"Oh, there's no place like home.....

...for the holidays..."

I love Christmas, and I always have because I so much enjoy the opening of gifts on Christmas morning. (Not Christmas Eve, as some renegades practice). In years past, we had the family Christmas morning at my sister's house because she was the first to have children. But ever since my mom and I got this house together, we've been having it here.

Now, Faithful Readers know The Boy moved out this past Spring, so for the first time in his life, he was not going to be under my roof on Christmas Eve night/Christmas morning. Under normal circumstances this would not alarm me. He doesn't live that far away. But he's a night owl, difficult to wake up early in the morning, and I was afraid he wouldn't get here in time. Add to that, his cell phone charger is broken, and he doesn't really care.

On Christmas Eve, I urged him to come home to spend the night so that he would be here. Of course, he didn't want to do that. And when I pointed out that I wouldn't be able to contact him to wake him up, he replied, "Just go ahead and open gifts without me. I'll give mine out when I get there."

Under normal circumstances, that would probably be okay. But this Boy is my heartbeat. I never get to see him since he moved out anyway, and to have Christmas morning without him - unthinkable! I admit I cried when he said that, and it was evident in my voice. I didn't intend to put guilt on him - really, I didn't. But in his twenty-four years outside the womb, I've never not had Christmas with him. I didn't want to start now.

Still, he's a grown man, capable of making his own decisions about where to spend the night. I tried to be understanding.

I slept fitfully Christmas Eve night. Maybe he's the reason, maybe not. When I finally got up on Christmas morning, it was just before seven. I showered, got dressed, went into the kitchen to make coffee.

And there on the huge overstuffed sofa in the family room sprawled my Boy and his girlfriend, fast asleep under a big fluffy comforter.

It was all the Christmas gift I needed.

Happy New Year to all

Susan

And Now a New Cover!

Isn't this beautiful? Of course, I can't really tell you too much about what the various things on the cover mean. I don't want to give away the story. But there is definitely a castle. And a trip to London. And that swirly thing in the middle there? Well, that's kind of like Bill and Ted's phone booth, isn't it?

Guess you'll just have to wait until the book is available at The Wild Rose Press. Shouldn't be too much longer.

Wow, this is a Great Review!

Just back from my annual Christmas trip to Walt Disney World, and guess what was in my mailbox! A Google alert that pointed me to a new review of A LOTUS-COVERED DOOR. Faithful readers know this story is special to me for some personal reasons. Well, here's what Xeranthemum at The Long and Short of It had to say:

"If you enjoy reading a story that leaves your heart in your throat from the suspense as to whether they will or won't, then The Lotus-Covered Door delivers."

Oh, my. That's just too, too wonderful, isn't it? But wait - it gets better:

"This story almost had me in tears. So close, so close to reaching his dream only to lose it?"

You can read the whole review by clicking here

It was a very rewarding story to write. If you like the theme of lost loves regained, then this is for you. Makes a GREAT Christmas gift! And it's only three bucks! Run on over to The Wild Rose Press and buy it right now! My mother will thank you.


Susan

Writers on Strike?

I don't understand writers going on strike. I do understand writers wanting more money for what they do, or more payoff for residuals of their work as it goes into other forms. But striking? How can a writer strike? A writer has to write.

But all that aside, I also wonder about the television networks planning to throw reality programming at us since they don't have any new episodes of Grey's Anatomy or Heroes. Or whatever people are watching these days. Who do they think they're kidding with this? Are we supposed to believe that Ryan Seacrest makes up his own lines? Somebody WRITES what he says.

"The tribe has spoken." Who came up with that? Somebody wrote it.

My good friend Digby Diehl had a story that he loved to relate. A friend of his wrote a popular soap opera. When the friend got pulled over for speeding, the police officer asked him what he did for a living. He explained that he wrote a soap opera. The cop replied, "I didn't know anybody wrote those!"

Sombody writes your evening news, the Jeopardy! answers, and Dr. Phil's intro.

So why does network television think it can get along without writers? It can't. Don't even try.

Now go read something.

Susan

Where Have I Been?

Sometimes even I don't know.

Okay, here's what happened: The online publishing money is slim. The eBay money is good but labor intensive. The jerk who owes us money is in prison right now. So, in order to keep up the payments on the T-Bird, I had to get a real job.

It's okay. I've had real jobs before. Some are better than others. This one is particularly good. If I had to go to an office every day, I found a nice one to go to. It's cheerful and pleasant. The work is something I know how to do and I'm good at. The boss is a jewel. A lot like me, minus XXX years. (You can fill that in on your own.)

So, while I'm sad that I can't sit here and google myself...I mean, WRITE all day, I'm still happy that I managed to find such a good opportunity. I did give up the editing job. I didn't give up the teaching. And the eBay will have to sort itself out after the holidays. I still have a ton of stuff to sell for my sister and Jeanette.

And I intend to keep writing. Once we get past Christmas, I'll work on a schedule. The Blonde Bombshell can't stay stuck in Gatsby's cabin indefinitely. And her ex-boyfriend just showed up. That must be addressed.

Meanwhile, the 1962 time-travel story, now titled TIME TO KEEP, is due out from The Wild Rose Press...sometime.

So happy holidays to one and all. It only gets better from here.

Susan