Well, so far my New Year’s resolution of updating my blog more frequently is off to a less-than-stellar start.

But I have excuses. Great ones!

(As an aside, I do worry about my ratio of “regular blogs” to “blogs devoted to excusing myself for not writing more blogs.” I don’t have a specific number, but it can’t be good.)

Fiddle-dee-dee. I’m going to worry about that tomorrow.

So, what have I been doing instead of sharing tidbits from my wildly exciting life?

Stalking Sherlock

Hypothetically speaking, if there was a TV show that ended its season on a massive cliffhanger, AND you had to wait two years for the resolution AND the show was available in the UK for three whole weeks before it was available in the US, AND you were a reasonably savvy internet sleuth, you COULD comb a few (hundred?) sites to find the UK broadcast before it was available in the US.

It’s possible. But it would take time.

And an obsessive degree of dedication.

All hypothetically speaking, of course.

Ken Follett Sucks

And by this, of course, I mean that he’s awesome.

Every single time I pick up a Ken Follett novel, I think, “Oh, this will be a pleasant book for me to read in my spare time.” Instead, within the first 30 pages I’m already hooked and there is no concept of spare time. Just after the New Year, I picked up Ken Follett’s Winter of the World – all 960 pages of it – and I couldn’t put it down until I finished.

Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration. I mean, I did eat and sleep and go to work, but I also propped up my Kindle against the bathroom mirror so I could keep reading while I dried my hair in the morning.

This author is a master at blending intricate plots with interesting characters. Winter of the World contained more than 20 main characters, but I never confused them or their plotlines. No small feat!

Writing Novel #2

I’m making progress, I swear! I got hit with massive writers’ block at the end of last year and spent more hours than I care to name sitting at my desk with a pencil and an empty notebook in front of me.

Well, that’s a lie. My notebook wasn’t empty – I wrote lots of stuff: Grocery lists. The estimated number of books I need to sell so that I can afford my vacation this year. Various styles of signature to decide whether to sign my name Laura Clooney or Mrs. George when the time comes.

Which it will.

But, during one of my forced “butt-in-seat” writing sessions, an amazing thing happened.

No. I didn’t start writing.

I decided to move my desk. And bookcase. And filing cabinet. You may not know this, but rearranging furniture is one of my favorite hobbies. Generally the urge hits after midnight, but I digress. (This subject will be covered in detail in my next blog entitled, “10 Bizarre Facts You Didn’t Know About Laura”)

…Anyway… I rearranged my office and suddenly the writing started to flow. Feng shui in action, folks!

Okay, that’s not really my office, but can you imagine the writing I could get done there?!

So, these are the big three excuses. I’m sure I could think of more if I had more time, but I need to go watch some Sherlock, pick up a new novel to start reading and get writing. Talk to you soon!