13 Things I Can't Live Without

I'm going to alter that title a bit here and say I "don't want to" live without... because technically, we can live without some of these things. The quality of life without them is up for discussion.

1. Coffee - however you take it, for me, it's an essential part of the day. I weaned myself (with great difficulty) from caffeine, so it's decaf all day.

2. Creamer - For those of you who drink your coffee black - feel free to skip this one and go to #3. I can't choke down a cup of coffee without this. I prefer half and half, but as my mother used to say, "people in hell in want ice water, too." In my case, no cream, creamer, or something resembling it, no coffee.

3. Chocolate - Now, I have to tell you, this was my #1 at first, but then I realized that coffee is something I use more of so I hemmed and hawed over this. But however you cut it, roast it, bake it, shape it, or spread it, chocolate is a daily necessity. For me, the darker the better. I reduced my weight by over 85 lbs over the last four years and have kept it off, but I still get my daily chocolate.

To keep this from becoming a list filled with the letter C, I'll pop this one here.

4. Hugs - I'm affectionate and cuddly, and lucky for me, hubby is too. I want my cuddles in small doses throughout the day, but I'm good with big ones too.

5. Hotties - On my blog, and on this one, there's a widget called Hunk du jour that gives you a new photo of a hot guy every day. Some famous, some not, all gorgeous. I love that! Purely for research purposes of course. *ahem* For example, the one at the left is in the video I made to showcase For Women Only. He plays Khyff, aka "the Machine" a former prostitute who could give hours of orgasms without having one himself. Of course, all good things must end, and a traumatic experience leaves him unable and unwilling to touch anyone, even family. Until a crisis forces Khyff to take drastic measures to overcome the issue. He must seduce an ambassador and appease the empress's wrath toward his brother. How he overcomes it and what happens when he does is what makes this book so hot. It's going in print early in 2011.

6. Nature - arguably, we really can't live without this. I love all the seasons, and my favorite is generally the one I'm in at the moment. Spring coolness and rain, summer heat and vibrant greens, fall colors and rustling leaves, and winter's barren trees with the promise of returning life in the next season.

7. Gloves - I don't like cold steering wheels in winter, or hot ones in summer, so gloves in the car are a must. But I almost always wear a fingerless glove on my right hand when on the pc for comfort as well as protection for my skin. Ah... no. Mine doesn't look like this one, but it's so pretty I wanted to share it. I had a sweater almost exactly like this and wore it to absolute shreds.

8. Did I say chocolate? Especially dark. Yum. Okay, that's probably cheating, but I love chocolate! Deal with it.

9. Blonds with blue eyes. Dark haired guys with brown eyes. Raven haired men with grey eyes. Curly hair, long hair, and oh btw, my hubby shaves his head and I love it. I have a thing for eyes, hair, and brawny chests. Smooth is #1, but a sprinkling of hair is good. I'm not that into gorillas, ya get me? But some is okay. This one is on the list as what is called in anime as "fan service" - meaning it's gratuitous to keep the fans happy. In this case, readers like me who love gorgeous men. *sigh* This guy plays Khyff's younger brother Senth in the video for At the Mercy of Her Pleasure.

10. Family and Friends - To me, this is a high priority despite the fact it came in near the bottom. I can only fit so much in at a time, you know? Family everywhere are vital to me. Nearby personal friends you can see and touch are great, but online friends are more abundant. The authors on this blog are among them, my beta readers, the critique group I manage, members of my yahoo groups... Okay, stopping there or I'll have a list a mile long.

11. Supposed to be a list of things I can't live without? Have to add S-E-X then! No detail here (I save that for my books) but I can recommend an excellent manual that I bought for research when I was writing about Khyff (#5 above). The Illustrated Guide to Extended Massive Orgasm by Drs Steve and Vera Bodansky. Oh...yeah! You can get it almost anywhere. Amazon definitely has it. Changed my writing and my life. Wowser.

12. Writing - I have to do this every day. I suppose sometime in the past six years there has been a day when I didn't write something, but I don't remember it well enough to be sure. If you start writing -- even throwing words at the screen -- you'll eventually have a coherent thought. If you don't have it, force it till you do, then edit out the junk and go for it.

13. Reading - I always have a book going. I read magazines constantly and go through them back to front the first time, then front to back, read different sections, and when bored, will even read the classifieds if they're in there. Shoot, I'll read cereal boxes. If it stands still long enough for me to focus on it, I'll read it. Once, I even read a sign posted in the back of my Literature classroom that said, "Warning: Do not read this sign." I can't help it! But my favorite things to read are books by my friends. The last book I read was Incubus, by Janet Elizabeth Jones. It's available in ebook now, and in print on Jan 1st. I got the ebook, but I'll be at the store on 1/1/11 to buy the paperback too. Is it that good? Yes yes yes. Not to mention, she's a dear friend, one hell of a writer, and Meical Grabian is a vampire turned incubus hero to die for. *sigh*

Your turn! What can't you - or would rather not - live without?