On Holiday Stories and Dithering

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, stories that show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights and choose love and light.

Do you ever dither?

I will admit I’ve become more of a ditherer than ever these past few years. I will also admit that I don’t like to dither. I understand procrastination better than I understand dithering although they do have some similarities.

What does dithering have to do with the Blog Queens’ November writing prompt?

I can only answer for myself for several reasons the main one being I’ve no idea if Sarah McDermed, co-Blog Queen, is dithering…I am.

How do you know that? I’ve blathered on for 85 words without really saying anything. My normal process is to sit down at the computer, remind myself of the monthly prompt and start typing. For this month, I’ve been dithering since August!

What’s so hard about the topic “Holiday Stories”?

First: I’ve not read any. I’ve been rereading my keeper shelves’ books and while there are a couple that have a holiday somewhere, it hasn’t been The Focus and I’ve probably already talked about them in previous years.

Second: The holiday story I was working on last year Winter Solstice: Charlie and Amethyst is still waiting for a bit more editing, tweaking before it’s published. 2022 has not been a good year for my writing life. Please hold positive thoughts it will be featured in 2023!

Third: The phrase holiday story or holiday stories when talked about in October and November brings to mind the fall and winter holidays (Halloween through New Year’s focusing on Thanksgiving and Christmas). That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just not where my mind and writing goes.

So where do my mind and writing go? The eight High Holy Days of the pagan calendar:

Samhain
Yule aka Winter Solstice
Imbolc aka Candlemas
Ostara aka Spring Equinox
Beltane
Lithia aka Summer Solstice
Lammas
Mabon aka Fall Equinox

It’s been 30 years since I began adding these days of celebrating the cycle of the earth into my more traditional upbringing. I don’t remember exactly when I began dropping some of those traditional holidays. However, within the last decade they are pretty much gone. For example, no more turkeys for Thanksgiving because I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving on the 4^th Thursday of November. I make an effort to give thanks be in gratitude each and every day. And I do not enjoy large family gatherings. Actually any large gathering is stressful because of my hearing and some vestibular issues.

What changed?

In some ways, nothing. When I look back on my life, I see a strong spiritual path from my childhood wending its way through to now. What is different is how I manifest it. These days I use Gaia, Mother Nature and Earth-based practices to express my spiritual self.

On this path, one of the greatest gifts came when the women in my Sacred Women’s Circle series began showing up in dreams and visions, their voices clear and insistent about what they wanted me to say not only about their life journeys but how they manifested their dreams into reality?

I’d already been involved in women’s circles for almost decade when I started writing so I had a foundation. I’d attended close to a dozen Women of the 14^th Moon gatherings. I was celebrating the pagan holidays so the foundation to tell their stories was there.

The stories

When you read my books, you’ll see that these women have created their own earth-based or pagan spiritual practices. And as they find their happy-ever-after, they choose to marry on one of the High Holy Days…although not Samhain. This High Holy Day marks the beginning of the pagan calendar for many.

For myself, I choose to start my new year on Winter Solstice. I love the dark of night, the colder temperatures, the firelight by which to read or contemplate who I am and how I fit into the world around me. And there is always much to contemplate as both the world and I are evolving, changing, adjusting.

This year I’ve much to review as 2022 has been a bigger challenge for me than most of my eighty plus years. I hope that as I sit in front of the fire, drumming on my horsehide or maybe my elk drum, I’ll hear new voices and see new visions and 2023 will be a year for sharing those stories with you.

I also write non-fiction. Learn more about Staying Sane in a Crazy World.  If you take the time, you end up with a Personal Staying Sane Plan tailored to help you through the challenging times.

You can find all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource. If you want a print copy? Ask your local independent bookstore to order it for you. If you are in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, my books are carried at Jan’s in Beaverton and Arte Soleil in SE Portland.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshley.net

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2022 Judith Ashley

Get Yout Holiday Sparkle on!

By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarcia.com

December is around the corner and with it comes some amazing reads from some of your favorite authors.  It’s a time for feel good stories and true holiday miracles.

