New Year's Resolution: Update 1 of 12

My brain's on a fiscal calendar of sorts. The weekend before the first day of the month, I usually change my calendars and transition. It's weird, but have you read some of my posts? I'm a weird kinda gal.

Anyway, here's my first New Year's Resolution update:

1. Start a blog...
    Done! By the way, thank you all for following this blog. It means a heckuva lot.
2. Read three books per month...
    I got through four in January (see list at end of post)
3. Polish my manuscript and query...
    My novel is on the query block. I'm doing the 'send 10 and wait' strategy. So far, I've gotten four, polite rejections. If I don't get any requests for pages, I'll assume my query letter needs help, revise, and send ten more. In the meantime, I'm 2,000 words into book two (yay!).
4. See at least one movie a month...
    This has not and won't be an issue. I'm a movie-a-holic.
5. Fitness goals...
    This has also not been an issue. I started week five of TurboFire this morning and still enjoy it. I don't have to threaten the scale before I step on it anymore. :) Major improvement there.

So, remember that resolution to read 3+ books per month? Well, here's January.

1/8/11 - The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Boy, this was a heart breaker. Every page thumped me on the noggin and said 'Yeah, you! Go fix your manuscript.' I was relieved, however, that I've been right about 'serial' commas all along. For some reason, the second comma in lists has been lost since I took English in grade, middle, (right there!) and high school. Page 2, people! A short read filled with excellent advice. This book has won a place on my desk.

1/15/11 - Truly, Madly by Heather Webber
What a quick read! Lucy Valentine is smart, sexy, a bit of a psychic, and reminds me of Sookie Stackhouse (I LOVE Sookie, new book in May 2011 if you haven't heard). But Lucy wasn't my favorite character in this first book in a series of (so far) three. It was Raphael. He practically raised Lucy and has an adorable father/friend/sweet uncle vibe with her. I loved it! Then there's Sean, the love interest. Flirty, sarcastic, and damaged goods. Yeah, I fell hard along with Lucy. Good book.

1/20/11 - Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
This is one of those books that make me feel old and creepy. I'm only twenty eight, sure, but the love interests in Personal Demons are super hot seventeen year olds. As usual, I fell (hard) for Luc, the demon sent to tag Frannie's soul for Hell. Franny's the heroine, by the way, and a very realistic one. The sexy (and, did I mention, super hot) Luc finds redemption in Frannie's love. It's a pretty good read. There's a sequel coming out in 2011 called Original Sin.

1/29/11 - A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang
This is a very sexy book. Sexy heroine, super sexy love interest, and a good bit of sex. The story's deep, a little overwhelming for me as I had no expectations (except about Brystion, previously mentioned super sexy love interest), but it was a quick read. I enjoy sarcastic heroines, and Abby is certainly that. She has natural and supernatural issues that are weaved together very well by Pang. I'm glad I read it, but I probably wouldn't read a sequel if Ion's not coming back. Super sexy Ion...mmmm.

Plan for February:
1. I have The Hunger Games on my Kindle
2. Eat, Pray, Love is on its way from Kate at My Life in Fiction. Thanks again for the contest goodies!
3. I've started three Jane Austen/Austen-related books recently and will (yes, WILL) get through one of them in February.
4. At least one more, but I'm determined to get a first draft of my book 2 (Kat of Nine Tales series) written as well. We'll see what happens.

What February reading plans do you have? Did you check out the FLY TO 500 Contest?

-Marie