Christmas Memories by Nancy M Bell

 

To discover more about Storm and this Christmas tale as well as Nancy's other books click on the cover.

We always put the tree up on December 20th as that is my birthday. Mom and Dad never wanted to put the tree up earlier than that as we always had a real tree and they worried that it would dry out.

We had these really cool bubble lights that were all different colors but got really hot when you left them on too long. There was a fluffy white angel on top.

One Christmas Eve when we were still outside in the driveway just getting out of the car Wendy and I got a huge surprise.  There, coming down the Cooney’s driveway, who were our next door neighbors, was Santa Claus! 

 We both screamed and then bolted for the back door.  If Santa came while were still up and awake he wouldn’t leave us anything.  We tore through the back door into the kitchen and down the back hall to the bedroom.  With our wet snow boots and coats still on Wendy and I scrambled into bed and pulled the covers over our heads.  I had a harder time getting into bed as I had to climb up into the top bunk, but I made it.  Mom and Dad came in and tried to get us to take off our coats and boots and change into night clothes.  Wendy and I wouldn’t budge, we were pretending to be asleep so that Santa would leave our presents.  We were sure that he was coming to our house any moment because we KNEW he just next door and he hadn’t been to our house next.  He must have already been to Jo-anne and John Lee’s place because they lived on the other side of the Cooneys, so we had to be next.  Mom and Dad must have removed our boots after we were asleep because they were gone in the morning.  And Santa did leave our presents for us that year. 

Things changed in 1964, June was married and living on Homestead Ave with Butch and my brother Timmy was born in July.  So Christmas 1964 was a little different.  There was one more of us to track all over the city to visit my aunts.

Sometime in the 1960’s Aunt Gloria and Uncle Tommy and Cindy and Tammy-Lori moved to Toronto.  My Grandma and Grandpa Rafter moved from Constance Lake near Ottawa and bought a little store on Davis Lake, near Kinmount.  Every winter they would come to Toronto and stay with Aunt Gloria and Uncle Tommy, so now we had even more excitement and visiting on Christmas Eve.  We often went to Aunt Gloria and Uncle Tommy’s for New Year’s dinner.  The turkey dressing was always yucky, it had so much sage in it ( which Gramma Rafter LOVED) and sometimes sausage. Not my favorite part of the meal I’ll tell you.  There was always way too much to eat, tons of turkey and cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy.

 Our Christmas dinner at home was always large.  June and Butch and their sons Geoff, Peter and Terry would come. My Aunt Frances and Uncle Jim came on Christmas afternoon early and brought their sausage dog with them.  The first dog I remember was Sandy who was quite portly and smelled like DOG.  He would bite my dad if he tried to discipline us in front of him.  We liked Sandy.  Sandy would also dance with us, running around while we pranced around laughing.  Aunt Frances always gave us Avon for Christmas and her packages were always decorated with cool stuff. Uncle Jim is my mother’s only brother and he has one daughter Marilyn who lives in the States.  There would also be My Gramma and Grampa Pritchard who lived with us, Wendy and me and Timmy.  Mom would pull the big table with all the leaves in it out into the middle of our small living room and the table would stretch from the front window to the door to the kitchen.  It was set with these cool plates that we only used at Christmas, all pale yellow ,blue and pink around the edges with white roses in the centre.  Mom used her good silverware that Dad bought her one year for Christmas and a tablecloth that never seemed to escape the cranberries or the gravy. Our small house was full of the smell of turkey and gravy and boiling potatoes.  There never seemed to be enough room but somehow everyone managed to get seated at the table and Dad would carve the turkey. Wendy and I would fight over the drumsticks, although in later times Timmy always got one.

 Dad had this movie camera that required a bar of really bright lights in order to film anything.  In most of film from those years we all look like moles that have wandered into the sunlight.  Our faces are red (the lights were hot) and our eyes all squinted shut. Timmy running around with his diapers drooping off his butt.  Wendy always made sure her hair was combed and she looked presentable before going upstairs. Me, not so much. 

