I know a lot of people hate the pre-holiday buildup--shopping, mailing, wrapping, baking, planning, decorating, traveling (ookay, maybe not that so much, this year, but in general!) STRESSING. And I get that. But, for me, all of that is balanced by the FUN of it all. The music, the lights, the decorations, the anticipation, the cookies, the drinks.
Yeah. I needed A LOT of those this year. But now it's over (well, almost, tonight is Twelfth Night, after all, and we still have Epiphany coming up, but still!) and, no matter how you look at it, taking down a tree is just never going to be as much fun as putting one up.
Not that I'm able to do that yet. We're watching our grandson while his parents get a much needed break, and NOTHING is getting put away until he goes home even though the CLUTTER is starting to get to me.
So, since I can't get any actual house cleaning done, I'm playing catch-up online.
My Holiday Book Sale will run 'til the end of the week. After that, Finders Keepers, Iron and Oak all go back to their everyday prices.
My FREE For the Holidays Web Page is going away until next year as well. If you'd like to read "Counting On Christmas" sometime THIS year, now's your last chance.
The Nine Naughty Novelists are closing up shop within the next week or so, so this is your last chance to get Nine Nights in New Orleans EVER.
BUT...
If you're a member of my FB Readers Group The Crone's Nest, I have two holiday presents for you. Okay, one's, technically, still in the works, but ANY DAY NOW.
Join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheCronesNest
The first present is the NEWLY COMPLETED Prologue to the upcoming Winter Hearts series (which I'm calling Winter of Our Discontent).
October 1870
As the world mourns the loss of brilliant inventor Dr. Charles Winter (known affectionately to his friends as the professor) most remain unaware of the great technical advances he had made in the areas of cloning, artificial intelligence and mechanical life-forms. Sadly, this ignorance of so much of his most far-reaching and astonishing work extends even to the professor's own family, which includes his four adult children, the product of his marriage to the late Millicent Pearson Winter.
The younger Winters are quirky and independent, dedicated to social justice, rational science and intellectual achievement. Inculcated from earliest childhood with their mother's Quaker beliefs and their father's dedication to progress, the four siblings are tireless in their pursuit of whatever personal goals they happen to set for themselves.
At the time of their father's death, the siblings had yet to discover the fact that their supposed half-sister, Ophelia, was not the result of their father's infidelity as they'd long supposed.
This ignorance precipitated a crisis for Ophelia, as is documented in the series prequel, This Winter Heart.
My second gift is Winter World of Love, which is a sequel to This Winter Heart. That's the one that's late. But it's definitely coming soon! And if you want it, join the club...in a manner of speaking. lol!
December 1871
Just one short year ago, Ophelia Leonides returned to New Texacali hoping to reconcile with her husband. And, for a while, it seemed that most, if not all, her dreams were coming true. But as the holiday season approaches, Ophelia can’t help but notice that Dario has begun to brood. He says it has nothing to do with her, but trust, once lost, is hard to regain.
Dario is frustrated by his inability to give Ophelia the life he knows she deserves. Now, as old ghosts from his past draw close, and the bright future he’s promised his wife grows increasingly dim, he’s on the brink of making a last, desperate gamble--one that might destroy everything they've been hoping to achieve.
I'm having so much fun with this series. I hope you'll join me as the Winter Hearts journey continues!
