Friday, December 17, 2021

Thoughts of Christmas Past and Present by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Christmas trees #Ornaments

 

Before the memories, once again, Ashled decorated the porch for Christams. The interesting thing I noticed while driving up street. There are a few more porches with lights and decorations. The following pictures will give you an idea of the porch.



This one shows the partly decorated tree through the window. Only 100 more ornaments to find a space for.





My parents alwasy waited until Christmas Eve to put up the Christmas tree after we were in bed. Then came the year I was old enough to help. Actually, I helped because this was the one Christmas when my father a steelworker wasn't on strike. Just as it began to be dark, my friend and I took his wagon to the VFW who sold trees. To get there, we could go one of two ways. The one was to cross a busy street and down the hill through a tunnel. The other was to cross the railroad tracks and take the less steep street down. Of course we crossed the railroad tracks since no trains were due. I had a dollar to buy a tree. This was 75 years ago, a dollar bought a lot. After buying one of the few trees left, we loaded it on the wagon. The tree hung over front, back and sides. But we managed to get the tree home without losing too many needles. With the help of a neighbor we set the tree on the table . The ceilings in the row house were twelve feet high and the tree nearly touched the ceiling. The table was necessary since my brother was two years old and a busy child. Mother and I started to trim the tree. The lights went on easily and so did the ornaments until I slipped on the ladder and managed to cut a swath of ornaments. Interesting only two broke. I still have one of the glass ornaments on my present tree. That was my best memory of Christmas, knowing I was no longer a child but grownup at the age of ten.


This year my granddaughter and I bought a new artificial tree. I've used one since the year I had both knees replaced and knew I couldn't get down to water the tree. This one is marvelous with both white and colored lights and it changes color constantly. The decorations are quite different. The pictures that follow are of my dragon ornaments.


Below are the standing dragons/

Here are the ones that must be hung.
As you can see, there are many. I think there are fifteen. This year I bought four, Three silver and one dark red guarding a gem.





Thursday, December 16, 2021

Where there is love, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

The Christmas season is a time for love, a time for giving, and a time for sharing. It's a time for family gatherings and friendships renewed. We know there is strife in all corners of the world - we're reminded of it every time we watch the news. And sadly, there is often strife in our own family 'world.' However - if there was ever a perfect time to put strife aside and embrace love, Christmas-time is that time.

I would say the spirit of Christmas is best summed up in one word: Love.

To paraphrase an old Christmas song:

Where there is love, there is joy. 

Where there is love, there is peace.

Where there is love, there is hope.

Where there is love, there is eternal optimism. 

In The Twisted Climb series, Jayden's father loves her unconditionally - whether she is nice or even when she chooses to be a bully. Jayden's mother is not so loving. Her addictions and behaviors display what happens when there is NO love. 

Though Christmas day is still a couple of weeks away, I would encourage all you readers to embrace your family, your loved ones and be the place where there is love.

With love,

J.C.


J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2)
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted BEST Local Author 2021, South Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)
Instagram @authorjckavanagh


Wednesday, December 15, 2021

An Alternative to Christmas Gifts

 


 

A long-standing tradition in North America is the purchase and gifting of Christmas gifts.  Friends and family members are listed, shopping lists prepared, gifts purchased, wrapped and mailed (or delivered.)  

Certainly gifts given or received bring joy and remembrance to all concerned. But this is not always an easy task. My wife and I always encounter questions as to what to get for who. Sending ties or shirts that most likely will never move out of closets is a definite no-no. Others, such as parents, claim that they don’t want anything. And these days, inflation and COVID lockdowns have pinched everyone’s budgets.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to gifting store-bought presents. Here are a few ideas:

1.        Home-baked cookies. Besides being economical, the personal touch is always appreciated. I remember an erstwhile neighbor popping by with an apple pie during the holidays. My family loved it!

2.      Charity Gift Cards: A unique kind of gift, the Charity Gift Card allows the gift-giver to purchase a certain amount of money on a Charity Gift Card. This card is given to a recipient, who can choose a charity to which the amount can be donated.

3.      Organize your family to a volunteer program: Many Charities—homeless shelters, soup kitchens, church or temple programs, food pantries—find themselves overwhelmed during the holidays. The need for volunteers is at the greatest during this time. Spending a day helping out at one of these places would be most welcome. Please call before-hand.

