1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
I sold a book! And honestly, I still can’t believe it! And Courtney and I started The Greenists and got some amazing bloggers to join us.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I can’t remember if I made any resolutions last year. I don’t really believe in that – I like making long term goals, and I think I’m working toward them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
This year was light on babies. The past 2-3 years were big baby years, and I think the tagline for next year should be Babies! Babies! And More Babies!, because there are a heck of a lot of beautiful beach ball bellies in my group of friends right now.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?
I don’t even think we crossed the Canadian border this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A finished bathroom? :)

And I want to work toward creating more order for myself. With STAY coming out in June, I have a feeling next year is going to be a really crazy, amazing roller coaster. I want to work on getting the things I can control under control, so I can just enjoy the things that are totally out of my hands.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don’t actually remember the date off hand, but I will never forget the moment my agent called me while I was in Target to tell me Dutton wanted STAY.

The conversation went something like this:
“Are you sitting down?”
“I’m in Target.”
“I think you should sit down.”
“I’m fine.”
“Can you go find a shelf or a display or something to sit on?”
“Sure.” I didn’t move.
“Are you sitting?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t.
“Dutton is interested in STAY.”
“Woah! . . . I really need to sit down!” I collapsed on a shelf next to some Rubbermaid bins and burst into tears. The happy kind.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Well, there’s that whole book thing. :) Also, when I realized that a lot of my time was going to be spent sitting in front of the computer (even more than before) I broke down and found a personal trainer. Chris is AMAZING, and I can honestly say that I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m really proud of that, and also the fact that I made a proactive and healthy choice for my mental and physical well-being. I have a really hard time making the time and effort to take care of myself, so this is a very big personal win for me.

9. What was your biggest failure?
This current bathroom situation feels like quite the failure right now, although, I can’t say there’s anything we could have done differently. Given the facts we had when we made the decisions we made, it seemed like the right choice. Obviously, if we knew then what we knew now . . .

I also think I had times of being extremely hard on myself this year. I need to quit that. It didn’t get me anywhere. Although, maybe calling that a failure is just perpetuating the problem?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Minor stuff, mostly. I need to get the migraine situation under control, but I have a plan for that.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A fence.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Nothing I’ve accomplished could have happened without J. He has been so supportive of me and my writing. Joan and the rest of my writing group ladies. My agent, my editor, my publisher. One of the things that moves me to tears on a regular basis is the fact that I have absolutely amazing, beautiful friends. I could go on and on and on, but there are three pages of acknowledgments in the back of STAY that cover this in great detail. . . :)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
If you’ve been following my bathroom woe rantings on Facebook, you know the answer to this. I may talk about it more here in the next week or so, but frankly, I’m not sure 1. how much anyone really wants to hear about it, and 2. where the line is on talking about private people publicly, no matter how much they upset me.

14. Where did most of your money go?
I need to sit down and do some year end review stuff, but I would say most of it was probably making our home more comfortable and livable. We bought this house thinking we’d be out by now, but it’s super expensive and disruptive to move, and even though our house isn’t ideal, it’s not like we need a bigger one. We’re making it a priority to make what we have work for us, because it’s a lot cheaper than moving, and after 6 1/2 years of living here, it’s probably time to hang some things on the walls.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
There’s that whole book thing. . .

My husband. In 2010, we’ll have our six year anniversary, and I still feel fluttery when he gets home from work. J is a truly incredible person.

My dogs. Stella has been with us for a little over a year now, and I can’t believe how far she’s come. And Argo. . . well, you can’t not get really, really, really excited about Argo. He exudes the most amazing love and energy and it’s contagious.

Seeing an amazing group of old friends on my trip to NY. Meeting my agent and editor.

Oh, and goodness! STAY selling in Italy, Germany, and Holland, and getting a blurb quote from one of my all time favorite authors. Although, I think those things are so huge to me that they’ve taken on a kind of surreal quality. There’s a part of me that keeps thinking they must be talking about the person sitting behind me. Seriously. You find out that this —

“I cannot wait to read more from Allie Larkin—an effervescent new voice in fiction. Witty, sweet, and strikingly real, Stay is for any woman who has ever experienced heartbreak or loss and needed a friend to lean on. I loved every word!”

Beth Harbison New York Times bestselling author of Shoe Addicts Anonymous and Hope in a Jar

–is going on your book (when you’re still coming to terms with the fact that you actually wrote a book and it’s going to be in real live book form), and it’s kind of a, “wait, um, me? You’re talking about me?” moment. And I still can’t read that quote out loud without bursting into tears. The happy kind.

To be continued. . .