Not-So-Guilty Pleasures: The Brenda Drake Edition

Welcome to the first Not-So-Guilty Pleasures of 2013! Now that we're a month in and have all decided on which resolutions we're keeping, which ones we're throwing to the side and which ones were completely unrealistic to begin with (hello, my thoughts on drinking less Dr. Pepper), it's a great time to go back to those little joys that leave us slightly embarrassed.

Today we're lucky enough to have with us Brenda Drake, author and contest creator extraordinaire. So, let's see what she had to say:

Not-So-Guilty Pleasures

I was raised Catholic, so pretty much everything makes me feel guilty. I kid. Kind of. I do feel guilty whenever I do something wrong. So basically I try, probably too hard, not to do anything that would make my grandmother look down her crooked nose at me. As far as not-so-guilty—and I like that you put the so in there because there will be a smidgen of guilt, it's just my nature—pleasures go, I have many, so I'll just stick to the top five.

1. Contests. I love them. For me, it's a way to give back to the writing community. There's nothing better than hearing all the successes that have come from the contests I've held on my blog. I blame Grandpa Joe. He was such a giving man. If you needed a quarter and he only had a quarter and a dime in his pocket, he'd give you the quarter and suffer with the dime. He was that generous. And I am my grandfather's granddaughter in all ways.

2. Coffee. Hello? It baffles me when someone doesn't like coffee. I inhale it every day. It's either that or vodka, and since I'm not Hemingway, I decided it was okay to be addicted to coffee. Every flavor. Heck, I even like a bad cup of coffee over not having coffee at all.

3. Pens. I must be a secret kleptomaniac because I end up with pens I don't even know where I got them. That's the first thing I go for at conferences, so hold tight to your pens if you see me coming.

4. Disney princesses. I want to be one. Everything looks easy in their world. All they have to do is kill their evil stepmother and live happily ever after without cleaning toilets or losing weight. Seriously. I could watch those animated ladies all day. One can dream…

5. Goldfish crackers. Don't tell me there's a sale on them, because I will drop everything to go buy them. Then come home with every flavor they've ever made. If I put a box by the computer while I'm writing, they're gone before I know it. I'm talking Costco size box here, people! I hate diets, cause they're the first to go. How do I eat my little fishy wonders? You mean, you didn't know there was a way to eat them? I take two and have them kiss goodbye, and then bite their heads off. I should probably think about being a horror writer.

Want to learn more about Brenda? Check out her website or follow her on Twitter (I do and it's a pretty constant stream of awesome).