Saturday, December 12, 2015

The Season of GIving....and Welcoming

Another green week in Ottawa - some rain, glimmers of sunshine, no snow. Christmas is now less than two weeks away and the decorations look oddly out of place without a snowy backdrop. Santa is beginning to look over-dressed.

I've hit 10,000 words on the latest manuscript. I just ran off a hard copy and am doing an edit and review before heading into the climax and resolution. This also gives me a chance to make sure the character with blue eyes still has blue eyes four chapters later. I have time to reread the other Anna Sweet novellas to make certain everything lines up there too. You'd be amazed how easily the details can be forgotten over the course of a book or series. My Grass Roots Press editor keeps a chart and she's excellent at pointing out discrepancies. I promise myself that I'll be that organized, but man, it's hard to put in the time after spending so many hours writing and editing.

I'm quiet on the publicity front leading up to Christmas. Dundurn is working on bookmarks and a launch invitation for Tumbled Graves. third in the Stonechild and Rouleau series. The launch is booked for Sunday afternoon on April 3 and Books on Beechwood will again be the bookseller. Mark the date!

Like everyone else in Canada, I watched the first Syrian refugees arrive on television broadcasts. I try to imagine what they've lived through and how it must feel to uproot your entire family to move to a new home where you don't speak the language. They have been labelled 'refugees' but I think we have to be careful to let them outside this box. These are fathers, mothers, friends, individuals who once had full and happy lives in Syria before the fighting started. They've seen horror and suffered beyond what anyone should ever go through. I despair of what people will do to each other, but I am conversely encouraged by the compassion of Canadians and those in other countries who are welcoming these people in the time of their greatest need. Compassion cannot be overrated.

So, today I'm going to do my shopping, including a wander down to Westboro Village to check out some of the shops and to buy local. While malls have their place, I much prefer to support independent shops in my neighbourhood. This is where I find unique gifts while actually enjoying the experience. And this year, we get to roam from shop to shop in a virtual heat wave. Maybe, I'll run into you on my travels. I'll be the one sipping an egg nog late and humming Jingle Bells.

Have a great week everyone. The countdown to Christmas is officially on :-)

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