Tag Archive for: holiday

It’s a Dickens Christmas Y’all!–by T.K. Thorne

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Writer, humanist,
          dog-mom, horse servant and cat-slave,
       Lover of solitude
          and the company of good friends,
        New places, new ideas
           and old wisdom.

It’s a Dickens Christmas Y’all!

 
Every December, I hide. This has nothing to do with the fact that it’s Christmas and I’m Jewish. Like many Jewish families in the South, I was raised with a Christmas tree and presents in addition to Hanukkah traditions with beautiful menorah candles lit each night and (yea!) more presents.  What kid can complain about that?

No, my allergy to December has to do with my husband. He is a beyond-the-pale Dickens fan. Every iteration of the more than two dozen versions of A Christmas Carol plays on our television repetitively all December.  I head for the hills . . . or at least another room.

But last year at the Left Coast Crime Conference (that’s crime writers, just so you know), someone mentioned a Dickens festival in California.  My ears pricked. (Okay, I wish my ears could prick because it’s so expressive, and I’ve always wanted a fluffy tail too––can’t you just imagine having it drape saucily over your shoulder?  But I digress).

This year is hubby’s 60th birthday and our 30th wedding anniversary.  Seemed like going to a Dicken’s festival would be a great surprise gift. The problem was we live in Alabama and the festival was in California.  I angsted for months about how to plan a secret trip to California. Finally I broke down and told him what I had up my sleeve.

“I’ll arrange the whole thing, if you want to go.”

“I would,” he says, “but why don’t we just go to the one in Tuscumbia, Alabama (2.5 hours away)?

“What?”

He pulls out a brochure he had put in his drawer (thinking the last thing I would ever want to do was have a Dickens-immersion experience) with info about Tuscumbia’s 9th annual “It’s a Dickens Christmas Y’all!” (And I thought it was just the birthplace of Helen Keller.)

Yes!

A few days later, he shows me a dapper Victorian costume of Ebenezer Scrooge online. It was so spiffy!  Hubby communicates in code, and it  dawned on me that maybe he was feeling out what I thought about him actually getting it and wearing it to the festival.

If he is going to dress in a top hat, vest, and coat, I am all in. What girl does not want to be Cinderella? Found a red and black gown with black lace sleeves, foo-foo hat, lace white gloves, and a bustle (as close to a tail as I am likely to ever get) and we are going to the ball . . . or 1843 London in Tuscumbia!

Christmas Present, Christmas To Come, Christmas Past, Mr. and Mrs. Scrooge, and Marley’s Ghost
Festivities began Friday night with a feast, a reading from A Christmas Carol, music, and a chef-prepared dinner. Saturday, the streets were closed to traffic, sporting gift venders, snow machines, and horse drawn carriage rides. Scones and hot chocolate (or coffee) awaited with the spirits of Christmas and Marley’s ghost at “Scones and Moans,” poetry readings and song at a mid-19th Century church, a high tea, and cookies with Tiny Tim at the beautiful Cold Water Bookstore.

Such a charming town and charming, warm folks!  We had the best time meeting people and couldn’t walk but a few steps without being asked to pose for a picture with someone.  Paparazzi! 

“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.”––Dickens

Ironically, sometimes this is a very difficult time of year. Whatever your faith, whatever your situation, I wish you peace and joy now and in the coming year.

––TK

T.K. Thorne’s childhood passion for storytelling deepened when she became a police officer in Birmingham, Alabama.  “It was a crash course in life and what motivated and mattered to people.” In her newest novel, HOUSE OF ROSE, murder and mayhem mix with a little magic when a police officer discovers she’s a witch.


Both her award-winning debut historical novels, NOAH’S WIFE and ANGELS AT THE GATE, tell the stories of unknown women in famous biblical tales—the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. Her first non-fiction book, LAST CHANCE FOR JUSTICE, the inside story of the investigation and trials of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, was featured on the New York Post’s “Books You Should Be Reading” list.


T.K. loves traveling and speaking about her books and life lessons. She writes at her mountaintop home near Birmingham, often with a dog and a cat vying for her lap.


More info at TKThorne.com

Join her private newsletter email list and receive a two free short stories at “TK’s Korner.”





