Last Post of 2010

You don't know how good it feels to have typed the title of this article.

2010 has been a horrible year with, maybe, only four highlights. I'm trying to stay positive by thinking of those highlights often. What would I say to 2010 if it were a living being? Get out. Don't let the door hit you on the ass.

One of the low points of the year was the death this week of my mother's cat, of whom I wrote earlier this month. That article, Babysitting an Old Cat: The Diary, was very popular, with a lot of hits (I'm amazed at how many hits!) so I thought it appropriate to let you know what happened. As I reported, she was getting along in years; after I posted the article and my mother returned from her cruise, Midnight started going downhill in a big way and my mother had to make the gut-wrenching decision to put her to sleep.

All of my childhood pets are now dead. The first to go was Aussie, our Austrian Shepherd, who was a good watch dog. I still feel guilty over not spending as much time with him as I could have, but when I was young my home life was fairly messed up, and I'm afraid just surviving was my primary concern. Aussie loved having his belly scratched and my father treated him to many belly scratches; when my parents split up, Dad wasn't around anymore, so it became my responsibility to do that. I did it as often as I could, I know I did, but memories of those moments do not exist.

Then there was our first cat, Boots, who got hit by a car; then Patches, who died of cancer; now Midnight.

Happy effing new year. Is there anything left in the bottle? Pass it over...

I am much more optimistic about 2011. I'm moving to a new area, have a new job (finally, after nearly three years of unemployment), and have a writing schedule which includes four ebooks this year. Coming sometime in January will be the first of that batch, Show No Mercy, which I hope you all like. It's a spy novel, with a ton of action, but it's focus is also on the characters and their relationships and I can't say I've ever seen a spy novel that focuses on characters as much as this one. Granted, I have never read very widely in the espionage genre, but what I have read has always been a pot-boiler of some kind. I'm sure I'm no pioneer here. But I do hope that Show No Mercy is refreshing.

I certainly wish the best for you and your family this year; good reading (and writing!) to you. If you remember, I'd appreciate it if you could raise a glass tonight to furry friends long gone.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to San Francisco to welcome in a new and better year...