Dear Blog, I'm sorry I've neglected you in recent months. You should know that this isn't intentional on my part, but more of lack of motivation paired with not being chained to a desk 40 hours a week. I promise that I will work out a schedule that will suit both of our needs while entertaining The Lurkdom. Please know I've enjoyed our time together and that you've taught me a lot in the last few years. Since we've renewed our partnership with vigor, I will not abandon you now. Of course, revisions have also pushed you to the backburner and I'm sorry for that. In the spirit of total disclosure, you should know that you are here to enhance my writing career, not become it. Much love, Alicia PS: While I'm slaving over revisions, you can be mesmerized by The White One's sweater.

Back in January, I made it my goal to read a book a week. By the summer I blew that goal out of the water. With so many books read over the year, it's hard to pick just five. I did it though, Lurkdom, just for you*. What were the best books you've read this year? * Though, as with everything here at The Pie, opinions are subjected to change at the whim of Yours Truly.

Six weeks ago, I was laid off from the day job. The same day job that should've only lasted three weeks in 2007. This fact hasn't softened the blow and I've been staving off a major bout of emo-ness for weeks. This totally explains why I still haven't cleaned the basement. Unless you've been laid off or are very close (read: married or related) to someone who has been laid off, you might not realize what a slap in the face the situation is. You've been rejected. The company that you've worked for has essentially left you for someone else. Yeah, I know there's circumstances like budget cuts or reorganizations, but it doesn't matter at this point. You feel worthless. It's very easy to fall in to the trap of doing nothing while on unemployment. At first, it's like you've taken a few days off from the day job. You sleep in, stay up late, wear a crazy amount of lounge pants. Then, a month has gone by. The dishes pile up and you're work...

Credit Whereas Thanksgiving is a one-day-a-year phenomena, December through early January is riddled with holidays and holiday parties. If you're not careful, you can sucked into three events in a night. This many parties and dinners will seriously expand your waist. (Trust me, I'm a professional.) Of course, you can be in the opposite boat and not have even have a plan of Chinese and a movie. You might feel that this is worse than being overbooked. Don't worry, we can debate the misconception of that later. Today's all about holiday survival. 1. Drink in abundance. There's a reason why Santa is so jolly and it's not because he's full of good cheer. Embrace the nog, snuggle with schnapps, spike your cocoa. Make a drinking game out of every festivity you attend*. Is someone wearing an ugly sweater? Take a shot. Is there a couple snogging under mistletoe? Chug until said snog is complete. 2. Confuse holidays. Light sparklers and play John Philip So...

Zombie Thursdays is a weekly feature with guest blogger, Miranda. You can read more about her here . There's only a week and a half left to get your Christmas shopping done! I've barely started, but hopefully I'll think of some good gifts to buy in the next week. How are you all in the Lurkdom doing on your shopping? Are you behind on your shopping? Fear not! If you have any zombie lovers in your life, then I have the perfect gift guide for you! Zombie Hunting Permit This is a great stocking stuffer! Made by some lovely people on CafePress, this (faux) hunting license gives authority to your little zombie killers to go out and take down some undead walkers. The permit is actually printed on a 3x5 vinyl sticker, so it is perfect for applying on your car, notebook, or anywhere else you might want this little guy. The permit costs $5. Munchkin Zombies Munchkin is the perfect card set for the gamer in your life. It is so much fun on its own that the only way it could possibly b...

Every Wednesday, YA Highway asks their readership a simple question to answer on your blog. Once you answer, you link your blog in the comments for other readers to hop on board. This is Road Trip Wednesday. Today's topic : What would be the ideal holiday present for your main character (or favorite character)? Credit I'm entirely engrossed in my requested revisions for Falling to Normal, which means I'm focused on Cheyenne and the gang. Coincidentally, Christmas happens during Falling to Normal's timeline. Of course there are things Cheyenne would love to get for Christmas, as long as realism isn't an issue. The ability to reverse time For her past to remain that--the past Her first kiss. That's it. Don't forget to go to YA Highway and see what everyone else is saying.