Meet The Queen of Christmas

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For the past few months, I’ve been working on a secret project – a Christmas short story called “The Queen of Christmas.”
I’m a huge fan of short stories at this busy time of the year. What better to read when there are so many demands on our time but also an increased need to recharge our batteries by taking a few moments to enjoy some fun holiday reading? 
Several readers have asked me to do a holiday story with the characters from my Lobster Shack mystery series. I started wondering — what do Allie, Aunt Gully, Verity, and all the other characters from the Lazy Mermaid lobster shack do at Christmas?
A visit to a holiday show house tour last December sparked ideas. A Christmas crazy friend of my mom has collected ornaments and decorations for decades. Over time, her single decorated tree became two trees, then three, and after several years this lady had a decorated tree for every room in her house and crowds clamoring to visit. Her Fantasy of Trees was born.
What if I moved this festival of trees to Mystic Bay? What if a desperate criminal was determined to cause holiday mischief instead of holiday merriment?
Writing a short story comes with challenges. The story has to be tighter. Every word has to work harder. Which characters will be in the story? How to keep the story to a length that is perfect to enjoy during the holiday crush?
I hope you’ll check out my new mystery short story, “The Queen of Christmas.” I hope it will provide you with a fun escape from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. The story also includes a recipe for hot toddy, because what’s nicer than curling up with a good story and a warm drink on a frosty winter night?
The story is available exclusively on Amazon for Kindle. Enjoy!


Gathering

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We recently returned from a week at the beach (Pacific NW style – no, it does not include bathing suits!) with our kids and granddaughter.

Whew, what a whirlwind! I did, however, edit all 320 pages of my latest novel.

One of the many things we discussed last week was the upcoming holidays and the chaos of coordinating many, many people’s schedules.

It gets more complicated as we get older, doesn’t it?

But as the holiday season rolls toward high gear, rather than gathering
with my family or writing buddies, this week I’m gathering with my day job peers.
I’m stuck in an Orlando conference center, spying an occasional palm tree
through the window, and trying not to find the Christmas carols, oversized
gingerbread houses, and 80 degree weather too weird.

Between the day job, building a house, dealing with the
flood, keeping an eye on my latest release and promotion–and oh yes! the holidays—writing time
has evaporated. Instead of becoming frustrated, I’ve decided to consider it a
chance to gather my thoughts. To allow the plot points of the next Holly and JC book to simmer. To let the
characters nag at me to tell their story.
Strange as it may seem, I’m looking forward to the six hour
flight back to Washington state when this conference ends. Six hours without
email or a ringing phone. Sounds like writing heaven to me.
What about you, my
writing friends? Are you finding time to write? (Do share how you manage that!)
My reading friends?
Is curling up with a book a respite or a vision as fleeting as a Thanksgiving turkey’s lifespan or a sugar plum
fairy?

Nostalgic

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In this week’s hustle and flurry of last minute gifts, mailing
and cooking, I find that I’m as nostalgic as I am busy. Since I suspect you’re
putting the final touches on your holidays—winding up Hanukkah, prepping for
Christmas, or simply happy the Solstice is tomorrow—I’ll keep this post short. 😉

I don’t miss the “good
ol’ days” as much as I do making new nightgowns for the girls (and for their American
Girl dolls 😊 ).
Nights of “some assembly required” and staging Santa’s
cookies.  
Full body hugs.
So where are you? 
Minimizing the trappings? Frantically
finishing? Happy with the whole process?





An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins
writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not
writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on
another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children,
several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond,
which was recently presented with the Claymore Award. 

Tales of Christmas

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by Bethany Maines
In 2017 a Romance novelist friend of mine invited me to be
part of an anthology of holiday novellas as part of a marketing event.  I said, “Of course!” Did I have a holiday
novella?  No, I did not.  Was it September when she asked and all
content was due in November?  Yes, yes it
was.  The result of my feverish typing
and carpal tunnel syndrome was Oh, Holy
Night.  This fun romance about a
freelance graphic designer and the cute guy she keeps meeting at her local
Starbucks somehow managed to end up also being about a bank robbery, friendship
and recovering from grief.  But despite
the record breaking pace I actually enjoyed my little holiday story and I
decided that I wanted to do it again. Just… not quite so fast.

