In case you don’t follow me on Facebook or twitter. . .and why don’t you, really, I’m lots of fun and occasionally amusing. . .I finished my latest book UNDENIABLE last week.

UNDENIABLE is Rafe’s story; it’s a spin-off from my very first books, the YA quartet The King Series. And since I don’t have a mind like a steel trap all the time, and since I was a) writing about a character whose identity was firmly established in both BREATHLESS and RESTLESS and b) writing a book that took place concurrent with ENDLESS, I ended up having to check facts and look up passages in those books while I was writing.

That’s a dangerous thing for a writer. With very few exceptions, I’ve noticed that most writers only grow and improve the longer they keep publishing books, so glancing back at earlier releases might be a little frightening. Let’s face it: given the opportunity, most of us would just keep making the book better, no matter how many edits it takes or how much our formatter hates us.

I definitely found a few things I would have changed in those books. However, what struck me even more (and is probably telling about WHY I would make those changes) were the self-snapshots I found within those pages.

Whether we like it or not, our current lives, circumstances, emotions and mindset affect what and how we write. So when I look back at FEARLESS, I remember the exhilaration and excitement of writing my very first full-length novel. I’m taken back to baseball practices for my son (who was 8 at the time and is now 13–if you’re a mom of sons, you understand the vast difference!), to orthodontist appointments for my now-18 year old daughter, to hours at the Borders in Ocoee (now closed), because those are where FEARLESS was mostly written.

I remember who I was in 2008. I was still dealing with the new and fresh loss of both of my parents at a young age. My husband had just begun seminary, and my oldest daughter was dating someone seriously for the first time. All of those experiences are in those pages in one way or another.

Each book has a piece of me, and not only that, it holds a piece of me as I was when it was written. That makes them my stories, as much as they are the characters’.

Someday I’ll look back at UNDENIABLE and smile, thinking of who I was and what I was doing in 2014.

Because that’s just what writers do.

Am I desperate for a topic? Maybe. But the fact remains, this is about the coolest thing I could blog.

All of my books mention or refer to Joss Whedon or one of his shows or movies in some form. This is because Joss is the master of all things wonderful when it come to television and movies. Oh, and short internet shows. (See: Dr. Horrible’s Sing A Long)

I’ve chronicled how I stumbled upon this paragon of paranormal elsewhere. But let’s talk about a little about some of Joss’s work.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Yes, I’m a little crazed about this show, still, ten years after it went off the air. But hey, this was life and culture changing stuff. The writing and the characters were irresistible. My sister and I rarely have a conversation, aloud or text, wherein we don’t make reference to Buffy or use a line. Among my favorites:

“The earth is doomed.”

“If the apocalypse comes, beep me!”

“I wear the cheese, the cheese does not wear me.”

“I’m a comfortador also.”

“Men with your. . .sales.”

“Your loss is my chocolatey gain.”

Angel: Also awesome, as a Buffy spin-off and the way it dovetailed with Buffy and gave us more insight into Buffyesque characters like Cordelia and Wesley. Oh, and Harmony. Plus, it gave Spike a place to go after Buffy ended. Oh, and there was Lorne, the Host, who rocked that green face. But all in all, it was darker, and the ending was not my favorite.

Firefly: We didn’t know what to expect. Cowboys in space? Really? It was a testament to Joss and our trust that we tried it out. And we were blown away. Wow. Again with the characters and the amazing dialogue!

Dr. Horrible’s Sing A Long Blog: Hey, guys! Let’s take Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day (two of the three Buffy alum) and give them this quirky little story and some really kicking music. And then let’s just put it up on the internet, not on TV or the movie. Freaking amazing.

Much Ado About Nothing: Because he IS so freaking cool, Joss and friends frequently sit around and read Shakespeare aloud together. Do I want an invite to his next impromptu Bard Buffet? Oh, yes, I do. But I digress. Joss needed something to take his mind off the complications and stress of making AVENGERS (another favorite) and his wife suggested, “Hey, let’s take 12 days and film a Shakespeare play here at our gorgeous home, with our friends who are actors. It’ll be a hoot.” So maybe I’m paraphrasing but you get it. And that’s what they did, and the fact that the Divine Mr. W did a blockbuster like AVENGERS and a sweet little side piece like MUCH ADO at the same time is exactly why I find him so wonderful. And Much Ado will make you fall in love with Shakespeare all over again. Or for the first time. Whatever.

Is there more Joss goodness? Of course there is. But this is as much as I can fit in tonight, because I have to go back to my own little novel. . .and hope that something Joss-like falls into it.

I’ve never been much for new year’s resolutions. The closest I get is trying to re-organize after Christmas: I am a stickler about not using any of my shiny new gifts until they are set up and it is AFTER January 1st. I was the kid who left her gifts under the tree until the last minute: I liked to be reminded of the joy of Christmas morning, I guess.

But one of the changes I want to make in my life in 2014 is to be a better blogger, a better site-owner. I can justify using my website to keep everyone up-to-date on my books and my events, but there is a small part of me, growing louder, that wants to write more than just my stories.

This is a big change from the small part of me a few years ago that said, “Stop just blogging to your family and write those stories!!”

So to that end, I hope to be sharing some more Monday musings with y’all this year. I’m not going to say it’ll happen every Monday, but I’ll try.

And for those of you looking at the timestamp on this post, yes, Miss Stickler, it’s technically Tuesday. So sue me. I’ll do better next week.

Maybe.