A Ten-Year Journey to a Golden Ticket

/in , , /by

By Lois Winston

Many authors mention in their bios that they always wanted to be a writer. Not me. I wanted to be an astronaut. That dream died a quick death due to a right brain that quakes at the sight of anything requiring math skills and a body prone to motion sickness. Some dreams just aren’t meant to be.

I got the urge to write well into my adulthood. While on a business trip, I was attacked by a rabid dream. After a ten-year publishing journey, that dream became Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception, which was published nearly seventeen years ago.

The story is a romantic suspense about secrets and revenge and the steps some people will go to protect the former and achieve the latter. I’ve always been fascinated by both secrets and revenge. Who among us doesn’t have secrets? Who among us hasn’t harbored revenge fantasies? Is it possible to get through junior high school without a hefty dose of both?

Years ago, I knew a woman who went to great lengths to project the ideal marriage. She constantly bragged about how much her husband loved her and what a perfect marriage they had. Then I learned the secrets behind the lies. She was carrying on an affair that her husband discovered when he tapped his own phone. Mr. and Mrs. Perfect Marriage were anything but. Although Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception isn’t about that marriage, it got me thinking about public persona versus private reality.

So there I was on a business trip back in 1995, and I guess I was subconsciously thinking about Mr. and Mrs. Perfect Marriage when I had this dream. And what was even spookier was that each night for the next couple of weeks I dreamed another “chapter” of the dream. Eventually, I was dreaming up chapters during the day as well as at night. Finally, I decided to commit the dream to paper. Fast forward a few weeks and I’m the proud author of a 50,000-word romance that spanned thirty-five years.

Talk about clueless!

Of course, I didn’t know I was clueless. I thought I’d just written the greatest romance of all time. But when I pushed my baby out of the nest into the world of publishing, she flew right back with her beak stuffed full of rejection letters.

I’d been bitten by the writing bug, though, and I’d already started a second novel. I’ve also got a stubborn streak as long as the island of Manhattan. I wasn’t about to be deterred by rejection letters or lack of knowledge. Undaunted, I handed over my VISA card to a friendly salesperson at Barnes & Noble and walked out with an armload of how-to-write-a-novel books.

Those books introduced me to several national writing organizations where I met some generous people willing to offer advice and share their publishing experiences. Some have remained good friends to this day.

Ten years after I first had that dream, after attending countless monthly writers’ meetings and numerous workshops and conferences, I eventually got enough of a clue to sell my first book. Talk Gertie to Me, a chick lit novel, debuted the following year in 2006.

I never forgot about that first clueless effort, though. I liked the characters I’d created, even if the story needed major surgery. I didn’t think the characters deserved to spend eternity under the bed with nobody but the dust bunnies and me ever getting to know them. I went back and rewrote that book. Many, many times. Eventually that 50,000-word romance spanning thirty-five years transformed into a 90,000-word romantic suspense that takes place over several months.

My publishing journey continued and eventually segued into the world of humorous cozy mysteries, but along the way, I continued to write more romance, romantic suspense, and chick lit. I’ve now published twenty-one novels, five novellas, several short stories, one middle-grade book, and a nonfiction book on writing.

There are many paths to publication. Some people are lucky enough to find the straightest, most direct one. They write a book, send it off, and eventually receive a contract offer. For most of us, it takes years of honing our craft before we’re offered that golden ticket. For me, the journey was certainly worth taking.

What about you? If you’re a published author, how long did it take you to see your first book in print? If you’re in the middle of your own  journey toward publication, how long have you been working at your dream? Does it often seem like you’ll never succeed? Don’t give up! Perseverance is everything.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

Thoughts on an aging mother

/in /by

By Barbara J Eikmeier

My mother, at age 91, helped me up off the floor. It was one of those moments that will stay with me for a long time.

Dementia has left her passive. Arthritis has left her bent over at the waist and often in pain. She uses a walker, moves very slowly, and needs help with most aspects of her care.

Thanks to my dad’s careful financial planning and the round-the-clock caregivers we’ve hired, she still lives in the farmhouse in California where I was raised. I visit her from Kansas for a week or so every month or two. She has become quiet, rarely voicing descent in a conversation, often confused about who I am.

