Dear Readers and Friends,
Thought I'd share a little holiday cheer. Last night, our Elf on the Shelf, Zoe, arrived to greet the kids. She has a cast (so she knows some of what the 7-year-old is experiencing). We already have the Christmas tree up—a lovely, tacky, fake white Christmas tree with all our ornament-treasures we've gathered over the years. We start an advent calendar tomorrow night, counting down to Christmas. The kids get candies, pencils, small gifts stuffed in the calendar pockets so that every morning is special. On the 6th, the kids leave their shoes outside the front door to get a hint whether Santa thinks they've been naughty or nice. They'll either get lumps of coal or a small gift let inside their shoes. All of this leads up to the night before Christmas when we have our "Ugly Sweater Party" and take pictures. We go all out. Easter's almost as much fun. (So is Sharknado night!) We think of ways to keep the fun in big and small celebrations. And I don't see all the bother ending when the kids stop believing in Santa or Krampus, because the adults love every minute too!
But let's look briefly back at the month that's ending. November was rough for a whole lot of reasons, but mostly...
NaNoWriMo. I really, really wanted to hit my 50k-word goal this year, but travel and illness nixed it.
Trip from Hell. The trip to Virginia to spend time with my son and his family over Thanksgiving went well until the day after Thanksgiving, when every single one of us began to fall sick. Worst stomach bug ever! We crawled back to Arkansas through torrential rains and 45-mile-an-hour gusts of wind.
I did manage to finish some stories and get them published. I hope you've sampled them. Thanks to everyone who's already told me they want more Sara and Hunter! I'm listening...
As for what's coming in December other than all the family time moments...
I plan three releases. I'll be leading a FREE workshop to help authors plan their work in 2017, called "Write 50 Books a Year." If you're interested in joining in, here's the link: Workshop Link
I'm big into New Year prep and resolutions. I'm still working on my 2017 mind maps. Anyways, sorry this was so long. I hope your December is wonderful! Drink plenty of mulled wine and rummy eggnog! Cheers!