But Not Yet

What does the title of my post mean? Well, last week’s title was My New Year -- It’ll Get Better.

I went on to complain about some aches and pains. Well, the good thing is that I’m fine now. One of the bad things is that a dear family member is in the hospital.

Plus, I got word yesterday that The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles is closing. It has been here a long time. It’s an institution.

Yes, it has moved at least once and had several owners. But it has always been a delightful place to visit, with a wonderful staff.

Not that it’s as important as the loss of the store, but I’m now in the position of having to find a new venue for my launch party for BEAGLEMANIA, my first Pet Rescue Mystery. I’d gone to the launches of some friends’ books there recently and found it to be a great location for one. I still have a little time since BEAGLEMANIA is a March release, but these things get scheduled in advance. I have some ideas, but haven’t figured it out yet.

Okay. I’m through complaining. I’ve got deadlines to meet and a new series to launch soon. I’m in touch with friends and family. Plus, I had the great fun of being a guest blogger on Killer Characters last Sunday--rather my new protagonist for the Pet Rescue Mysteries, Lauren Vancouver, guest blogged.

But I will ask again: how has your 2011 been going so far? Give us some good details!

Exercising my angst

Like Linda, I'm on a deadline too! Plus, I gave a workshop this evening to some writers at a wonderful independent bookstore in Westwood, called The Mystery Bookstore. Ooh, it's such a bizzy bizzy time these days.

Right now I'm finishing up the second draft of A KILLER WORKOUT, working on the part of the book that’s always toughest for me—the diet and exercise tips that go in the front of each chapter.

The tips are challenging because I am not an exercise enthusiast, but I have to get inside the head of someone who is.

To accomplish that, I’ve been doing a lot of research about fitness, and I've learned a few new things along the way. I’ve learned enough, in fact, to make me renew my commitment to getting regular exercise in 2008.

Among my discoveries:

Women who exercise more than two hours per week can drastically reduce their risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
Yoga massages your inner organs, and lubricates your joints. It can even reduce chronic pain.
Smoking makes your skin wrinkle prematurely.
The tiny acai berry from the Amazon rainforest may be nature’s most perfect food.
Women who exercise regularly have much more sex than women who don’t. (Women who don't exercise think about sex more, but don't get as much.)
People rate you as more attractive when they think that you exercise.
You can build stronger muscles by simply visualizing yourself doing exercise.

I'm hoping that I'll start acting on all this new information, by starting the day with an acai-berry shake, taking up yoga, and making sure I get aerobic exercise several times a week. If nothing else, I should be able to visualize myself a set of six-pack abs while lying on the couch.

I do get feedback from some readers that the tips in DYING TO BE THIN helped them in some small way, by providing information and framing the message of getting and staying fit.

So that makes it all worthwhile. Who knows, I might even brush the cobwebs off my gym card and venture inside for a Spinning class.

But first, I think I need to attend a few meetings of Couch Potatoes Anonymous, just to recover from my very inactive holiday season...anyone got their number?