But I still know her.

So, I tell her about my travels, and my children. I show her my embroidery projects and tell her about the book I’m reading.

She thinks I’m her sister. Or one of my sisters.

She tells me “They don’t let me do anything.” Mostly I think she’s bored. After all, she had a busy life. She raised nine children, was active in her church, helped on the dairy farm, and took care of the 20 heifers we raised every year. She did all the bookkeeping and read the daily paper and listened to the evening news. She mended clothing, baked cookies, and served dinner for a crowd every night. Now she paints with water and watches cartoons.

She doesn’t know me, but she remembers how to spoon leftovers into Tupperware, so I set her up at her place at the kitchen table and  leave pot roast and potatoes, lettuce and broccoli next to an assortment of containers. She can perform this task perfectly, without help.

She thinks I’m her sister, but she can use a seam ripper to fix my sewing mistake. So, I gave her a seam ripper and showed her the stitching that needed to come out. She finished in no-time, after all, she was an expert seamstress earlier in her life.

I showed her the grapefruit I picked from her tree. She sniffed it and said, “It’s too old.” I cut it in half and showed her again. She poked at the dry, grainy segments and said, “Throw it away.”

When I’m with her I sometimes need to escort her to the bathroom. She washed her hands and said, “I think my shoe strap has come undone.” I squatted, my bottom nearly brushing the floor as I checked the Velcro on her navy Mary Janes. “It’s ok Mom, but now I have to get up!” I do squats at the gym, but I don’t go that low. My thighs were screaming, but the bathroom is so tiny, and I was trapped between my mother and her walker.  If I leaned forward, I risked toppling into her. That’s when my mother, permanently bent over at the waist, her arms dangling in front of her, reached out, just enough to put her hands around my torso, tuck her palms into my armpits and lift. I popped right up. She smiled and said with a nod, “We have to work together on these kinds of things.”

It’s been a long time since my mother has said my name, but that day, she put her arms around me and for a split second she was the nurturer again.

Barbara J. Eikmeier is a quilter, writer, student of quilt history, and lover of small-town America. Raised on a dairy farm in California, she enjoys placing her characters in rural communities.

Parrott and Tonya Sitting in a Tree by Saralyn Richard

/in , , , , , , /by

 

 

Literary detectives rarely work alone. Sherlock had Watson. Nero Wolfe had Archie Goodwin. Poirot had Captain Hastings. Then there are Nick and Nora Charles, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, and Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.

Authors make good use of the sidekicks throughout the series. The sidekick provides a sounding board for the detective, someone to help with collecting evidence and processing clues. Sometimes the sidekick offers an insight that might turn out to be a red herring—or not. The dialogue and interaction between the detective and his sidekick add interest and humanity to the story.

The Detective Parrott mystery series features Detective Oliver Parrott, a young, smart, organized person who’s well-grounded and dedicated to finding the truth. An outsider in the wealthy community he serves, he has a sixth sense about sniffing through subterfuge and barriers, and he’s undaunted by rich and powerful people. He just wants to do the right thing and make way for justice to be served.

That’s a big job for one guy to do, and the work can become frustrating and lonely. That’s why Parrott has a sidekick—his lovely fiancée (and then wife) Tonya.  College sweethearts, Parrott and Tonya have similar backgrounds. Both come from single parent homes in underprivileged neighborhoods. They had scholarships to Syracuse, where Parrott was a football star. Tonya majored in political science, while Parrott majored in criminal justice.

When the series opens in MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT, Tonya is on a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the Navy. Parrott visits with her on Skype, and, while she can’t tell him much about her work, and he can’t tell her much about his, they both provide significant encouragement and support for each other.

By the time of the second book, A PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER, the Parrotts are married and living in Parrott’s small house with their pet cockatiel, Horace. They have a loving marriage, but from the start, their lives are complicated by Tonya’s PTSD. Without spoiling the plot of this and subsequent books, I’ll say that Tonya’s story becomes inextricably entwined with Parrott’s investigation, and from then on, the Parrotts’ personal lives and the detective’s professional life cross paths.

