So, friends in warm climates-enjoy the pictures!

And, for some warm-fuzzies after all that cold:

Critter being her normal cute self

Happy snow day!

Sadly, I think the above graph is way more accurate than it should be.

Life is a wonderful thing. There is so much surrounding us all to be happy about. Negativity just breeds more negativity and gets you nowhere. Sure, bad things happen in life, and everyone has rough times, but being negative about these things helps no one. A positive attitude alone doesn’t fix problems, but it sure helps put one in the mindset to go about fixing them.

Today, in honor of National Positivity Day (or, as it may be, Rachel’s Positivity Day), I am taking a few minutes to mention the things I have been blessed to have in my life.

• Bubba. Seriously, he is the best husband ever. I am lucky to have him.
• A great job. I have fun at work every single day. Would I rather be at home writing all day? Probably, but it will be hard to say goodbye to this job when the time comes. I love it.
• Timothy. He might not be much of a car, but he is reliable and gets me from point A to point B just fine. Oh, who am I kidding? Timothy is kind of an eyesore. But he is MY eyesore, and I love driving him!
• My writing. I am not published, and I don’t have an agent. For some, being where I am is devastating. All that hard work and nothing to show for it! Well, agent or no, publishing contract or no, I am blessed to be able to write.
• My brain. I love to learn. It makes me all kinds of happy to know that, as long as I apply myself, I can learn whatever I want.

Five seems like a good number. The list goes on and on (and on and on and…). There is so much for me to be happy about, I just don’t have the time to be negative.

**Warning: cliche’ city ahead**

When live throws the proverbial curve ball, wind up and knock it out of the park. Or, if you do swing a strike, learn from it so you can hit the home run next time around.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or lemon meringue pie. Just be sure to share some with me!

When I had to have my shoulder re-constructed two years ago, I knew massage therapy might not be a feasible career option anymore. I was disappointed. But at the same time, I was excited. With massage no longer an option, the whole world of opportunities opened up before me. I now had an excuse to go back to school again! (for Russian translation, for those who are curious)

This morning, I was getting all my ducks in a row concerning starting school again when it hit me: this is part of why I love writing! With each book I write, I learn more and more. Even better–with each new book, I learn an abundance of stuff I probably would not learn in a traditional classroom (unless I just went to school for every subject under the sun–if only I had the time and money). For instance, while researching for my books so far, I have learned about:

• Medieval mythology of Incubi, Succubi, Cambions, and Nephilim
• History of Charleston, SC–particularly its cemeteries
• Battle of New Bern (civil war)
• Physical and emotional damage of rape (this was tough reading)
• Architecture of old plantation homes
• Ninjitsu (the theory, not the practice)
• Dostoevsky, Dostoevsky, Dostoevsky!!

Okay, that last one will definitely be covered in a traditional classroom as I study Russian. I have learned countless other things while researching for my books, but this little list shows what I have learned more in-depth. What a wide range of studies!

Writing is the perfect thing for someone who likes to learn as much as I do. With each book I write, I have an excuse to spend time digging, searching, and reading about a wide assortment of topics. I learn things I had never even thought about before the book idea hit me. I learn things many people will probably never think about. And, as a bonus, much of my research spawns ideas for new books to write!

Oh, and another brilliant side-effect of all this research? I now know even more random trivia, which should help secure my position as Queen-of-Trivial-Pursuit.

I don’t review books on my blog. I considered the idea–and even thought it was a great one–before I launched my site, but eventually decided against it. Why? Because I am a fairly selfish person. Book reviews take a lot of time, and I would rather spend that time writing my own books than reviewing someone else’s. I have a great respect for people who take the time and energy to write very informative, comprehensive reviews. My to-be-read pile has multiplied thanks to their efforts.

I might occasionally recommend a book on my blog. When I find something I really love, I want to share it to the world (read: my three followers). Thus (in the spirit of full disclosure and all):

An official declaration to the FTC:

In the event that I recommend a book on my blog, consider it a paid endorsement. Heck, if I talk about a book on my blog at all, even negatively*, consider it a paid endorsement.

I may have been paid in any of the following ways:

• Free book
• Big, fat check**
• Pirate booty
• Galleons
• Knowledge
• Warm, fuzzy feelings

Let it be known: Rachel Bateman is all about paid endorsements.

In other news…

Thanks to Debbie Ridpath Ohi for the laughs

*This won’t happen. Why would I waste my time writing about a book I didn’t even like?
**Um, yeah. Not likely.

So, as I think, I will share my excitement over my shiny new work in progress. SO excited. I won’t say much, but here is what I can share:

*Boarding School* ** *Ninja*

Excitement.