So much has changed since then. Places at the table hold different faces now, but the magic still holds us in hollow of its hand. Christmas Joy and Peace to you and yours, in this season and throughout the year.

 

 

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.

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Where there is love, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

The Twisted Climb
Book 1 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series

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
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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.) 

 

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

Click here for more of my books including my When Paths Meet trilogy

"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. 

Book Babies

 

Find my books here

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.

Hola From Mexico

 

Please click this link for author, book and purchase information.

In November my husband Will and I took our first holiday outside of Canada in 2 1/2 years. We flew to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on the Pacific coast, and spent our first week in Bucerias, a town on Banderas Bay north of PV and popular with Canadian snowbirds. 

Will and I have visited Bucerias before, but hadn't stayed overnight. We rented an Airbnb apartment that was a steep climb up a hill from the main street and beach. Our reward for this exercise several times a day was a glorious view from our deck of the town and ocean. 

This part of Mexico has relatively low reported COVID-19 cases, but low vaccine rates compared to Canada. We found the health protocols were pretty good. Large stores, restaurants, and crowded outdoor areas like markets had temperature-taking machines and hand sanitizer at the entrances. Mask recommendations were everywhere and observed to varying degrees. Our mostly outdoor lifestyle made us comfortable. Every day was sunny with highs around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Great for the beach and pool, but hot walking up that hill mid-day.

A highlight of the week was a leisurely breakfast at Karen's, a beachfront restaurant, with my writer/editor friend Marie, who moved from Calgary to Bucerias eleven years ago. I met Marie through the Puerto Vallarta Writers Group, which I joined after my first trip to the area. The group emails were a warm reminder of my sunny times in Puerto Vallarta. Shortly after I joined, the group decided to publish a short story collection and invited members to submit their writing. I was thrilled when my story, Freezer Breakdown, was accepted and appeared in the collection, which Marie co-edited. The following year the group published Coast Lines 2 and another short story I wrote made the cut. Unfortunately, the Puerto Vallarta Writers Group folded shortly afterward, but Marie and I kept in touch.

Our second week, Will and I moved south down the bay to Nuevo Vallarta, where we rented a beachfront condominium with his sister. Our first full day we took a taxi to Sayulita, a surfing/hippie town up the coast. It was Sunday and Sayulita was packed with Mexican families along with the out-of-country tourists. It was fun to watch the surfing action on the beach.   

 

In Nuevo, we rented bicycles for two days to explore our local area. We wound up exploring more than we liked when we got lost trying to find Ernesto's, an out of the way restaurant we've enjoyed in the past. It turned out to be closed. Hot, hungry and thirsty, we biked back to a traditional Mexican restaurant we'd spotted on the way, and added a new restaurant to our favourites list. 

 

Refreshed by our fajitas, enchiladas and and drinks, we pedaled 'home' and cooled off at the beach, and later with an evening swim in the pool. 

This time of year, sea turtles hatch from nests all along the beach. On a morning walk, we watched the babies crawl over the sand to the ocean.

  

On a walk back from the pool, I made a new friend.   

 

         

We're now wrapping up our trip with ten nights in downtown Puerto Vallarta. It's a change from our first two locations. Streets are crowded with people. About 100 restaurants within a few blocks of our hotel tempt us with low prices and atmospheric settings on the beach, on sidewalks or in leafy courtyards. 

Our big excursion was a boat tour to Animas, a beach not accessible by vehicle. On the way, we snorkeled at Los Arcos, Puerto Vallarta's iconic rock formation. I saw a few fish, but would have been happy just to swim by the rocks and through the rock tunnel. The trip involved numerous transitions between boats, piers and shorelines that I couldn't have managed without the guides' helping hands. Most of our fellow passengers were younger than us and Mexican. Information in English was minimal and occasionally inaccurate, which made for some surprises. They became part of the adventure and the whole day was a lot of fun, capped by Mexican party games on the return trip.  

