Welcome Wild Rose Press writer, Louisa Masters!!

Welcome fellow Scarlet Rose of the Wild Rose Press, Louisa's debut novella Inter-Office Relations is available right now. Hasn't it got a fabulous cover?? I LOVE it!!

Over to you, Louisa - enjoy your time here :)

New Year's Resolutions and Why we Break Them

Well, Christmas has come and gone and now we're ready to close out 2011. Is everybody ready for 2012? No? Good. Neither am I.

Now's the time to start thinking about your New Year's resolutions. I know some of you actually keep these. Me, I start out well but often peter out along the way. I have fulfilled some throughout my life, but not as many as I should. Personally, I blame over-enthusiasm. Think about it: you're all revved up at the idea of a fresh year. You think about all the things you'd like to do, but don't consider the reality of it. For example, one year I resolved to give up chocolate. Um. Yeah, right. A more realistic resolution would have been to cut back on chocolate, maybe to one piece a week. Or something.

Here are the Top 10 New Year's resolutions, as reported by Time:

1. Lose weight and get fit

2. Quit Smoking

3. Learn something new

4. Eat healthier and diet

5. Get out of debt and save money

6. Spend more time with family

7. Travel to new places

8. Be less stressed

9. Volunteer

10. Drink less

Aren't they all worthy goals? And they are actually do-able, but the problem is they're very general. Lose weight and get fit is a great goal, but how exactly are you going to do it? Is it something you can maintain?

Here are 10 resolutions that are probably more realistic:

1. Walk for thirty minutes three times a week

2. Quit Smoking (sorry, I'm a non-smoker and pretty opinionated on this one!)

3. Take cooking/sewing/dancing/car maintenance/whatever classes

4. Only have dessert once a week and eat salad every day / bring lunch to work instead of buying

5. Put together a budget / contact a budget and debt management company for help

6. Designate every second Friday as family night

7. Plan a trip to New York/London/Fiji/ wherever

8. Take up yoga/pilates/meditation/martial arts

9. Contact local library about taking books to the elderly

10. Drink only one night a week / have only three drinks a week

The resolutions are essentially the same, but with a more specific goal to work toward. You can tailor it to suit your likes/dislikes, budget, and the time you have available.

I still don't know what my resolution will be for 2012. I figure I have three days to think about it. In the meantime, I've got some time off work and a virtual stack of books to kick off the New Year with.

Remember that your resolution can be anything—take Jeannie, for example, the heroine of Inter-Office Relations. Her resolution may have been mid-year, but she definitely followed through!

With her resignation submitted, Jeannie Price has one last task she’s itching to perform before leaving her job. After months of sitting next to hot, sexy colleague Tim Harding, it’s time to turn fantasy into reality with a scorching invitation to collaborate on matters of the flesh in Conference Room B. Then she can walk away without regrets.

Tim’s dreams of wild, sweaty sex with Jeannie come true when he accepts her offer, but he’s stunned to learn she doesn’t want to see him again after their steamy tryst. She may be trying to brush him off as just one more item on her To-Do List, but he’s determined to convince her there’s nothing taboo about inter-office relations.

You can buy Inter-Office Relations here, or read an excerpt here. I'll be selecting one lucky commenter to receive a title of their choice from Rachel's backlist. I won't be choosing until New Year's Day, so be sure and tell me what you decided for your resolution!

Thanks to my wonderful hostess, Rachel, and Happy New Year to everyone.