It's Almost Thanksgiving!

We celebrate Thanksgiving the day after turkey day at our house. We started the tradition as a compromise with my kids. They were conflicted about where to spend Thanksgiving. No one wanted to miss dinner with their family. We talked about brunch in the morning or dessert later in the day.

In the end, I opted for the day after. It was not a hardship. I did it selfishly. This way I have them all to myself. The kids, and their in-laws, love the idea.

I start cooking on Wednesday. That's another benefit of celebrating the day after. No turkey. Everyone's had their fill on Thursday. I can be a bit more creative with the menu. Although the family still demands the same menu each year, butternut squash soup, roast leg of lamb with mint jelly, brisket, sweet potato souffle (with marshmallows), green beans, mashed potatoes (yes, even though there are sweet potatoes), and a salad. My daughters bring dessert.

Today the family will begin to gather. Our son and his new wife will drive to New Jersey from Boston. Our two daughters and their families will move back home on Friday and stay for the weekend. It will definitely be a houseful but I wouldn't want it any other way.

For me it's all about family. The coffee runs to Dunkin Donuts, the late night outing to the local ice cream shop, and flopping on the sofa watching movies or football with a large bowl of popcorn. It's magical to me.

I also look forward to Monday when they all go home but I know it's only for a few weeks. We'll do all again in three weeks. This time with presents!

If you're tired of watching football or just want to escape, I have just thing. The Pirate's Redemption.

After her beloved father dies, Moira MacDougall becomes chieftain of their small clan. She is tested on every level, not only by her councilors who question her every move, but also by an exiled Englishman who raids her village under the guise of a notorious pirate, Gareth Talbot.

He wants the secret weapon Moira possesses, and will do anything to get his hands on it—including committing murder so he can give it to King Henry to prove his worthiness and be welcomed home.

Moira will follow her destiny and do whatever is necessary to protect her clan.

The real Gareth Talbot is through with love. His last romance did not end well. He suffered a broken heart and doesn’t trust women.

Humiliated, Gareth goes to sea and becomes a captain for MacAlpin, the pirate king. When raids along the Scottish coast are blamed on him, he seeks revenge. Nothing less than death will do.

Moira and Gareth are on different missions, but seek the same goal. Can they work together and eliminate their greatest enemy, and in the process, find the one thing they didn’t know they were searching for, true love?

Buy Link: Amazon KU

What are your family traditions? What are your favorite holiday recipes?

Have a great Thanksgiving!

When Holidays Collide—How To Make Time For Yourself

By Maureen Bonatch

I turned off the light after the last trick-or-treater and extinguished the pumpkins lining our porch. Thoughts of immersing myself in a paranormal or scary movie to continue to enjoy the Halloween vibe filled my mind. As I passed the living room I paused. A Christmas commercial caught my eye. It wasn’t the first one I’d seen, and I was sure it wouldn’t be even close to the last.

As soon as summer begins to wind down and the air starts to chill, the crush of Hallo-thanks-mas advertising and promotions settles on our shoulders along with a To-do list heavier than the boxes of holiday decorations. It seems like every month of the year we get busier, yet we still try to fit in all the extra tasks that accompany the holidays. Something’s got to give, and it’s usually the time we devote to ourselves.

Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That

There are many people who look forward to the holiday season with the same joy they felt as a child. But there seem to be more who become filled with dread for various reasons but often due to the lack of time to create the holiday scenes portrayed on the commercials. We rush to complete the marathon of madness until collapsing with exhaustion after the New Year rings in.

Many writers, including myself, voluntarily choose to raise the bar and pile more on their To-do list by participating in NaNoWri Month (National Novel Writing Month). 

So how do we enjoy the holidays without giving up the things we enjoy most? Often we run out of time to do things like writing, reading and other entertaining activities because we are overwhelmed with obligation.

Don’t Turn Back Time

If you participated in Daylight Savings Time on November 5^th and turned back the clock an hour, don’t change your morning alarm clock. Continue to get up at the same time you were=an hour earlier. Your body should be fairly accustomed to getting up at that time so continue to do so. Devote that hour to doing something you enjoy. Consider this your—me time.

Record That Television Show

The fall and winter seasons bring back tons of our favorite shows to tempt us. With the availability of DVR, Netflix, On-Demand and countless methods to watch our coveted television shows after the fact, it’s easy to eliminate commercials and watch our favorite shows quicker, or at a time that it’s more convenient—or so you can get to bed a little earlier and get extra rest and not get over stressed.

•     Tip—save time by multi-tasking. Exercise while you watch your shows, or wrap gifts, write yourholiday cards or complete other tedious tasks.

Put yourself at the top of the list

The pressure of the holidays has us trying to find that perfect gift for all the special people on the list. We usually forget one person—us. If we put ourselves on that list we can enjoy the holiday season a little more.

 You don’t have to buy yourself a gift (but you could when you’re shopping all those spectacular sales) but schedule in the time to relax, turn your thoughts away from any overwhelming thoughts and enjoy a little self-care or pampering.