Los Arcos

Tomorrow, my birthday present from my kids will be dinner at The Iguana Restaurant in Casa Kimberly, the former home of Elizabeth Taylor. The actress's affair with actor Richard Burton during the location filming of the movie The Night of the Iguana launched Puerto Vallarta's tourism boom. The restaurant has panoramic views of the city and bay. We've booked a table for sunset. 

Looking down from The Iguana Restaurant

Burton and Taylor in Puerto Vallarta during the filming of The Night of Iguana

A few days from now we'll fly home to Calgary, where there's snow on the ground and temperatures around freezing. I see snowmen and reindeer holiday decorations all over Puerto Vallarta, and they seem weird in this tropical climate.     

  

              

 

Symbolism: Fact or Fiction by Karla Stover

Visit Karla's BWL Author Page for Purchase Information

Murder: When One Isn't Enough

A Line to Murder

Wynter's Way

Back when I was in high school, my English teacher was a firm believer in symbolism. She  touted it so much, the term became a running joke between me and my friends. (I was going to type "My  friends and I but then I couldn't remember which was correct, "I" or "Me".)  The one supposedly-symbolic piece of writing I remember from high school was Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." It was about death and that was that. Then, when I went to college to finish getting my degree, symbolism was out. What the author wrote was what he/she meant. However, I have since learned that symbolism is still in as far as the poem goes but that there are a lot of interpretations, to whit: the narrator is actually the horse, the traveler is Santa Clause and the horse represents his reindeer, or that since Frost and his bother both suffered from depression and his younger sister and daughter were both hospitalized with mental problems, he was suicidal. According to Robert Kennedy, his brother, John, applied the line "but I have promises to keep" to the Democratic party. It's a beautiful poem though Justin Trudeau, to honor his father, changed  

one line to read, "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. He has kept his promises and earned his sleep."

The Horror!

I'd pretty much forgotten about symbolism until I came across ideas about Alice in Wonderland in A House Unlocked, a memoir by Penelope Lively. According to her, at one time the rabbit hole was believed to represent a vagina, the pots of marmalade lubricating jell, and Alice's long neck a phallic symbol. I was dumbfounded and headed for Google. There I learned going down the rabbit hole was all about Alice being curious. Supposed, the Queen of Hearts was either Queen Victoria, or Alice's mother. The White Rabbit was a doctor to both Alice and the queen. One person wrote that "He (Carroll) used animal characters to be pessimistic influences on Alice. Another says the Mad Hatter represents "the unpleasant side of human nature." But then another says he was a guiding spirit. A book called Alice claims Alice was in an insane asylum. One essay I read said, "Alice suffers from Hallucinations and Personality Disorders, the White Rabbit from General Anxiety Disorder and that is why he keeps saying, “I’m late”, the Cheshire Cat is schizophrenic, as he disappears and reappears distorting reality."

Leaving Alice behind and soldiering on I learn that,  The “wuthering heights” in the book title are symbolic of the wild nature of the people involved in the story, Harry Potter's scar represents bravery, and that the "A" in the Scarlett Letter stands for adultery (at least that one makes sense.)

According to "industrialscripts.com," in the movie, Jaws, "The Mayor’s reaction to the shark can be seen as capitalism personified, and "the shark symbolizes the dynamic of human versus nature."

So many, opinions, so many essays: I guess, for most writers, having published a book or poem or screenplay so important so as to attract symbolism is a good thing.

A Delicious Idea for Holiday Entertaining--The Charcuterie Board #Holidayentertaining #Snacksforholidays #BWLPublishing

 

Arranging a Dream: A Memoir by J.Q.Rose
Click here to find more books by J. Q. Rose from BWL Publishing

🎄🎄🎄

A DELICIOUS IDEA FOR HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING-THE CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Charcuterie Board
Image courtesy of Lee Ann Clausen
#Charcuterie #Holidayentertaining
🎄🎄🎄

Whether you are hosting a holiday party, family dinner or friends for game night, the Charcuterie Board makes a festive addition to your snack table. Charcuterie is an arrangement of cured meats, cheeses, fruit, crackers and any fun snack items grouped on a platter, carving board, serving tray or even a rimmed baking sheet. 

