Favorite Book Published In 2009?

This was a crazy year for me I must admit. So crazy, in fact, that I did not get to read as much as I would have liked. But read I did and I have to tell you...there were many books published this year that I completely adore. Seriously, books that made me jealous I had not come up with the idea first...now THAT'S a good book. At least I think so.

So what's my favorite book of 2009? The first one that pops into my head is Shadowlight by Lynn Viehl. She wrote the Darkyn Series if none of you are familiar with her. This particular book is a spinoff of sorts, related to the Darkyn, yet different. It's about ordinary people who are unaware they have been altered by vampire DNA. Just writing about it makes me want to read it again.

So, what is your favorite book of 2009?

Who Is Your Inspiration?

I have been thinking a lot today about this, and I still don't really know what my answer is. Seriously, this is a lot harder to answer than you might think. Because I am not talking about who other people think inspire you, or who you want to inspire you....but WHO inspires you. Who is the one that you think about every day, the one that pushes you to write? This could be someone that knows you, or a complete stranger. But I do feel that every writer who wants to be published has someone that they think about, well, that's my thought on it anyway.

For me, many people tell me to write, but there are not many that actually make me want to write. There are few people that make me not want to give up, who make me believe my writing does not suck. I would say the one that has pushed me the most, the one that has helped me the most, is my husband. He doesn't let me have the easy way out, he tells me how it is. And some days...he gives me the kick in the pants I need.

If you write and you don't have someone that inspires you....maybe this is the time to change that. It sure has helped me, and from the published writers I have heard about it really helped them too.

I STILL Have No Ending

Yup, it's pretty horrible. After Nano I just did not feel like writing. My brain is mush right now. So I spent a couple days sleeping and thinking about what should happen, talking to my husband again who didn't see me all month...and now I find that I am lost, unable to continue. Where to take my story from here? At first the ending was clear in my head, but the more I wrote the more I saw there was so many different paths my characters could take. So now my head hurts. For now I'll try and remain calm and take a couple more days away from my draft, but then, regardless of how I feel, I have to write my ending, even if it sucks.

Anyone else finding that they are so close to the end of their first draft or final draft and are having a hard time pushing themselves forward? Any advice for me? I have never gotten so far in a project before. Usually I drop them within the first thrity pages for something new because I have the habbit of getting bored. But with this novel...that is not the case. I love my characters and my story. I am just stuck and am not sure what needs to be done. Am I overthinking this? Because this is first draft should I just write whatever comes to my head?

Sorry for all the questions, but I really am worried about this. Any advice or comments at all would be appreciated. I just feel like banging my head against the wall.

I really should have outlined this story before writing it. Really.