December is also one of my most favorite months. It’s a month of parties, giving, receiving and forgiving.  Love is in the air. Caring is sharing!

When I blogged two weeks ago, I gave you a preview of some of the holiday projects I’ve been working on.  As promised, I’ve returned to tell you more.

Last year, author Bettye Griffin and I put our heads together to come up with The Holiday Sparkle series; 4 novellas that all center around the magic of a rented red dress. At the time we had no idea how well received these novellas would be.

The first novella released at Thanksgiving was Bettye Griffin’s Love on Lakeshore Drive, followed by my Naughty in New York. Bettye’s Holiday in Houston followed, and the series concluded with my Loose in Las Vegas. These red dress stories took place over the holiday season, starting with a Thanksgiving wedding and ending with a New Year’s Eve bash in Las Vegas. Our heroines find love wearing a memorable red dress.

Keeping with this trend, in 2017 we bring you Rockin’ the Rockies set in both Aspen and Denver, and told from two points of view.

Heroines Sari Saunders and Bethany Gill attend a fundraising event in Aspen with their respective dates. Both women are wearing almost the same red dress.  Livingston Cox, Sari’s date, is the heir to L&L Markets; a chain of grocery stores in the Denver area.   Dante Martinez is the manager of one of Livingston’s most successful stores. He’s surprised to run into Sari, his twins’ nursery school teacher, and he’s even more surprised to discover how attracted he is to her.  Now Dante has plans, and those plans include Sari and his own store.

Livingston from the moment he sets eyes on beautiful Bethany wants her as his own.  And so, the two switch dates.  Will the red dress weave its usual magic?       

Rockin’ the Rockies will be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in a few weeks. We’d be ever so grateful if you’d pick up a copy and give us a review.  

Next up this holiday season is By Design, my collaboration with New Times Bestseller, Sandra Kitt. Our story, set in the historical city of Philadelphia, has at its center Elle Stanford; a marketing executive who loses her job. To get through the holiday season she takes a position as a sales associate at H. E. Caldwell's; Philadelphia’s only black owned store; a store currently up for sale.

Elle runs into Miles Bradshaw for a second time, (a man she hooked up with years ago), at the store shopping for a gift for his son, and the romance is on. Can Elle and her innovative marketing ideas save H. E. Caldwell’s? Is Miles Bradshaw the upstanding man he purports to be?  Will this holiday season be the best one ever?

Readers of Romancing the Genres Blog are the first to see to the cover of By Design. This full-length novel will be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in both  eform and in print.

Everyone loves a good holiday story and we hope we delivered. For more about me and my books, please visit me at https://www.goodreads.com/ or on my website http://www.lovemarcia.com/current.htm

This holiday season put a little love in your heart. Read, and get your sparkle on!.

Romantically Yours,

Marcia King-Gamble

About Marcia King-Gamble

Romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This former travel industry executive and current world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her animal family.

Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

The Gift of Christmas

by Diana McCollum

“The Gift of Christmas” is an anthology of short stories set around Christmas time. This book came out a few years ago, but is worth reading today.

All the contributing authors are multi-published. The stories are from all different genres.

One in particular touched my heart, The Cancer Christmas by Melissa Yuan, Melissa reveals how, when her father was diagnosed with a brain tumor, she dreaded the upcoming holiday season. But her father, along with her infant son, taught her the most important Christmas lesson of all.”

The stories are filled with miracles, mystery and magic!

The only children’s story:  Metro’s Mountain Cabin by Susie Slanina, “Metro the dog spends a snowy Christmas with friends in a mountain cabin. As with all the Metro books, some events are true and some are imagined. For children ages 7-12 and the young at heart.”

Christmas Miracles by Pamela Cowan, “an Heirloom box of foreign coins presents a series of odd twists of fate . . . bringing a struggling family some luck—good and bad—and maybe even a miracle.”

The Nest by Courtney Pierce, “Estate sales can be magical. For baby boomers Jean and Spence Collins, the purchase of a once-cherished ornament transforms their Christmas holiday from routine to extraordinary.”