My daughter introduced me to them--basically a meat and cheese platter on steroids! The eye-catching loaded trays of goodies are not only attractive but tasty too. The best part is they are so easy to make. There is no way you can make a mistake. Unless you forget to put the pickles in a small dish to capture all the liquids in the bowl. You do not want your foods swimming in pickle juice.

Choose cured meats like salami, prosciutto and ham. Slice them into pieces that will fit a cracker or small toast. Choose hard cheeses like cheddar and Colby and soft cheeses like brie and goat cheese. You can buy more exotic cheeses and/or stick with your favorites. Slice them into different shapes, except for the spreads. Add colorful veggie strips of carrots, celery, peppers, cucumbers, etc with a bowl of vegetable dip, pretzels in fun shapes and sizes, grapes, orange slices, pineapple with a maraschino cherry speared on a toothpick, pickles, olives, nuts, small chocolate squares or my favorite, m & m's. You may add crackers or slices of toasted baguettes to the board or serve separately in a basket or tray.

Do you see what I mean? There's no end to ideas for serving. You are limited by the size of the board or tray you choose. And perhaps your pocketbook.

I hope you have delightful get-togethers during this holiday season. Good food and good fun. Cheers!

🎄🎄🎄

About JQ Rose: 

Whether the story is fiction or non-fiction, J.Q. Rose is “focused on story.”  She offers readers chills, giggles and quirky characters woven within the pages of her romantic suspense novels. Using her way with words, she provides entertainment and information with articles featured in books, newspapers, and online magazines. JQ combined her storytelling skills as an author of fiction and her experience as a journalist to create her "feel-good" memoir, Arranging a Dream: A Memoir.

Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, travel and presenting workshops on life storytelling are the things that keep JQ out of trouble. She and her husband spend winters in Florida and summers up north with their two daughters, two sons-in-law,  four grandsons, one granddaughter, two grand dogs, four grand cats, and one great-grand bearded dragon.

Click here to connect online with JQ.

Happy Holidays from J.Q. Rose

On Writing a Sequel by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

You ever look at your Disney movie library and say to yourself, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2? Oh hot dog! I think I'll watch that. It's totally better than the first movie!" If so then you should probably get your head checked because even if you've HEARD of that terrible sequel--let alone own it--you ought to know that it was Complete, Utter Garbage with a capital C, U, G!

Complete. Utter. Garbage! The sequel was C.U.G!

But despite the plethora of terrible sequels floating around the known universe, I am not actually here to talk about them. In fact, I am happy to say that I am WRITING a sequel, and I am really, REALLY hoping it's not going to be bad... Because as infamous as some bad sequels are, I'm no where near famous enough to profit off a terrible remake or continuation. 

We'll get George outta the way early this time... 

 So what makes a good sequel? Well, looking at all the terrible content out there, I'd say it's important to stay true to the characters and themes at least. The original Indiana Jones' movies were pretty cool. They were also mostly stand alone adventures. Rocky I to V was good: a continuation but each with an individual plot point. As well as Terminator 2... which was just awesome. 

Wait, Terminator 2? Rocky? Indiana Jones?
Oh God her age is showing...

But these are all movies! Okay, well... Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Witcher books come to mind... though they're all continuations of one big story outline and the sequel I'm writing already kinda... well, concluded...

And it's a romance! 

So what do I do? I suppose I could just NOT write a sequel. It's not like I'm Michael Bay producing sequels for that socks made of silk money...  

*Bad word warning in link*

But there's lots more to say about these characters! And while writing romances isn't bad, writing a sequel to a romance where the love story had already wrapped itself up in the first installment, can produce its own series of obstacles. I hate when its obvious that the author broke up their original couple only to find ways to get them back together in book two. It always seems contrived, or pieced together to keep with the theme. Misunderstandings or arguments are alright, of course--and realistic!--but there must be a better way to tell a story with a romantic subplot other than breaking them up and seeing how they get together THIS TIME. 

