Just Another New Year Post

A new year.

A blank page.

A beginning to a new chapter.

I want to fill this one with an abundance of good health, happiness, success, and love.

I have vowed to write more, read more, and create more because that will bring all of the above into my life.

I will try to forgive my boyfriend’s bad moods and thank him for forgiving mine. With a heavy heart, I will hold his hand as he copes with losing his mother less than 2 weeks before Christmas, and I will silently (and somewhat guiltily) pray that I have a long time left with mine.

I will tell my friends and family how much they mean to me, and how grateful I am to have them in my life. But not just on Facebook, Twitter, or via email, because they deserve more than that and it saddens me that real communication is becoming a lost art.

I will try to remember what’s important.

I will try to keep things in perspective.

To hell with making resolutions to lose weight, join a gym, or stop eating chocolate or drinking coffee.

I most likely won’t lose weight and I’m okay with that. It saves me from spending money on new smaller sized clothes—my current ones fit just fine. Not to mention gyms are expensive and I’d rather put all that money towards chemotherapy and supplements to help my bulldog, Rooney, win his battle against cancer.

I won’t give up chocolate or coffee. They bring me comfort and taste delicious, and life is just too short to give up what you love.

That will be my theme, motto, and inspiration for 2011…Love.

Love what you do.

Love who you’re with.

Love yourself.

And when in doubt, love.

Happy New Year to each of you. With love, I wish you an abundance of happiness, good health, success and love.

Thank you for being a part of this chapter.

Hopeful

Usually, I wouldn’t post what I’m about to write on my blog. I worry it might bring readers down, be of little interest to anyone because it’s not writing or book related, or just be too personal. But most of you reading this are writers. You probably understand that sometimes writing it down is therapeutic. So here we go…

Four years ago an American Bulldog sat shivering and sick in a kill shelter in Miami. He was red flagged. Scheduled to be put down at the end of the day because he was a large breed, abused (therefore fearful of humans), emaciated (starved), infested with engorged ticks and fleas, and covered in burns and scars. According to the shelter he was “hopeless.”

Hopeless is a matter of opinion. And opinions can be wrong.

I spoke up for him, and his release papers were signed less than 10 minutes before the shelter closed. Another 10 minutes and his story would have had a tragic and lonely end.

4 years later, most of his scars have healed. He’s no longer scared of people. He gets spoiled with the best quality foods, car rides, squeaky toys, yummy bones, and a sister (part lab/border collie) who gives him kisses every day. He’s the best snuggler in the world, and his tail hardly ever stops wagging.

Far from hopeless.

If I had written about him three weeks ago the paragraph above would have also included “healthy.” Unfortunately, I can’t say that now. The day before Thanksgiving, Rooney had a mass removed.

(Here he is after surgery. So cute. )

Six days later, the vet called and informed me it was cancerous. Over the sound of my heart shattering, I listened to his recommendation for chemotherapy: the pros, cons, risks, statistics, best and worst case scenarios. It left me terrified.

For almost a week I debated whether or not to put him through chemo. I was sure I couldn’t let them inject poison into my baby. Then I was sure I had to do everything I could to give him a fighting chance at beating cancer. Then I didn’t know what to do. I was scared, sad, and lost.

Tuesday we returned to the vet’s office to have his stitches taken out. Rooney was on the table, being forced to lay on his side by the vet and tech. He was confused, shaking, and thrashing around in fear. Then I held his head, pressed my nose against his, locked eyes with him, and promised it would be okay. (The same way I did the first day we met.) He instantly relaxed and held completely still while the doctor went to work.

It was two minutes at the most, but for two minutes we never took our eyes off each other. We were communicating volumes without saying a word. He trusts me. I’m the first person he’s ever trusted, and with that trust he counts on me to decide what’s best for him.

I can only hope that I make the right decisions.

Friday he had his first chemo session. He did great. We’ve been curled up on the couch together all weekend trying to recover; him from the physical damage, me from the stress and worry. Many times we locked eyes again and he’d wag his tail, rest his head on me, or give me kisses.