The pattern continues in CRYSTAL BLUE MURDER and MURDER OUTSIDE THE BOX. At times the elements of humor and romance tip the plots into scenes unusual for a police procedural. Readers and reviewers apparently enjoy the dynamics between the two characters, and I’ve been present at many book clubs where people remark about it. One reader stopped me at the theater to plead with me never to let Parrott and Tonya divorce.

I doubt that will ever happen, although the Parrotts have to go through rough times, just like the rest of us. Right now, Parrott and his lovely wife are getting ready for the holiday celebration in their home, and they’ve asked me to wish each and every one of you the best of the season, and a happy new year. Let me echo those chirpy good wishes. May you have good health, friendship, love, peace, and happy reading!

 

MURDER OUTSIDE THE BOX will be available January 5. For other books, check out Saralyn Richard’s website here or Amazon page here.

Do You Drabble? Why You Should!

/in , , /by

by Paula Gail Benson

Loren Eaton’s website

Last year, I wrote about the great experience of participating in Loren Eaton’s Advent Ghosts. I’m so pleased he’s offering the opportunity again this year. Even better, it will not be for a single day, but an entire week!

What is Advent Ghosts? It’s a mass storytelling extravaganza, featuring tales of exactly 100 words. Loren opens his website to anyone who wishes to contribute a “drabble” in the tradition of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, celebrating the spectral, mystical, and magical elements of the season. You can send your drabble to Loren for him to post or put it on your website and send Loren the link, which he will display on his site for readers to find.

What’s a “drabble”? According to Wikipedia, it is a story of exactly 100 words (not counting the title or author byline). Some attribute the origin to the Birmingham University’s Science Fiction Society, which took the word from Monty Python’s Big Red Book (1971). Drabble was a competition where the first person to complete a novel of 100 words won the game.

Loren Eaton

Loren Eaton’s Advent Ghosts isn’t a competition, but a sharing of carefully crafted very short stories. I’ve been participating since 2015, when I contributed a piece of magical realism entitled “Beneath the Decoration”:

On the mantle, the shimmering stag perched, a desperate silver spray-painted statuary, a fake gray fur secured with a lopsided satin bow looped around his neck. His glittering eyes beseeched. The jolly fat man’s nose twitched. “An indignity, even for a replica reindeer. Won’t you join my sleigh tonight?” The twinkle in Santa’s eyes loosened the beast’s frozen shoulders. Dipping his mighty head, he shook off the fur loop and pitched it from his antlers. He reared and jumped into the open sack, hearing “Ho, ho, ho” as the drawstring closed above him. Up the chimney, they escaped décor purgatory.

In 2016, I wrote a poignant tale of a first Christmas without a spouse. I called it, “Ever Here”:

The flood washed everything away, including me. At the kids’ urging, Con stayed. So, among the tangled roots that emerged from the drained lake bed, my spirit lingered. First, Con rebuilt the dock, certain of the water’s return. The construction lulled me to sleep beneath green foliage blanketing the bank. Then, I awakened among brown leaves, hearing metal clanking above. I peered around the planks and saw a lighted framework tree. We’d had one each Christmas, now for thirty-seven years. Eyes glistening as he viewed it, Con said softly, “Not evergreen, but ever here.” I stretched, yawned, and nestled deeper.

For 2021, I relied upon Icelandic folklore to come up with “The Yule Cat’s Fury”:

As Skeggr placed the candle stub on his grandmother’s tombstone, its melting wax burned his fingers.

“I’m alone without you, Amma,” he said. “I’ll receive no Christmas gift of clothing to save me from the Yule Cat’s fury.”

He heard a low growl from the shadows.

“The thirteen Yule Lads played no tricks on me. Window Watcher saw I had nothing worth stealing.”

A light flickered nearby, illuminating Candle Snatcher, who handed Skeggr a ribbon with attached bell.

Gratefully, Skeggr donned his new apparel before leaving.

Seizing the smoldering stub, Candle Snatcher whispered, “Yule Kitty, follow your collar bell’s ring.”

