Happy Thanksgiving! - Traditions

As time passes, traditions change.

Two things I love most about the holidays - spending time with the people I love, and taking time to relax and curl up with a good book during the quiet times.

When I was young, we traveled to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, or the Wisconsin rellies traveled to us in Illinois. Until the year of the big snow. And then we didn't travel so much anymore. When I started having children of my own, a new tradition grew. I hosted my in-laws or my in-laws hosted us. But children grow and move away. Family dynamics change. Elders pass on. New traditions are born.

Traditions. Some of them don't change.

I love baking, and the holidays provide the perfect excuse to make all my favorite treats. Two years ago, I posted a recipe for Ofenschlupfer, a recipe I discovered while writing Kundigerin 1 - Mist on the Meadow. This recipe has become a new staple in my house, celebrating my German heritage. And then there's the Christmas cookies, a tradition that begins right after Thanksgiving.

What are some of your traditions? The ones that survive despite evolutionary changes? And what new traditions have you begun?

I'm nearly done with my first draft of Kundigerin 2 (tentatively titled Gathering Mist), and one of the first things I do when I finish a novel is pick up a new book to read. Take a break. I'm a chapter or two from the end, and jumping back and forth with the conceptual editing. Then on to technical edits. By Christmas, I should be able to indulge in some binge reading, and I'm already building my TBR pile.

And speaking of reading, I'm running specials on two of my books. The e-book versions of my first two books, Touched by the Sun and Intimate Distance are on sale for just $0.99 for a limited time! Touched by the Sun is the first in the Northwest Suburbs series (stand-alone stories, familiar characters).

To you and your families, Happy Thanksgiving, inviting you to remember those less fortunate and wishing you happy traditions in the weeks to come.

Giving in to the holiday spirit

No, I'm still not ready, but ...

I read that short Christmas story I bought. Couldn't help myself. And you know what? It made me feel better. It was like watching a Hallmark Channel movie, and it was short and sweet and "feel-good." Sometimes that's all it takes to let go of the hustle and bustle of what lies ahead.

Hey, Thanksgiving is next week! That means I get to cook and bake. Yummy! Cookies! And sweet rolls. And turkey and mashed potatoes. Do you have traditional holiday dishes?

One of my favorite things to do with extra time off is to curl up in my favorite chair and read. And because I'm feeling the holiday spirit, I'll be running specials on two of my books in case you'd allow me to tell you a story. The e-book versions of my first two books, Touched by the Sun and Intimate Distance will be on sale for just $0.99 for a limited time! Touched by the Sun is the first in the Northwest Suburbs series (stand-alone stories, familiar characters).

Sharing the love, from me to you, and hoping you'll pay it forward.

Pre-Holiday Stress

In case anyone hasn't heard, I do love Christmas. Really. Carols, movies, books, cookies, the whole she-bang. But you know what? It's November 12. Know what else? I went to a store two weeks ago, right after Halloween, and heard Christmas music.

I AM NOT READY!

I watched television the other night, and they are running Christmas ads.

I AM NOT READY!

The babies are having birthdays this weekend. Thanksgiving is around the corner. And yes, Thanksgiving is late this year, which means less time for Christmas shopping. And THEN, I got an email about Christmas cookies. Now I am a cookie-holic, and I will always set aside time to make Christmas cookies, but right now, I'm feeling overwhelmed.

I AM NOT READY!

All of that aside, yes, I got suckered into a Christmas movie on one of those channels that run Christmas movies all through December (and now through November as well).

Taking a deep breath. Everything will fall into place. Kundigerin 2 is two-thirds written and isn't due to the editor until February (of course a lot has to happen to it once I finish it, so that is less time than you think!) Next year is already presenting challenges for me, but one day at a time. Right?

I will visit the babies first (I have their birthday presents!). Then I will look ahead to Thanksgiving and enjoy the people I am able to spend the day with. And THEN I will venture into Christmas territory. The writing part of it will fall into place and if all else fails, I still have vacation time at the day job that I can use to accomplish any of the tasks that fall behind.

The advertising agencies may be trying to rush me with premature holiday stress, but in the end, it's about sharing the season with the people you love. All the rest is just window dressing.

Did I mention I bought my first holiday book to read? Yeah, I'll get to it eventually. In the end, I'm still a sucker for the holidays. Even if I'm not ready.

If you're looking for holiday cookie ideas, visit my Pinterest Cookie page. Happy to relieve whatever stress I can!

Writing (and Rearing Children) -- Phases

We spend our lives living through phases. "Oh, she's just a kid." "High schoolers. What are you gonna do?" From graduating kindergarten, when children don't know anything other than what their parents teach them, to grade school, where the world begins to open up to them, to middle school when hormones begin to rear their ugly heads, life is a series of phases. From "I can't live without my mommy," to "I love my mommy," to "I hate my mother!", parents have generally seen it from all angles. The only thing we can rely on during these testing years is that we lived through them ourselves. Every time we enter a new phase, we relive our own lives during that difficult period and remember how we felt. Well, maybe not every phase, but generally. It's the only thing that makes some of the ugly parts bearable, knowing it will pass and life will shift once again.

Writing isn't altogether different. In many ways, our novels are our children. From the discovery phase, where the story is exciting and intriguing and new and fun--we are attached to it in a symbiotic bond that we're sure can't be severed. Until the dreaded middle. Suddenly, the story is acting up. This isn't how it was supposed to go. The characters are fighting with you, the plot isn't working the way it should and you are in a state of distress. How am I going to survive this phase? Until eventually, you find your way again. You make peace with your characters, the plot moves on, and you get to the end of the story with a feeling of accomplishment, that you created something good. Granted, not all novels are good. Some require more effort on our part as an author. And some are beyond help. Writing, as in parenting, requires one thing. You can only do you best. When the time comes to let your baby out into the world, you hope you've done everything you can to launch them successfully.

I'm so pleased with (and thank you for all who were a part of) the launch of Return to Hoffman Grove, and yet I still wonder if it will succeed. This one is my altruistic child, my do-gooder. Those are the ones you want to see do well because they are the ones who help others along their journey (I'm still sharing royalties with the crisis center).

Meanwhile, I'm struggling with my "teenager" of a book, my next project. Through the excitement of discovery where I was putting down pages at breakneck pace, I'm now in that middle section where I'm arguing with every word. It's a struggle, just like raising teenagers. And every one is different. Some are easier to work with than others. The thing that keeps me going is realizing this is a phase. This, too, shall pass, and then I'll look back fondly on this moment and know that the effort was all worth it in the end.

But while you're in the thick of it, it's still a struggle.