Isabella’s Christmas Box by Paty Jager, “Anthropologist Isabella Mumphrey must unlock the secrets of the Mayan Puzzle Box in time to celebrate Christmas with DEA Agent Tino Constantine.”

The Mermaid’s Treasure by Anna Brentwood, “Will the discovery of an antique brooch, hidden for decades in an old trunk, bring a young woman closer to her deceased father? Or will it cause her to question everything she’s ever believed in?”

Don’t Forget the Mistletoe by Christy Carlyle, “Two people may love each other deeply but the timing isn’t right. Allowing the mistletoe to serve as a message between Amelia and Benedict may give them a second chance for love.”

First Love by Judith Ashley, “Falling in love is easy for everyone—except Ashley. Her past has left her with distrust, hesitation, and a fear that she will never be married or have children. Join Ashley on her journey to finding and accepting love.”

Christmas with You by Jane Killick, “Sylvie is thrilled when her airline pilot husband is able to change his work schedule to spend Christmas with her and their young son, but all is not as it seems in this story of a family Christmas overshadowed by fate.”

Career Conundrum Christmas by Jamie Brazil, Caught between past and present, fine art appraiser, Sara, wants to honor her father’s decorative arts legacy while forging her own future. But will the career opportunity of a lifetime dry up like her overcooked holiday turkey if she accept Ben’s marriage proposal?”

The Hogmanay Stranger by Maggie Jaimeson, “The Sweetwater Canyon family celebrates Hogmanay in Scotland with Rachel’s father, Gavin Cullen. Clearing the cobwebs of the past year in order to begin anew is a tradition with special meaning. Will a stranger help them all to remember what is most important in life and thus free them from the past?”

A Marine’s Christmas Proposal by Susan Lute, “Celebrating Christmas is the last thing on his mind when David Randal leaves behind his military life to take care of his orphaned nephew. But finding work in a depressed economy is tough: and job-hunting in December is nothing short of an act of desperation. So when a temp job casts him as ‘Girl Friday’ to a notorious workaholic lady boss, even this Marine knows the greatest risk might lead to the greatest reward of all.”

All these great stories are in the anthology 

"The Gifts of Christmas", so buy your copy, grab a hot cup of coco or tea, maybe some popcorn, and read a short story or two to relax during this busy time of year! You won't be disappointed!

Do you have a favorite Christmas novel or anthology?

Leave a comment to be entered into a Christmas drawing for an Amazon card!!!
Drawing open till December 4th!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

A CHRISTMAS VILLAGE REAWAKENS TO DELIGHT READERS

Merryvale is a village everyone would like to claim as a hometown once Santa starts loading his sleigh. Luckily for readers who love Christmas stories, author Robin Weaver is whisking us there once again this holiday season for a delightful laugh-filled visit.  

FULL CONTACT DECORATING is the newest title in Weaver’s series that starts with the mood-lifting CHRISTMAS TREE WARS. Her new novel, aptly dedicated to Christmas Tree Lovers everywhere, brings back many of our favorite characters.

Here’s a preview:

Katrina Snodgrass believes she can get her life back on track. If she can regain her title as the Christmas Tree Contest champion and re-snare the man of her dreams. Too bad soap-opera star, Tripp Anthony, isn’t interested—at least he’s indifferent until Hunter Montgomery arrives and convinces Katrina she needs to make her former flame jealous. The plan succeeds, but Katrina finds herself equally attracted to Tripp and Hunter, the man she loves to hate. Her heart is torn, but can she truly choose either man while she guards a horrible secret?

Here's a link to make it easy for you to buy an ebook copy of FULL CONTACT DECORATING for just $2.99. Enjoy!

Debut Author Fiola Faelan: Holiday Hearts Awakening

I’ve always loved reading and writing, and cut my teeth on books such as The Forest of Mystery, Edgar Allen Poe, Robin Hood, and Nancy Drew. I grew up a devout tomboy, back when Silicon Valley wasn’t even a gleam in San Jose’s eyes. I’m not as agile as I once was, but can still cut a rug, in person and in my books.