Last year, I returned to the nostalgic with “Traditions”:

Mom always prepared the wooden Advent calendar, placing unique treats in each drawer.

In the spring, celebrating twenty-five married years, Pop gave Mom a new engagement ring. She removed the original and told me. “Joe, this is for your bride.”

I said, “Keep it for me.”

We lost Mom unexpectedly. Auto accident. With Sheila beside me, I watched Mom’s remains guided into the mausoleum vault.

The holidays approached. Important little things went undone. Regretfully, I lifted the empty Advent calendar, not having the heart to fill it until I heard something rattle in drawer 24. Mom’s engagement ring for Sheila.

Don’t you want to join in the fun? Here are Loren Eaton’s instructions:

(1) Email me here at ISawLightningFall [at] gmail [dot] com if you’d like to participate.

(2) Pen a scary story that’s exactly 100-words long — no more, no less.

(3) Post the story to your blog anywhere from Saturday, December 16, to Friday, December 22. Hosting on ISLF is available for those without blogs or anyone who wants to write under a pseudonym. (Don’t worry, you’ll retain copyright!)

(4) Email the link of your story to me.

(5) While you should feel free to write whatever you want to, know that I reserve the right to put a content warning on any story that I think needs it.

Here’s Loren’s post announcing the event: https://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/2023/11/shared-storytelling-advent-ghosts-2023.html

Here’s Loren’s link to the stories shared last year:

https://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/2022/12/advent-ghosts-2022-stories.html

I hope you’ll consider participating. It’s truly a joy. Thank you, Loren, for sponsoring the event. I look forward to it each year!

Gay Yellen: The Return Trip

/in , , , , , , /by
Has this ever happened to you?

You’re driving to somewhere you’ve never been before, searching for street signs, hoping you don’t get lost in an unfamiliar part of town. Finally, you arrive, conduct whatever business you came for, and head home.

But as you retrace your route, you begin to notice singular, interesting sights that you’d ignored on your way there. Oh! That must be the new soccer stadium I’ve read so much about, and there’s that new CosMc’s!

macrovector/freepik

E. L. Doctorow once said that writing a novel is like driving at night in the fog. Even though you’re only able to see as far as your headlights, you can still make it to your destination that way.

I’d add this: it’s only after you complete the round trip home that you realize where you’ve been. This is what happened to me when The Body in the News became Book 3 in the Samantha Newman Mystery Series.

The revelation appeared as I recalled a late, spur-of-the moment decision I’d made to introduce a very minor character into Chapter 9 of the book.

Meet Apollo, the sugar glider (and a possible metaphor).

Wikipedia

This tiny Pacific island marsupial weighs only 4 to 5 ounces. In the book, he arrives at Samantha’s door, sitting atop the head of a person who’s come to help Sam get through a pesky roadblock in her search for a happy life.

I meant to use Apollo as a bright spot during a dark moment in Samantha’s journey. He’s a creature who is almost too cute for his own good. But as I did my research, I learned that sugar gliders are very popular with exotic pet lovers, and that’s bad news for the little critters.

Now, back to yesterday…

…when I suddenly realized that Apollo and Sam had both been dropped into strange and hostile predicaments. And they each needed to get to a place where they belong.

I could claim that I’d planned Apollo’s situation to be a metaphor for Sam’s struggles, except that I saw the connection only after completing my own foggy writing journey to the end of Book 3. But I’m glad Apollo showed up to help her contemplate new hope for the future, even if I hadn’t seen it coming.

Writers always welcome a little bit of magic to grace our creative attempts, something that can intrigue our readers and add a little spark to our work. Even unplanned, a very minor character can be exactly that.

Gay Yellen is the author of the  award-winning Samantha Newman Mysteries include The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News!  Now available on Amazon.

Contact her at GayYellen.com

Multitasking, Time Management and Organization

/in , , , /by

Multitasking, Time Management and Organization

By Donnell Ann Bell

Where’s my keys? Where’s my phone? What did I do with my glasses? Sound familiar?

Many people attribute forgetfulness to advancing years. Me? I attribute forgetfulness to distraction, our busy lives, and the ridiculous notion that if we’re doing multiple things at once, we’re efficient and engaged in time management.