So this year I’m releasing Blue Christmas.  This Suspense
Romance novella also features a  teeny
bit of crime, a helping of romance, and a dog. 
Because I like dogs. This time our intrepid heroine is a college student
Blue Jones and the square jawed hero is local TV news cameraman Jake Garner.  And the dog is an adorable French Bulldog
named Jacques who disapproves of almost everything.  If you’re looking for some Christmas
adventures please feel free to indulge in these holiday treats.  They’re calorie free. 
Blue Christmas – ¢.99 – available
12/4 –Blue Jones just stole Jake
Garner’s dog. And his heart. But technically the French Bulldog, Jacques,
belongs to Jake’s ex-girlfriend. And soon Jake is being pressured to return the
dog and Blue is being targeted by mysterious attackers. Can Jake find Blue and
Jacques before her stalkers do? For Blue, Christmas has never been quite so
dangerous.  For Jake, Christmas has never been quite so Blue.

Oh, Holy Night – ¢.99 – available
now – Christmas is a lot more dangerous than it used to be. Graphic
designer Violet Harper is usually found at her local Starbucks. Handsome Roman
Knox is usually carrying a gun. But tonight they’re both in a bank and there’s
a body on the floor. It’s a mess, a robbery and almost the worst day ever, but
maybe a Christmas miracle can get them out of the bank and into love. Join Violet and Roman as they try to figure out the rules to modern dating and bank robbery.




And for more holiday humor
and adventure with a touch of romance, check out fellow Stiletto Gang sister
J.M. Phillippe’s A Christmas Spirit –
The recently deceased Charlene Dickenson is stuck in a place where the
Christmas music never ends and the holiday treats will never make you full. Charlene is going to have to figure out how to let go of her mortal life and
embrace the Christmas Spirit.

Available in print and e-formats on 12/4.  Pre-order on: Amazon

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San
Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo
Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to
exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in
karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working
on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube,
Twitter and Facebook.

Time for Christmas and Holiday Shorts!

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by Paula Gail Benson



On the day before
Thanksgiving, Dru’s Book Musings featured Sleigh Bells and Sleuthing,
an anthology of 16 cozy mystery novellas to celebrate the season. Here’s a link
to Dru’s post. One hundred percent of the
proceeds from sales of the anthology will benefit Good Fortune Farm Refuge, a non-profit ranch
located in Semmes, Alabama, which rehabilitates abused and abandoned animals
and finds homes for rescued animals.

Dru’s post reminded me
that this is the time for reading seasonal shorts, so here are a few anthologies you might wish to consider:

Murder Under the
Christmas Tree: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season, edited by Cecily Gayford, has stories by Ian Rankin, Val McDermid,
Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Edmund Crispin, G.K. Chesteron, Ngaio
Marsh, Carter Dickson, Margery Allingham, and Ellis Peters.

Otto Penzler’s The
Big Book of Christmas Mysteries contains 60 stories divided into
categories like traditional, funny, Sherlockian, pulpy, uncanny, scary,
surprising, modern, puzzling, and classic. It features authors like Mary
Higgins Clark, Sara Paretsky, Max Allan Collins, Edward D. Hoch, John D. McDonald,
and O. Henry.

Mistletoe Mysteries,
Tales of Yuletide Murder were
compiled by Charlotte McLeod. It contains 16 stories by McLeod, Mary Higgins
Clark, Sharon McCrumb, Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini, Peter Lovesey, and others.

Last year, I
discovered and was completely charmed by The Usual Santas. It
includes stories by Helene Tursten, Mick Herron, Martin Limón, Timothy
Hallinan, Teresa Dovalpage, Mette Ivie Harrison, Colin Cotterill, Ed Lin,
Stuart Neville, Tod Goldberg, Henry Chang, James R. Benn, Lene Kaaberbøl &
Agnete Friis, Sujata Massey, Gary Corby, Cara Black, Stephanie Barron and a
Foreword and story by Peter Lovesey.
In
2013, my December post for Writers Who Kill was
the final installment of a series about writing short stories and compared the
story structures of three excellent holiday short stories:

B.K. Stevens’ “Little
Dumber Boy” (individually published under the Fingerprints imprint by Untreed
Reads, December, 2010) (available on Amazon).
Barb Goffman’s
“Christmas Surprise” in the collection Don’t Get Mad, Get Even: 15
Tales of Revenge and More (Wildside Press April, 2013).
Earl Staggs’ “Caught on
Christmas Eve” in the collection Short Stories of Earl Staggs: 16 Tales
of Mystery from Hard Boiled to Humor (Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
2011).

