dotted in stars. Sitting up, Candyce tried to remain calm. She took in the rest of her surroundings. The bed was a four poster, the sheets red as wine, the posts red and white, resembling candy canes. There was no other furniture. Trembling, she slowly set her right foot on the floor. She sighed in pleasure as her foot sunk into a plush white carpet.

“What?”

Candyce looked down at herself. She was naked. No, not naked, but almost. She was barefoot, pantless, pantyless and braless. The only thing she was wearing was a red negligee that barely covered her ass. Fear cursed through her. Where was she and who had done this to her?

“You’re here.”

A deep masculine voice broke her thoughts. She turned around in alarm but the feeling vanished and was replaced with a strong current of desire as soon as she caught sight of the men.

To be continued...

Awesome Flashers:

LM Brown

West Thornhill

Lindsay Klug

Freddy MacKay

Julie Lynn Hayes