I’m not a fan of multitasking. If you’re doing multiple things at once, chances are you’re in a hurry. Slowing down, focusing on one thing at a time, e.g., concentrating on those keys in your hand, solidifies in your brain where you put them.  Even better, if you concentrate on those keys in your hand AND put them in the same place every time, chances are you will find them every time.

It took me a while to figure this out, but now that I put things in a strategic place, I’m less stressed and don’t spend ten minutes trying to recreate my movements. Further, the most amazing thing has happened. I know precisely where everything is and I’m not late anymore!

I’ve been traveling a great deal for the last two years and hopefully will be slowing down. Now that I’m home, I plan on tackling things I’ve left undone.  Mainly all the stuff I’ve crammed into closets, promising myself I’ll get to it later. Well, my friends, it’s later! And to say I’m organized would be complete fiction. However, I have a game plan to become organized, and I’d like to credit my friend Author Mike Befeler for giving me the ideas to get started.

Mike has no idea I’m crediting him or that I’m recommending his book, Unstuff Your Stuff.  I read this book years ago, and the moment I remember where I put it . . . Kidding. It’s on my Kindle. 😉and my Kindle resides on my nightstand.

Typical of Mike’s books, it’s a humorous mystery, but I have to say as I read, I couldn’t help thinking this is also a great self-help book. So, that’s what I’m doing. Taking the tips I learned from Mike’s novel.

In closing, here some great advice I heard from my eye doctor when I continually misplaced my glasses. “If they’re not on your face, they belong in your case.”

For anyone who wants to read a mystery, smile, and read a self-help, here’s the link and blurb to Mike’s novel.  Happy organizing!

About UNSTUFF YOUR STUFF:  68-year-old Millicent Hargrove returns from her Tuesday night bridge game to her house in Boulder, Colorado, to find her husband, George, dead on the floor with a knife in his chest. At the funeral a man she doesn’t know comes up and hands her an envelope. He explains that with George’s death, she will receive special compensation for some work that George once did for the government. She asks what the work was, but he only says it was classified and he can’t discuss it with her. As she cleans out all her stuff to move from her house to a condo, she discovers that she’s good at organizing her things. Her friends encourage her to start a personal organizing business. Millicent gives it some thought and decides it’s a good idea. She calls her business, Unstuff Your Stuff. Millicent gains clients but struggles with her new life and cryptic clues left by her husband. Men hit on her, but she doesn’t want to get involved in any relationship, although she likes the father of the young man who helped her move to her condo. She escapes attempts on her own life and figures out the mystery of the cryptic messages left by her husband. She develops a successful organizing business while sorting through the clutter from the secret life her husband led.

About Mike Befeler: In the May, 2008, issue of the AARP Bulletin Mike Befeler was identified as one of four authors in a new emerging mystery sub-genre. Harlan Coben, president of Mystery Writers of America stated, “We’ve just scratched the surface on geezer-lit. It could be the next frontier in crime fiction.” Mike turned his attention to fiction writing after a career in high technology marketing.  His debut novel, RETIREMENT HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2007.  The second novel in his Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series, LIVING WITH YOUR KIDS IS MURDER, appeared in 2009 and was nominated for the Lefty Award for the best humorous mystery of 2009. The third book in the series, SENIOR MOMENTS ARE MURDER, was released in 2011. The fourth book in the series, CRUISING IN YOUR EIGHTIES IS MURDER, was published in 2012 and was nominated for the Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2012. The fifth book in the series, CARE HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2013. The sixth book in the series, NURSING HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2014. He also has a paranormal private investigator mystery, THE V V AGENCY (published 2012); a paranormal geezer-lit mystery, THE BACK WING (published 2013), and its sequel, THE FRONT WING (2019);  a theater mystery, MYSTERY OF THE DINNER PLAYHOUSE (published in 2015); a non-fiction biography, THE BEST CHICKEN THIEF IN ALL OF EUROPE (published in 2015); a historical mystery, MURDER ON THE SWITZERLAND TRAIL (published in 2015); a sports mystery, COURT TROUBLE, A PLATFORM TENNIS MYSTERY (published in 2016), and its sequel PARADISE COURT (2019); an international thriller, THE TESLA LEGACY (2017); a standalone geezer-lit mystery, DEATH OF A SCAM ARTIST (2017); a professional organizer mystery, UNSTUFF YOUR STUFF (2018); a novella, CORONAVIRUS DAZE (2020); OLD DETECTIVES HOME (2022); and LAST GASP MOTEL (2023).