I finally sat my behind down several years ago and got serious about writing. I made all the newbie mistakes, but with the help of the members of the Rose City Romance Writers and some gentle critiques, I like to think I make those mistakes only occasionally, now.

Reading—and writing—is in the blood it seems—and certainly in mine! Some are rabid about both, others enjoy a good book but are able to put it down with ease and move on to the next thing. For me, I'd say I fit into the rabid slot in both reading and writing.

If I'm not writing, I want to be reading, and vice versa. There are so many of us out there. Writers who can look at a can of corn and immediately come up with a scene for a book, or an entire story—all because of that can of corn.

We're the ones you may overhear at a restaurant mulling the best way to do away with someone. Where to bury the body. Or the most unusual place to get frisky with that hero or heroine.

On any given day, I can be found writing, playing practical jokes on friends and family, laughing, and thinking up outlandish plots in my head. I love life, living with my son and marvelous daughter-in-law in beautiful Portland, Oregon, along with Nudge the most affectionate cat.

FIOLA FAELAN

Whether you're a writer who's obsessed with the whereabouts of your muse, every minute of every day, or a reader who doesn't mind putting down that book to take a walk or a nap, I hope you'll check in with me often. I hope you lose yourself in a book, whether mine or another’s, when you do pick it up again.

I would love to connect with you, and possibly entertain you, either between the pages of my books or on my website. Please visit—often!

Website:          http://fiolafaelan.com

EXCERPT: HOLIDAY HEARTS AWAKENING

Three painful years after the destruction of her family and determined to spend this Christmas as alone as ever, Natalie is unprepared for the sensuous campaign against her senses from her new hunk of a neighbor. Or for her body’s traitorous attraction.

Zach had sworn off relationships, concentrating instead on work and being a single dad to his young daughter. After almost losing her years ago, every day was about keeping her safe.  Little did he know the holidays would bring not only visions of sugar plums, but also a stubborn too-sexy neighbor in need. His protective instincts roar to the front, as does his libido and the heart he thought he’d locked away.

Little do they know, if they let down their guard, Santa will deliver not only goodies under the tree, but sometimes hearts filled with love.

Eh? What's this 'holiday story' thing?

I confess, when I first heard the term 'holiday story', I did some puzzled head-scratching. A story about people going on holidays? School holidays, maybe? Huh?

See, you may not realise it, but the term 'holiday story' is an American thing. Where I come from, 'holiday' doesn't mean Christmas or Easter or whatever - it means what Americans mean when they say 'vacation'. Sure, those days are 'public holidays' - but it generally just means 'take a day off'.

And of course, we don't take the American holidays, such as Independence Day. We have our own. We've got Australia Day, January 26th, which generally involves barbecues and beer. Not much of a story in that. There's Queen's Birthday, which isn't actually on the Queen's birthday, but hey, it's the thought that counts, and Liz won't care so long as there's gin.

Melbourne Cup Day. Enough said.

And of course there's Melbourne Cup Day. Yeah. A day off for a horse race. WIN.

But Australia isn't known as 'the land of the long weekend' for nothing. We love our extended weekends, and we get a bit miffed when the government decides to enforce a public holiday on the actual day, instead of the closest Monday or Friday.

Unless it's Melbourne Cup Day, which is always a Tuesday. It shall not be moved. Wash your mouth out with soap, you holiday-mover you.

As for Christmas stories... well, you have to understand that Christmas down under is a little different. Having lived in Alnwick in northern England for nearly two winters now, I get what a northern Christmas is: it's an escape from the long chilly darkness. We cook up a feast, hang coloured lights in the trees, burn candles and sing songs about reindeers and dashing sleighs to take our minds off the freezing cold, the icy roads, the 18-hour nights and what a miserable bloody time we'd otherwise be having.

Christmas lights in Alnwick (Photo by Kevin Temple)

I've gotta admit: people in the UK give Christmas their all. It's truly a magical season. As fabulous as my beloved summertime Christmas is? It misses the point entirely.

So Christmas stories? All that snow, twinkling lights, mistletoe and sex on bearskin rugs... ahem, I mean mulled wine and mince pies? I'm not feeling it, not in Australia. Give me the beach and a barbecue and the Boxing Day Test match (that's cricket, for those sorry souls who don't understand).