•   Read a book or listen to music while relaxing in a bath
• Take a few minutes before bed to enjoy a scented lotion or candle

Consider The True Joys of The Season

Most won’t remember what gift you got them, or the time-consuming special dish you prepared for the holiday meal—they’ll remember the memories created. Be sure to slow down and make your own memories so when January rolls around you don’t look back to the last three months as a blur of stress and obligation. Make the season magical—for you. That’s the true gift that keeps on giving.

How Do You Make Time For Yourself Over the Hallo-Thanks-Mas Holidays?

My NaNoWri Baby from 2012

Despite the little bit of insanity involved with fitting in NaNoWri, I consider devoting time to my stories as a gift to myself. My recent release, Evil Speaks Softly, was born in NaNoWri 2012 as See No Evil.

Everyone has a story to tell. Even the dead.

They were never supposed to meet. Fame came easy for Liv by following in the footsteps of the female writers in her family. The cycle repeated for decades…until Liv changed the story. Her villain doesn’t like the revision—and he isn’t a fictional character. In his story, the bad guy always wins.

They were never supposed to find love. Liv never questioned her demanding nocturnal muse, or the strange incidents in her old, family home until she met Gage. His job was to watch her from afar, not reveal the truth about the curse and the stories of the dead. They’ve broken all the rules. Together they unravel secrets as they strive to stop the cycle. Liv’s ability to find love, and protect her loved ones, hangs on the fickle whims of the dead—and they’ve got nothing to lose.

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four

seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter

What I'm Thankful For

Now that I’m recuperating from our US presidential election I’m looking for what I have to be thankful. It helps that our US Thanksgiving is only two weeks away!

Kate, Ari, Staci, Me, Cori, Eloise (SIL), Paul Chris and Alan (Bro)
Picture at my birthday party

Paul and I are empty nesters. Our daughters, Staci and Cori, and their families live about thirty minutes away and our son, Ari and his girlfriend Kate, live in Boston. For the holidays they all move back home for the weekend. They decided ten years ago, when Ari went away to college in Boston, holidays would be spent here, all together, and all weekend. I didn’t argue.

This year things have changed. Our younger daughter Cori and her husband Chris are in their house a year and will be hosting Thanksgiving Day. The two of them are wonderful hosts. 

I thought I wouldn’t have to cook this holiday, but the children had other plans. I get to host Thanksgiving on Friday.

It’s lots of planning and cooking but there are no surprises. They crave the same menu every year, beef brisket or roast leg of lamb (this year they want both), sweet potato souffle, noodle pudding, salad and roasted green beans.

They’ll arrive with appetizers and dessert as well as a separate bag filled with plastic containers. I’ve been known double recipes to ensure there are left overs. By the end of the weekend, all the left overs are gone.

This year, there is an additional celebration. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is Cori’s baby shower. Staci, Chris’ mom and sister and I have been busy planning and crafting for the party.

Our family weekend winds down on Sunday with French toast for breakfast and discussions about the holidays and our wish lists. Then, with their left overs in hand, everyone packs up and gets ready to travel home.  

We’ll only have three weeks before the kids will be back and we can do it all over again. Maybe I’ll change up the menu and make chicken or salmon. Naw, why change a good thing. It’s perfect just the way it is.

Happy Holiday everyone!

Ruth's Books

How Adult Is Too Adult?

I'm on vacation with the extended family and had an interesting talk with my (almost) thirteen-year-old niece today. She reads the YA novels I write under my other name, but tonight while we were talking books, she asked what my "Seleste deLaney" books were about.

Pretty sure I went deer in the headlights for a minute there.

You see, I'm the aunt who gets in trouble for answering questions because I believe in honesty. I strive for "age-appropriate honesty" but I don't believe in giving BS answers. For example, I took a different niece to a parent-approved movie, and the word fornication was used in a prayer. She asked me what it meant. Yeah. Rock meet hard place. Needless to say, I got in trouble over that one, even though it's what I would tell my son or daughter if they asked. Basically I said "it's something grown-ups do when they're alone" or something like that. To one parent that's perfectly acceptable. To another...not so much.

So when the thirteen-year-old asked about my "other" books, I was a little leery of answering. But I did it anyway. I didn't talk about the sex, but I did explain the plots. If her mother gets on me about it, so be it. I'll take my lumps, because I realized if I didn't answer her, the easiest way for her to find out would be to just read them.

Now, I'm all for family as fans, but if I thought explaining the plots would get me in trouble, it's nothing compared to the backlash if she read my sex scenes because I wouldn't answer. But the real question is when is a book too adult?

I read my first book with sex scenes in it (that I recognized as such) in sixth grade. Granted, it was much less descriptive than mine, but considering it was coerced sex with a teenaged prisoner for the purpose of impregnation (with an alien baby no less)...I like to think it was "worse" than the sex I write.

What about you? When did you first read books with sex and, if you are a parent, when do you expect your kids will? (And if you want, what is worse? Descriptive sex between consenting adults? Or something like I mentioned above?)