Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Eid Al Adha, Happy Kwanza… and a BIG PHILLY HUG & MUCH LOVE TO ALL!!!

Wow… 2009 has been a CRAZY year for me and I suspect for a lot of other people, too. Can you say, “Change?” I don’t know, maybe the real word is “changes” â€" plural, and also in the popular context where people say, “Yo, maaan, I’ve been going through a lot of changes.” Dang, no truer words have been said. But they tell me change is goodâ€"so I’m gonna hold onto that mantra, even if some of the “changes” have made me squeeze my eyes shut tightly as I’ve squeaked my way through them.

Still, when you’re going through challenges, you can either be productive or paralyzed by them. What’s that old line in the movie Predator…? “I ain’t got time to bleed.” LOL! Yeah, that was 2009 for me, y’all. Health stuff came up, career stuff came up, money stuff came up, plus relationship stuff came up. Truth be told, I don’t know what didn’t come upâ€"and it was all mad-cap mayhem that seemed to pop up out of the blue. This was not a good year for writers, and like all other industries, publishing tanked. Editors and authors were getting laid off all over the place, contracts weren’t renewing; there was drama after “bloody Wednesday” in the houses. So, you were not alone if you were coping and rough-riding the waves of change. I FEEL you, as they say. But, amazingly, I also got through all those hurdles (by the Grace of God!) And, no, LOL, it was NOT fun, smile! But I’m still standing. Right now, that works for me (smile.)

Regardless, the one thing I have learned through this tumultuous year is that having good friends, good people, and good family is the greatest gift one can ever hope to have. The love of folks around you helps to weather the storms of change and “changes.” That is the stuff of creating soft places to land when you fall on your backside… and it gives you that bounce you need so you don’t go splat.

On that note, I’ve been blessed. I’ve had a lot of really good folks around me and I send them all love, peace, and Light. My prayer is that everyone has a support system out there of caring, loving friends and family. Maybe that’s what we need to be building in 2010? Go figure…

But I do know that, mostly everyone I speak to is glad to see 2009 be ushered out with the new energy of the New Year. The cool thing is, looking forward to the New Yearâ€"2010 is going to be better, and it will be if we believe it. For me, I’m not sure what it will bring: I finished the 12 book VHL Legends series, as well as the 6 book Crimson Moon Novels series (with a few spin off things like a graphic novel, etc.), but heck if I know what the next new “big” thing is gonna be. I made some monumental career changes. Went on a natural/organic health quest (smile.) Changed some relationships (tough stuff.) Changed my hair and then changed it back, LOL! Oh, I’ve got a laundry list of “changes,” and all of them were goodâ€"all of them were “time to happen” kinds of things.

Maybe the best change of all was that I changed “my mind,” the way I see the world, and the way I see myself. That’s the biggest gift I can give you this holiday season and New Year, it’s this little piece of advice that I freely share: Love yourself and forgive! We’re all works-in-progress.

Much Love & Light and Happy New Year! BIG PHILLY HUG, Leslie!