Mike is an acclaimed speaker and gives three entertaining and informative presentations titled, “The Secret of Growing Older Gracefully—Aging and Other Minor Inconveniences,” “How To Survive Retirement,” and “Rejection Is Not a Four Letter Word,” which promote a positive image of aging. Contact him at mikebef@aol.com if you’d like him to speak to your organization.  https://www.mikebefeler.com

About Donnell Ann Bell:  Leaving international thrillers to the world travelers, Donnell Ann Bell concentrates on suspense that might happen in her neck of the woods – writing SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Published with BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books, she has written four Amazon bestselling standalones as well as her award-winning Cold Case series, Black Pearl and Until Dead. Currently, she’s working on book three of the series. For more information, see her website at https://www.donnellannbell.com

 

‘Tis the Season with Catriona McPherson

/in , , , /by

With Sparkle Abbey‘s Special Guest Catriona McPherson

Is HOP SCOT a seasonal romance? I’m going to say yes. Okay Lexy and Taylor are already engaged when they go to Scotland to let him meet the parents, the rest of the regular cast are all coupled up already, and there’s a mouldering semi-skeleton bricked up in the basement.

BUT –

A. after writing about a Scot out of water in California for five books, this time I get to write a Christmas love letter to Scotland.

And B. there’s an actual romance. Honest. You just need to keep reading. I don’t think I meant it to happen but who doesn’t love a Christmas love story? I know I do and I even love some of my favourites the way you love an elderly flatulent cat, or your beloved aunt’s terrible cooking. Tell me what you think of my list and let me know what’s on yours.

 

White Christmas Movie photo with characters from the movie.

5. WHITE CHRISTMAS

No bad cooking or feline flatulence here. In my opinion, this is the best Christmas film of any type and the best musical too. I watch it every year. When I was a wee girl, my sister Wendy and I thought Judy (Vera Ellen) was perfection, Betty (Rosemary Clooney) didn’t belong in a film because she looked like our mum, Phil (Danny Kaye) was weird, and Bob (Bing Crosby) was an old man. Now I think Judy needs a good meal, Betty is impossibly gorgeous because she looks like our mum, Phil is a poppet and Bob . . . yeah, he’s still an old man. And the plot is bonkers and Betty’s gloves in the nightclub scene look like she stole them from a welder. But it’s joyous for all that and I wouldn’t change a thing. Even the titles are beautiful.

 

Book cover for The Christmas Bookshop

4. THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP

Jenny Colgan’s romance about a misfit girl who goes to stay with her annoyingly perfect sister in Edinburgh and transforms the fortunes of a struggling bookshop in the Old Town might have been written especially for me. I adore Edinburgh and bookshop settings (Quiet Neighbors was mine) and, in case you haven’t guessed yet, I’m partial to Christmas too. The follow-up is just out. I’ve told Santa. Incidentally, the one-star reviews of this on Amazon.com are hilarious – mostly concerned with the shocking bad language. I really hope none of these disappointed readers ever goes to Scotland! They’re in for a rude (literally) awakening.

 

The Holiday movie with photos of Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black.

3. THE HOLIDAY

This the first of my love it or hate it favourites. My mum and dad watch this film (in which KateWinslet (Iris) and Cameron Diaz (Amanda) house-swap between England and LA) like I watch White Christmas. When they persuaded me to join them one summer – that’s significant, I sat stony-faced throughout its run-time. Then I watched it again at the right time of year and found it absolutely charming. Jack Black is a riot, the London office is convincing even if the commute to the Cotswolds is nonsense so the LA film-industry stuff might be accurate too, Eli Wallach steals the whole film (from Jack Black!), the two little kids are among the least sickening screen moppets ever, and the rest of it is pretty people doing silly things. What’s wrong with that? At Christmas-time, nothing at all.