At the end of the post,
I listed the following holiday anthologies:



Lori Avocato, Dana
Cameron, Mary Daheim, Cait London, Suzanne Macpherson, Kerrelyn Sparks, Sugarplums
and Scandal (HarperCollins Publishers 2010).

Carols and Crimes, Gifts
and Grifters (Wolfmont Press
2009) (Authors Tony Burton, Austin S. Camacho, Thomas H. Cook, Herschel Cozine,
Gail Farrelly, Margaret Fenton, Chris Grabenstein, Sue Ann Jaffarian, Frank
Zafiro, and others).
John M. Floyd,
editor, The Gift of Murder (Wolfmont Press 2009) (Authors
Austin S. Camacho, Hershel Cozine, Bill Crider, Kris Neri, Randy Rawls, Carolyn
J. Rose, Elizabeth Zelvin). 
Steve Hockensmith, Naughty:
Nine Tales of Christmas Crime (an e-book collection of stories that
previously appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine or Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine).
Stuart MacBride, 12
Days of Winter: Crime at Christmas (HarperCollins Publishers 2011).
Margaret Maron, Five
Christmas Gifts (Maron & Company; Ebook edition December, 2012).

John Mortimer, A
Rumpole Christmas (Penguin Books, 2009).



May all your holiday reading be merry, bright, and only a little murderous!

Christmas is Coming!!

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by Bethany “Run for the Hills” Maines

Thanksgiving is looming and that means that… gulp… Christmas is around the corner!  But what that means for me is that I have some awesome new releases to share with readers. That’s right, I’ve been hard at work on stories of murder, romance, theft, and puppies. I may just need the holidays to happen so I can get a rest. On November 15th (that’s this THURSDAY), I have a short story, Mayhem & Mahalo, included in the the Stiletto Heeled issue of Switchblade Magazine.  I’m pretty thrilled to be included in this list of all women crime writers and can’t wait to get my own copy and see what mischief my co-conspirators are up to. Next up is Blue Christmas, a romantic holiday adventure (now available for pre-order) which will be released on December 4th! This cross-genre romance / crime story has everything you need to kick off the holiday season.

Switchblade Magazine – The Stiletto Heeled Issue

featuring Mayhem & Mahalo – Available on Amazon 11/15/18

Hawaii—the land of sun, surf, and a giant pile of dead bodies. Paige Kaneko thought she had left the Kaneko family’s criminal ways behind her, but when a 3 a.m. text from her brother asks for one simple thing—help—Paige can’t say no. Now Paige must get her brother and herself out of a situation that includes eight dead bodies, a backpack full of cash and one slightly dented heroin addict.

Blue Christmas – Pre-Order Now!

High-rise burglary to pay for her grandmother’s cancer treatments might not be ideal, but Blue Jones is determined to do what it takes to get her grandmother the best care possible. She just didn’t plan on being tackled by gorgeous Jake Garner. Jake, drunk and recently dumped, mistakes Blue for the dog sitter and begins shoving his ex’s belongings at her including her French Bulldog—Jacques. But soon Jake is being pressured to return the dog and Blue is being targeted by mysterious attackers. Can Jake and Blue stop these mystery men without also getting Blue arrested for theft? For Blue, Christmas has never been quite so dangerous. For Jake, Christmas has never been quite so Blue.

***

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Thrilled Beyond Measure

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So, this happened! That’s me in the November 12 issue of
Woman’s World.
I can safely
say, this is probably the one and only time in my life I’ll be hanging out between John Grisham and Eleanor Roosevelt.
The nice-women-don’t-toot-their-own-horns part of me wanted
to say nothing. The that’s’-me-between-Grisham-and-Roosevelt part of me did a
little shimmy (a big shimmy). The time-to-make-a-living part of me was thrilled beyond
measure.
This holiday season, give an author a gift. Take a moment to
tell a friend about the best book you’ve read this fall. Encourage them to
request the book from the library, hurry off to their local bookstore, or
one-click. Believe me, somewhere an author will be thrilled beyond measure.


***





Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 



She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.



Her latest book, Back Stabbers is available at your favorite on-line retailer.