Of course you do. So do I. Because of this mutual bond, you should head over to YA Highway and enter their contest*. * And if you win, my birthday's coming up and I love presents.

It's a known fact among my group of friends that I don't really rock the Christmas spirit. If there's not a sense of tacky, chances are I'm not into it. I mean, there is a reason why I own a six-foot royal purple tinsel tree. So imagine my utter happiness when Bestie Danielle told me about the chicken nativity scene. Credit Credit That's right. There's a chicken Jesus and a chicken Mary. It can't get more better than that. Well, it can and you can see more here . Confess, Lurkdom! What's your favorite Tacky Christmas item? ____ Last.fm hit of the day : Graveyard Love Song by Miguel and The Living Dead

Oh god, y'all are thinking, not another NaNoWriMo post. It's December for chrissakes. I know and I'm sorry, but we'll all get through this together. Every year, NaNoWriMo gets a lot of flack, saying that it enables people who fashion themselves as writers when they're really not. I disagree, but that's a subject for a different day. Today is all about why I always go back to NaNoWriMo*. It's so easy to get stuck on the revision/editing wheel that anyone can get so sucked into it that you can go two years without writing anything new. NaNoWriMo guarantees me that at least once a year I'll create a new novel-length work, which is important since I want to have a writing career. With this in mind, I use NaNoWriMo to experiment. Whether it's planning techniques or story structure, I make sure that I try something new each year. This is how I learned I was a plotter and that plotcards are what works best. If it wasn't for this, I would never ...

Zombie Thursdays is a weekly feature with guest blogger, Miranda. You can read more about her here . How is everyone surviving the holiday season? So far, I'm not fairing so well. See, I work in retail. I work in one of the most profitable retail stores in the world, and it's kicking my ass. I apologize so much for slacking on my writing duties. If I haven't been working, I've been visiting family for Thanksgiving, having family visit me, and also trying to work on days when I'm not supposed to work because I'm super poor. I hardly know what day of the week it is anymore. So again, I'm sorry for be absent. As Alicia is fond of saying, "Life Happened." I love that phrase. She should copyright it. Well, life has been happening to me. But I have something really fun for you all! How many of you know what Epic Meal Time is? Let's pretend you don't know anything about it and I will give you a quick run down. Epic Meal Time is an online cooking s...

Every Wednesday, YA Highway asks their readership a simple question to answer on your blog. Once you answer, you link your blog in the comments for other readers to hop on board. This is Road Trip Wednesday.  Today's topic : How far would you go to get published? More than once I told Bestie Danielle that I would sell my soul for some Twilight money. This should give you an idea of my lack of scruples. On a more serious note, even though I'm attached to my story lines and characters like The White One and plastic, I'm not stupid. I do realize that the publishing industry contains a bit of give and take. So I'd like to present my list of how far I'd go. Revision. I have no problems revising. There are people out there much smarter than me that want to make my book better. I've been known to take pretty much any suggestion and try it out*. There are just certain things that won't happen in this though. If you want me to revise so there's a more ly...

Making himself comfy at VESCONE. It's been officially a month since kitty drama has began and I'm happy to say that it's now over. Without getting into the realm of TMI, The White One couldn't keep food down. After several rounds with the vet and the nice people at VESCONE , everyone was confused. He acted fine, just couldn't keep food down.  They confirmed that cats don't have eating disorders and it was determined that he needed surgery to find out what was wrong*. Now would be the time to mention that I thought myself to be the type of person who would never opt for surgery on a cat. Turns out that was me being delusional because there was no doubt in my mind that we were having the cat operated on. The White One, of course, had other plans. Trying to hide from surgery**. So they operated on him and found nothing in his GI tract. They biopsied him and thankfully that came back fine as well. The verdict was he swallowed something too big and by...