 

A Castle for Christmas photo of Cary Elwes and Brooke Shields

2.  A CASTLE FOR CHRISTMAS

Now, if you can take THE HOLIDAY and not throw stuff at the telly, it’s time to move on to this instant classic, from 2021. Sophie (Brooke Shields) is a novelist, who has found success in a publishing world that bears not the slightest, glancing similarity to the real one. So she goes to Scotland to stay in a castle. Of course. The castle is owned by a duke (Cary Elwes) who is broke, grumpy and not interested in a new woman. Guess. What. Happens. But the thing is it doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter, either, that the Christmas decorations at the castle would have bankrupted even a rich duke. It almost doesn’t matter that Cary Elwes’s Scottish accent is worse than Star Trek and his own, real accent is exactly what a Scottish duke would sound like. The village is cute. The knitting club that meets (every day, apparently) in the pub is adorable, and Sophie’s tartan Vivienne Westwood ballgown is every bit as gorgeous as Betty’s fur-trimmed dress at the end of White Christmas.

 

Single All the Way

1. SINGLE ALL THE WAY

And finally we find ourselves at the most-advanced level of seasonal disbelief suspension with this Hallmark-adjacent hokum squarely in the Guess. What. Happens. sub-genre. I am glad I put in the training and can love it without trying. Here’s the deal. Peter (Michael Urie (him off Ugly Betty)) and Nick (Philemon Chambers) are just friends, who share a flat in LA. Got that? They’re just friends. But Nick is tired of his loving family, back in New England (flannel alert), nagging him about being single, so they decide to pretend that they’ve got together as a couple and go east for Christmas. Guess. What. Happens. Ah, it’s lovely. Jennifer Coolidge and Kathy Najimy play the mum and aunt, the mayor’s wife from Schitt’s Creek is a sister and, speaking of Schitt’s Creek, the whole story takes place in a small town that’s homophobia-free. Nick’s a children’s writer in a publishing world that bears not the slightest . . . And so we have to think that being a florist/plant nursery specialist is probably tougher than it looks here too, but come on!

 

 

Photo of author Catriona McPherson with a Santa hat on.

Merry Christmas and, like I say, let me know what you’ve got on your list that I need to add to mine.

~ Catriona

Catriona McPherson (she/her) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the US in 2010. She writes preposterous 1930s private detective stories, realistic 1940s amateur sleuth stories, and contemporary psychological standalones. These are all set in Scotland with a lot of Scottish weather. She also writes  modern comedies about the Last Ditch Motel in a “fictional” college town in Northern California. HOP SCOT is number six in the series. Catriona’s books have won or been shortlisted for the Edgar, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Lefty, the Macavity, the Mary Higgins Clark award and the UK Ellery Queen Dagger. She is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.

 

We’d like to thank Catriona for visiting today. What a fun look at Christmas and some seasonal favorites! We love the Last Ditch series and have already ordered our copy of Hop Scot, but just in case you haven’t, stop by her website for more info: Catriona McPherson

And we’d like to add our own Happy Holidays to you all.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season with peace and good cheer as we head into the new year!

~ Mary Lee & Anita aka Sparkle Abbey

Clicking Our Heels – Our Special Holiday Traditions

/in /by

Linda Rodriguez – Before the pandemic, we used to gather at my house–in later years, my sister’s house–for a feast and extended-family get-together. We haven’t started anything back up since. I suspect my youngest son, who now lives 3 minutes away, will spend the holidays with us.

Bethany Maines – Panic about presents and then nap in protest of winter?  I’m not sure those are traditions so much as simply what happens repeatedly.

Joyce Woollcott – I’m Canadian, so we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving as much as our American neighbours but Christmas Eve, when our daughter was young, we listened to Dylan Thomas reading a Child’s Christmas in Wales. And we still do, all together, with the addition of one son-in-law and one little grandson. So lovely.

Debra H. Goldstein – Enjoying family time.