So if you want a cuddly winter romance? Stick to the north. Aussie winters are mostly just wet and boring. Then again, if you want a Christmas tale about hunky surfers or brave firefighters? Come on down, crack open a cold tinny (that's a can of beer) and grab a snag (a sausage. Not a shrimp; no one barbecues shrimps, and they're called 'prawns' anyway) from the barbie. Beats mulled wine and fruit pies any day!

A “DOWN HOME” CHRISTMAS! by Shannon Kennedy

As a child in the 1960’s, I didn’t know we were poor. Our farmhouse in Everett, Washington echoed with music, laughter and love. We were a ‘blended family’, but we didn’t call it that. Mom was divorced with three girls and met Dad who had two girls and three boys – these two adults married and we were an instant family.  

 Dad’s rock band practiced in the living-room for their Friday and Saturday night gigs and often they mixed carols with the Righteous Brothers’ and Gene Pitney’s hits. Mom cooked supper for everybody – if there wasn’t enough hamburger in the spaghetti – nobody complained. Sometimes the pasta came out pretty dry and the salad was more lettuce than tomatoes. Dessert was homemade chocolate chip cookies – each cookie had one chocolate chip.

Often, we visited my maternal grandparents, singing carols all the way to their house in Seattle since the radio didn’t work in our old station wagon. Grandma took us shopping at Woolworths and the Five & Dime downtown. We kids always saved up enough money to buy gifts for one another and if we ran out then we made presents. Dad said the best ones he got were the coupons for washing his car and mornings or nights off from the farm chores.

When we couldn’t afford gift wrap, the Sunday comics served as a substitute, or we used newspaper tied up with bright ribbons. Often by Christmas Eve, Santa was down to grocery bags. The elves cut the brown paper sacks open, tying it with twine to finish wrapping our presents.

            After stockings and presents at our house, we went to Grandma’s and Grand-dad’s for dinner where he presided over the cutting of the turkey. We knew we’d graduated to adulthood when we were invited to sit at the ‘grown-up’ table in the living-room.

            Grand-dad used to say, “Christmas comes from the heart.”

            Grandma always added, “And you give from the heart all year-round.”

            But, what happens when the heart gets fractured?

SHANNON KENNEDY

           

 Dad left on my 12^th birthday and took the magic with him, along with his five kids, my sisters and brothers. My childhood faded into dust. Mom needed help to raise my two sisters and I was the closest adult. We tried to hold the Christmas traditions together, but it didn’t work after my so-called ‘real’ father and my mother reunited.

I dismissed Grand-dad’s words as those of a silly old man when he said again, “Christmas comes from the heart.” I ignored Grandma who said to give to others all year.

Thirty years passed and I moved to a small beach community. My sister invited me for Christmas, saying I was only welcome if I brought expensive gifts for her family. I’d recently lost my job, so that was impossible. I stayed in my new home and babysat my neighbor’s dogs. Slowly, I realized my grandparents were right and adopted their creed. “Christmas comes from the heart, so give from the heart all year-round.”

*****

I have two stories out in two different holiday anthologies this year. Home for Christmas is a short story in the Black Opal Books anthology,  A Touch of Winter, coming in December. Stewart Falls, Washington is where Nikki Tiernan longs to go. She’s tired of being bounced around her dad’s family, since he’s remarried and her mom is still overseas with the U.S. Army. All Nikki has to do is buy a bus ticket—or so she thinks. But when a mysterious stranger claims the seat next to her, Nikki begins to fear her adventure may not go as planned.

Deck the Stalls is a Shamrock Stable holiday novella from Fire and Ice YA Books available November 30th. All Sierra McElroy wants for Christmas is a guarantee the horses at Shamrock Stable will be home for the holidays. Her mother has decided they can’t keep every horse and should sell some. Now, what can Sierra do to save her friends and Christmas for everyone?

*****

Links:

www.shannonkennedybooks.com

http://www.blackopalbooks.com/

http://www.fireandiceya.com/coming.html