#I'vebeenmarriedfor18yearsromancenovels

So I've concluded to just develop the characters more. For example, Scarlet Fortune is a 1920's cop vampire, and Shad is a 400 something year old dragon bootlegger... so there are bound to be some funny anecdotes and hijinks even AFTER they've tied the knot. I also believe in a good antagonist. Going back to The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2--because I had to watch it the other day with my two year old and am still crusty about it-- how do you compare a circus ringmaster narcissist with Monseigneur Claude Frollo: a judge--because Disney couldnt really make him an Archdeacon, the movie was already risky enough--who sings about his lust for Esmeralda: a member of an oppressed minority group?

You can't. 

So I'll make a good villain that will extend on the themes of the first book. Because themes are important and so too are villains.

Eh... not really. But the theme of the meme fit the context.

I'm also trying to tie in some things from the first book. Reuse some old characters that may have been floating around the plot of book one. Facts and places barely used before, could be backdrops for more important things later on. The sequel is pretty much stand alone, I don't think you NEED to read book one to enjoy book two, but I mean, it's more fun if you do. 

Of course, I'm only speaking from a matter of my own opinion, and I am writing this sequel with my co-author who contributes HEAVILY to ensuring there are no continuity errors... but...

SEQUELS ARE HARD! 

And I promise all--or any *cries*--fans out there... That I will honor the original work to the best of my ability and not create C.U.G.

I said I promise I won't write C.U.G!

 

A new tradition? by J. S. Marlo

 

 

 

 

The Red Quilt

"a sweet & uplifting Christmas story"

is now available 

click here

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

For as long as I remember, Christmas and the Holiday Season have blended together to describe the two weeks between from Dec 20 to Jan 3. This is a festive time when the younger kids are mostly off-school, when the older college kids drive or fly home to enjoy home-cooked meal and free laundry services, and when family and friends get together for indoor or outdoor activities. This is also the time when I get to clean and decorate the house from top to bottom, inside and outside, and to cook and bake my kids' favorite food.

 This year was different. Yes, I did say "was", because this year, Christmas and Holiday Season don't go hand to hand.

I have a daughter who lives oversea. I hadn't seen her in two years, but even before Covid-19, flying to Canada during the holiday season was a long, expensive, and not always pleasant adventure, especially when Mother Nature threw snowstorms in her path, cancellations lit up the airport boards in red, and her suitcase stayed behind. I also have another daughter with a husband and seven-year-old daughter who live ten minutes away, and a son with a new wife who live in a different province. Spending festive time with both sides of respective their families and working shifts is a juggling act for all of them.

So this year, we decided to have an early Christmas on the first weekend of December. It allowed the kids to fly at a more reasonable price before the holiday rush, it made scheduling time off and time with their in-laws easier on them, and it gave my daughter and new daughter-in-law a chance to meet in person for the first time.

Mother Nature outdid herself. She dumped more snow in the last two weeks in November than I wanted to shovel. That's usually my husband's job, but he fell on the ice coaching our granddaughter's hockey team and broke his elbow. No shoveling for him until January.

For three wonderful days, they were all here in town. It also happened that my granddaughter had a hockey game and a one-day swim meet last weekend. So, lots of catching up done in the bleachers, board games and puzzles at home, walks in the snowy trails, favourite meals ready to heat or reheat, gift exchange, and lots of new memories made during the weekend.

 Now the house is empty and all the kids are back where they belong. Yes,  Christmas and the Holiday Season are still approaching, but now hubby and I will just relax. We already had our Christmas. It was early and unconventional, but it was also wonderful, and I'm hoping this is the beginning of a new tradition.

Enjoy time with your family, whenever you can, because those precious moments are timeless.

Happy Holiday & Stay Safe!

JS

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website