Paula G. Benson – This year, I’m looking forward to returning to a tradition of working with my church on a holiday musical to be presented in early December. We have not been able to have one since the pandemic.

T.K. Thorne – Recuperating.

Lois Winston – For most of my adult life, my family and I spent Christmas Eve with very close friends. Unfortunately, life got in the way, people moved out-of-state, and the tradition eventually came to an end.

Kathryn Lane – On Christmas Eve, we invite friends to join us for tamales and Christmas punch.

Dru Ann Love – This year, I’ll be recuperating from knee surgery replacement, and ever since my mom passed away, we don’t have a family tradition anymore.

Lynn McPherson/Sydney Leigh – I’m Canadian so our Thanksgiving comes this year in early October. We like to go to pumpkin patches, enjoy large family dinners, and go for beautiful walks in the fall.

Barbara J. Eikmeier – I hang a dog and cat garland with all the dog or cat tags of our past pets including their rabies tags (because they have the county we lived in). We have an angel ornament for each animal and this year will be adding our dog Holly who passed away in April.
I also do a little happy dance in celebration of Winter Solstice and have been known to host a party. Once we’re past the Winter Solstice, even though Feb, our coldest month in KS, is yet to come, I feel like summer (my favorite season) is almost here.

Mary Lee Ashford – My family gets together on Thanksgiving for a very large (40 or so people) celebration and I always look forward to that. Although we live close, we’re all so busy that we don’t get together as much as we should. For Christmas it’s just the immediate family – two sons & daughter-in-laws, and six grandchildren. However, the past several years the grandchildren have spent New Year’s Eve with us while their parents went to dinner or to a New Year’s Eve get-together and I love that time with the grands. We munch on leftover holiday goodies and hot cocoa. At midnight we toast with sparkling cider, toot our noise-makers, and watch the ball drop in Times Square. I’m glad the neighbors are tolerant as I’m pretty sure we get a little louder each year. There was a time when the grands were young enough that I could convince them that it was the New Year when the clock turned over in New York City, but now they’re older and they’re on to me. Such great memories!

Writing Is Messy

/in /by

Happy December! It’s the most exciting time of the year. And for me, it’s the messiest time of the year because I’m finishing up the first draft of the next Food Blogger Mystery. My goal when writing the first draft is to take what I’ve plotted and turn it into something that is readable and entertaining.

 

It’s also during this process that I decide which recipes to include in the book and I begin developing and testing them. So far, I’ve made the scones that will be included three times. Actually, four times if you count the time when I measured out too much milk and I didn’t realize until I’d mixed it into the dry ingredients. It was definitely a baking fail moment.

Back to the actual writing. It’s not unusual for there to be lots of question marks in place of words because while I was writing, I couldn’t come up with just the write word. It’s also pretty common to have sections highlighted because I need to refer back to my series bible or do some more research online. And it’s pretty typical that I’m short thousands of words. My first draft is very lean compared to my second draft. It’s during that draft that I fill in all the missing pieces and add in all the extras like a more vivid description or maybe a twist that I hadn’t previously thought about. I let my first draft sit for two weeks so that I can put some distance between me and the manuscript. This separation allows me to think about the first draft and lets my subconscious to do its thing so that when I return to the manuscript, I’m energized to dig in and I have some more content to add. So that when I’m done with the second draft, it’s all fluffed out and ready to go to my editor.

I’m looking forward to tackling the second draft and that will happen in January. Once I finish this current draft (and I’m so close to finishing it) and I will step away from it and focus on a new story idea along with the holiday season. Speaking of the holiday season, remember that books make great gifts. And the Stiletto Gang has so many books to choose from.

I think my June release, HOW THE MURDER CRUMBLES, would make a lovely gift for the reader in your life who loves their mysteries with a side of cookies.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and I look forward to catching up with you in January! Happy Holidays.

 

 

 

Debra Sennefelder is the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series.

She lives and writes in Connecticut. When she’s not writing, she enjoys baking, exercising and taking long walks with her Shih-Tzu, Connie.

You can keep in touch with Debra through her website, on Facebook and Instagram.