4.      Family photos: For family and close friends, receiving photos is always appreciated. A favorite, especially if you have little ones, they will be placed in albums and cherished for years to come.

5.      Gifting books. Finally, my favorite. Books used to be a common gift item, but sadly, this tradition is disappearing. As a writer, I fight back against this trend. I have given copies of my books, autographed, to both family and friends. They assure me that they have read them, but even if they don’t, I know that they value receiving something printed with my name on it!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.


Mohan Ashtakala (www.mohanauthor.com) is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy, and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. He is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com.) 


 




Tuesday, December 14, 2021

What's in a name"... by Sheila Claydon


"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." 

 So said William Shakespeare when he wrote Romeo and Juliet c 1600.

Well when you are writing a book where the protagonists travel back over the centuries, I am afraid names do matter! 

It wasn't until I was over halfway through writing the final book of my Mapleby Memories trilogy, part of which is set 600 years ago, that I thought to check the name of my heroine, Sophie. When I did, I discovered that it is a derivation of the Greek Sophia (meaning wisdom) and has been a common female name in Eastern Orthodox countries since the fourth century. What it wasn't, however, was a common medieval name in the English Middle Ages. I'm not even sure it was a name people had heard of, so to keep my story as authentic as possible, Sophie had to go. 

In her place I have chosen Alice. Strangely, Alice also derives from the Ancient Greek ('aletheia - truth), but for some reason it is a name that travelled to France and Germany, becoming Aalis (France) and Adalheidis (Germany) in the process before eventually travelling to the UK as Alice.

Of course once I had checked out my heroine I had to check my hero too, so Josh(ua) quickly became Will. I needed a name that was fairly common to the time and also one that had no religious connotations as that isn't part of my story. Joshua was a name only given to Jews in medieval times whereas William was introduced to Britain by William the Conqueror. It means Resolute Protector, a meaning derived from Will (desire) and helm (helmet). (Wilhelm in Germany)

I haven't decided yet whether the rest of the characters need totally authentic names although there are a couple I need to check out, but it is important that the two main characters do. Something that is becoming clearer to me as the book progresses. 

I also have to somehow marry together the Medieval Alice and the modern Alice despite the vast differences between them. In Medieval England peasant women had to marry whomsoever their father chose for them and even he had to ask his feudal lord for permission. While the lord rarely refused, he would often demand payment, especially if  the woman was leaving his land and thus reducing his workforce. 

In contrast, my modern Alice is independent. She makes her own decisions and is someone who can survive on her own, so finding a way to link the two together will require a certain amount of thought. I'm getting there though. 






Monday, December 13, 2021

Book Babies

 


In the season that celebrate the birth of an extraordinary baby, it's fun to think about how babies are portrayed in our books. They are scene stealers, for sure, so must be used wisely!  

In literature as in life, how people react to babies is a real illumination of their character. The baby born to my heroine Ursula at the end of Book 2 of my American Civil War Brides series, Mercies of the Fallen, is featured prominently in Book 3, Ursula's Inheritance. I was delighted to draw on the effervescent spirit of my little grandson to fashion little Henry Ryan Buckley, born into the hands of his soldier father and uncle the middle of the infamous New York City Draft riots and massacres of the summer of 1863.

Baby D... always ready to inspire!

The joy of his mother's heart, Henry is also being cared by these two men when they're on army leave as Ursula's Inheritance begins. The novel's antagonists, out to steal his mother's inheritance, now have a new foe, as Ursula has an heir of her own. And they will stop at nothing. 

So Henry's got a squad of protectors besides his nearest and dearest. His father Captain Rowan sends for one of the three women who raised him after he was orphaned in Canada. Little Henry will soon be spouting French as well as English thanks to his devoted Tante Marie Agathe. And the whole family of Ursula's beloved cook and companion Miriam, who have escaped to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Weeksville after the riots, welcome Baby Henry into their thriving community. There's a mysterious teenaged orphan Penina (hiding behind her fan on the cover) who he takes a shine to, too. Was ever a little fellow so lucky?

I enjoyed featuring a baby to brighten my wartime story. Babies can be a wonderful presence in a novel, besides revealing the characters of all around them, and serving as symbols of our hope for a better future, when placed in any time period!

I hope readers will enjoy the antics of Baby Henry in Ursula's Inheritance.



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