National Writing Month

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By Bethany Maines
National Novel Writing Month, officially abbreviated to
NaNoWriMo, is now over and many of my writer friends are crawling out of their holes
with fingers permanently curved into the typing position and blinking around at
the world that they left behind. 
Essentially, we’re all Gollum. 
What did we learn?  What did we
accomplish? Other than scoliosis and arthritic fingers.
The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write fifty thousand words, the
general baseline amount for a complete novel. I’ve completed a NaNoWriMo
before, but my goal this year was to complete about half the word count and
outline the rest of a novel that’s been lingering out on the edges for awhile.  I didn’t make it.  I made the word count, but I filled it on two
different projects, neither of which was what I set out to work on. 
One project was a holiday short story for a holiday giveaway
with several other authors I know from my time at the Girlfriend’s Book Club.  (Enter below).  I’ll also be sending my story to everyone in
my Reader’s Group, whether they win the raffle or not.  So that was not time wasted!  But it wasn’t exactly the challenge I was
setting out to meet.

I think the interesting thing about NaNoWriMo is that
imposition of an immovable deadline. 
There is no flex and no one you can complain to if you’re not going to
make it. We all deal with deadlines (even self-imposed deadlines) in different
ways.  Some of us rise to the occasion,
some of us rail against “the man” and some of us quietly head out of the office
for a drink.  I think you could safely
say that I headed out for happy hour.  So
now I’m scrambling to reapply my deadline to December.  That outline still needs to be written, my
rough draft still needs to be started. 
Will I make it?  We’ll find out in
January.

Enter to win one of 50 copies of Baby it’s Cold Outside, a not-for-sale collection of holiday stories from USA Today & Kindle Bestselling Authors!  Including Oh, Holy Night – The Christmas Season is a lot more dangerous than it used to be.Violet Harper is usually found at her local Starbucks. Roman Knox is usually carrying a gun. Tonight they’re both in a bank and there’s a body on the floor. It’s a mess, but maybe a Christmas miracle can get them out of the bank and into love.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Holiday Traditions

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Someone should have told me.
I didn’t realize that if I did the same thing for a few years
in a row, I was beginning an unbreakable tradition. But I did. And now, the
Mulherns have the same thing for breakfast every Christmas morning.
Not that I’m complaining. The recipes are easy and delicious
(unlike Ellison, the heroine of my novels, I can make a Bundt cake). I turn on
the oven when kids stir and pop the soufflé into the oven when we start opening
presents.
I pair the soufflé and cake with fresh fruit and lots of
coffee (of course).
Sausage Soufflé
·     
1 pound sausage –  browned and drained
·     
6 slices of best quality bread – cubed
·     
¼ cup cheddar cheese
·     
1 teaspoon dry mustard
·     
½ teaspoon salt
·     
4 eggs
·     
2 cups milk
Beat eggs, milk, mustard and salt. Add sausage and bread.
Mix well and pour into a greased 10 x6 ½ x 2-inch casserole dish and
refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, covered with foil. Reduce heat
to 325, remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Cinnamon Bundt Cake
            Filling
·     
½ cup light brown sugar
·     
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cake
·     
1 package plain yellow cake mix (I prefer Duncan
Hines)
·     
1 package vanilla pudding mix
·     
¾ cup vegetable oil
·     
¾ cup water
·     
4 large eggs
·     
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I always use
Vain vanilla)
Glaze
·     
1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
·     
2 tablespoons milk
·     
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Lightly oil a Bundt pan, then dust with flour, shaking out the excess.
For the filling – combine ingredients in a small bowl (you
could add nuts – if I did my youngest wouldn’t eat it).
Place the cake mix, pudding, oil, water, eggs and vanilla in
a mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low for one minute. Scrape down
the sides of the bowl. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for two
minutes. The batter should look thick and smooth.
Pour one-third of the batter into the prepared pan.
Scatter half of the filling over the batter.
Pour another third of the batter over the filling.
Scatter the remaining filling.
Pour the remaining batter, smoothing it out with a rubber
spatula.
Bake for 58 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes then run a sharp knife
around the edges of the cake and invert the pan.
Cool an additional 30 minutes.
While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. Place all
ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
Place the cooked cake on a serving platter and drizzle the
glaze over the top.
This cake can be stored under a glass cake dome for up to a
week. It won’t last that long.

Wishing you and yours the merriest, jolliest of holiday
seasons.
Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.