It is a good thing Bubba and I are moving to New York soon, because, in honor of my new book, I must eat at this amazing, amazing restaurant!!

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

I have decided. And the winner is:

I talked of my love for this book in yesterday’s post. What sets this one above the rest and makes it the favorite book of my childhood is not the creative story, the writing, or the illustrations. It is the memories. The memory of reading Oddkins with my mom and sister is a powerful one for me, and that memory gives this book the edge.

What is your favorite book from your childhood?

Apparently Autumn will not be gracing us with her presence in Bozeman this year. So sad; she was always a favorite of mine.

It is definitely a good day to curl up with some hot chocolate and a good book.

We are up to our eyeballs in work today, so blogging time is scanty. Instead of my profound thoughts, I will just leave you with the profound thoughts of another:

Dear Mister Language Person: What is the purpose of the apostophe?

Answer: The apostrophe is used mainly in hand-lettered small business signs to alert the reader that an “S” is coming up at the end of a word, as in: WE DO NOT EXCEPT PERSONAL CHECK’S, or: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEM’S. Another important grammar concept to bear in mind is that you should put quotation marks around random words for decoration, as “TRY” OUR HOT DOG’S, or even TRY “OUR” HOT DOG’S.

~Dave Barry

Also, be on the lookout for a new blog feature…starting tomorrow!

For my fun news of the day: I got an email last night (via the contact form on my site) from a twelve-year-old girl thanking me for the writing advice. It makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside.

And, now:

Personality Toolkit: Optimism

Henry Ford said, “whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.” Whether you like his cars or not, you cannot deny the wisdom in this statement (okay, feel free to deny it if you want–I can’t stop you, but I will think you are wrong).

So, in case you missed the memo: writing is hard work. So, let’s say you do all the work and write a novel. Yay! Now it is time to send your baby out into the world for the first time. You put him (yes, Shiny New Manuscript is a boy-’cause it’s my blog and I said so) in his best outfit, shine his shoes, and comb his hair just so. He is shining and eager to please. You send him on his merry way, then wait (impatiently) for him to come back from his play-date.

The world is yours; it is only a matter of time before people are falling at your feet, declaring you the best novelist of all time. Then your baby comes back home. He is tattered, beaten, and covered in red. Is it blood? No. It is the notes of your first readers. Perhaps Shiny New Manuscript was not ready to go out and play yet. Sure, on the surface he was polished and poised. But underneath? Does not play well with others.

What do you do at this point? Is there much wailing and gnashing of teeth? Do you get a spell of the am-I-crazies? Think, maybe, just maybe, Shiny New Manuscript is not publishable? In fact, nothing I write is publishable? Maybe I was fooling to ever think I could be an author? I suck, I suck, I SUCK. And I quit.!

Or, you realize all the red oozing from between the pages of SNM will help make him better. You set to work revising SNM, adding scenes, taking away scenes, clarifying relationships, and tightening prose. You fix the grammatical mistakes–the ones you are appalled you ever made. You spruce SNM up again. Again, you dress him up, shine his shoes, and comb his hair–in a better style this time.

This time, you are sure SNM has graduated from the play-dates in the kiddie-pool. Yep. Shiny New Manuscript is ready for the deep end. Maybe even a leap from the diving board. You send SNM out to agents (after the appropriate query, of course). Again, you wait (impatiently) for a response.

The agents will love SNM. How could they not? You poured your heart and soul into making him everything he can possibly be. Whether you admit it or not, you begin to have visions of agents begging to represent you, editors fighting over SNM, auctions, and Great Big Advance.

Then the email shows up. Sorry, not for me. Again. And again. And AGAIN. With the emails come suggestions. SNM does great with Social Skills, but definitely needs to work on Geography. Or SNM is great in during Story Time, but has issues with Structure. Sob.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. The hard work of writing does not stop once a manuscript is written. For most, nothing about getting published is easy. I would be willing to bet that even those who seem to have just breezed through the whole publication process put in countless hours of work-we just didn’t see it.

So where does optimism factor into all of this? This is, after all, supposed to be a post about just that. Well, how about I clear things up. It comes into play all the time.

Optimism is what powers writers through the day. When critiques come in, optimism is what helps us revise instead of cry. When our manuscripts are rejected by agents or publishers, optimism is what helps us keep writing new material.

And when we finally reach our dreams and are published, it is optimism that gets us there.

There is no room for pessimism in a writer’s life; pessimism will get you nowhere. When the negative thoughts start to sneak into your mind, remember how great you really are and push them aside.

Because, “whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.”

I encourage you to think you can. And be right.