(Relaxing with his new toy.)

I know I made the right decision to rescue him. I don’t know if I’m making the right decision to do chemo. We’re taking each day as it comes. In the meantime, I’m giving thanks for each day I have with him, and I’m trying to stay positive. Because together, Rooney and I have learned…

where there is love, there is hope.

Going For A New Look

In case you didn't notice, my blog got a facelift. Pretty snazzy, huh?
See the new tabs up top separating my shenanigans into easy to read pages? I felt like the old layout was too busy and crowded, so voila! Welcome to my new look. Have a look around while I pour us some cocktails. I still have some things to move around and add, but I had to show it off because I love it so much.

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due. The awesome design was created by a good friend of mine, Ron Schirmacher. He's got wicked web designing skills, and he had the patience of a saint as I sent emails asking him to tweak, tuck, tear away, etc. Contact him if you want him to design you your very own. You can see his company site by clicking on his name, or email me and I'll hook you up with his contact info.

And The Winner Is...

Finally, my teddy bear has been returned (a little shaken up, but physically unharmed) so I can announce the winner of my signed copy of Paolo Bacigalupi's SHIP BREAKER. Well, not MY copy. I'm keeping my personalized one for myself and will never ever give it away. But the winner of the OTHER signed copy is...

Matthew Rush!!!One of the only guy's I've ever seen pull off the I-ooze-coolness-even-with-a-cig-hanging-outta-my-mouth look. He even left a really cool comment that would be a great plug for the book and I feel it's worth quoting:

Wow. What an amazing premise. Sounds dystopian, and fantastic and beautifully romantic all at once. Just the idea of a lovely old wooden ship suddenly showing up in this down trodden world of beached steel behemoths drew me in instantly.

So congratulations to Matthew! And also, special thanks to Ms. Honey Hostage--er, I mean, Carol Valdez Miller for plugging my contest and boosting my followers to over 600. And WELCOME to all the new friends who found me through Carol's blog. I'm sorry I didn't have 50 of these books to give away because I'd love to give everyone a copy. BUT, she is giving away SHIP BREAKER and some other great titles, so head over there and enter if you haven't already.

Thanks to everyone who commented and entered. Happy Friday!

The Good News and the Bad News

Bad news should always come first, so here it is: I'm a liar.
I'm not choosing a SHIP BREAKER winner today. I will choose the winner on Friday. It's a long, dark and twisty story involving bartering and blackmailing, but trust me; lives may or may not have been threatened so I made this decision for everyone's safety.

The good news: Carol is giving away a CRAP LOAD of books over at her blog. One being SHIP BREAKER. So now you have TWO chances to win SB or you could win some other great ones. And if you haven't entered my contest yet, now you can. Just click here.

I promise I will choose the winner on Friday. Please forgive me.

(Dear Ms. Honey Hostage, if you're reading this, please return my loved ones ASAP--preferably unharmed.)

Win a SIGNED copy of SHIP BREAKER

One of the highlights of World Fantasy Convention was meeting
Paolo Bacigalupi and hearing him read an excerpt from
SHIP BREAKER.

Paolo has won many awards such as the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and others, but SHIP BREAKER is his first YA novel and it's a 2010 National Book Award Finalist. The cool part: He's still humble, and super friendly.

SHIP BREAKER is dangerous. And dirty. (Not in the way you're thinking--get your mind out of the gutter.) As soon as I started reading, the story and characters sucked me in as powerfully as if I'd fallen into an ocean of oil. I live on the Gulf Coast, so it really hit home for me.

Here's the lowdown:
In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .

You can't have my copy. Ever.
But you can win your own signed copy.
To enter, simply be a follower of my blog and leave a comment.
Tweet about it (@Karen_Hooper
Link: http://tiny.cc/SHIPBRKR ) sidebar mention it, post about it etc, and get 5 extra entries for each mention.

I will announce the winner Friday morning (Nov 19th).
It's open to all you international folks too!

Trust me; YOU WANT THIS BOOK.