Happy Halloween, NaNo, & News

This is the last post for October. In just two days it will be Halloween, the spookiest, creepiest, giggle-fest of the year. I decorate on October 1 and I do enjoy the ghoul-fest, despite not having children. I have such great memories of trick-or-treating, but I think the reason my joy remains is the care Mother took in explaining WHY we did the things we did. Understanding helped make the holiday indelible and I thought I’d share with you.

Since the 1920s, kids in North America have been doing trick or treating. The idea is to dress up (so the real ghosts and goblins think you are part of them and don’t bother you), then you go door to door and ask for treats in lieu of a trick being played on the owner. Those who don’t give treats are tricked with soap or toilet paper (in the more gentle and benign tricks).  In those countries where they dress up, the costumes must be scary. Only in America will you find the custom has been altered to include the sexy, cute and Disney. 

Give good treats to appease the spirits. Long ago, the food was left on the doorstep and the spirits were invited to take what they wished and be happy. Can you imagine leaving unguarded chocolate on your front porch? Yikes! I don’t know what would be worse, the melting, the ants or the stampede!

Don’t forget to leave out a glowing Jack-O-Lantern! The lighted gourd actually began long ago in Europe. You carved out a turnip (not a pumpkin) and put an ember in it so that it told the roaming spirits that the house was taken or protected. Without the lighted lantern, you might be possessed! It was the Irish who brought the custom to America and found the pumpkin, then changed the custom.  The Jack-O-Lantern is named after the will-o-the-wisp, or the jacks, who were believed to spirts who hung out in the marshes and bogs.

Knowing some of the Halloween customs gave the holiday life for the little kid in me and I learned to love and not fear the fun. I think it’s why creepy and spooky highlights my writing, because I am not afraid to go deep into the dark. For only in the dark do you see the light.

I hope you share the customs of the day with your friends and children, then have a most haunting candy-fest. Remember to stay safe, and share some of your goodies with your children. haha

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honeymoon kids

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Yesterday was my 29th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it’s been that many years! My hubby and I spent the day being lazy and cuddly, enjoying each other’s company and then going out to dinner. I am blessed to have found such an amazing human being with whom to share my life. As with so many things in my life, I think about how I show long standing relationships with my characters and how I share the rich relationships. Nothing in my emotional life is wasted, every joy and sorrow is personal and fodder. But I must say, in this special moment of knowing and loving someone for so long, the depth of our caring is so much more mature than it has ever been and I make note how he and I manifest that love. A writer never forgets that every moment is noteable. But Happy Anniversary my love. Let’s go for another 29 years.

National Novel Writing Month

In just a couple days, National Novel Writing Month begins again! I’m in! I hope you will join me. Make your preparations now:  find a writing spot, identify your writing buddies, get all you snacks and papers together and mentally prepare for the daily write. If you are used to it, then get that outline ready to go. I’m poetphoenix on the website. Let’s hook up.

This year will be epic. I’ll give you updates at least weekly – stay tuned for videos too.

WRITER NEWS

You know what I’ve said about how important it is to market and promote, right? So here’s what’s been happening with me.

A great many events have been going on helping to market my latest release, LOVE AND BLOOD.

– Kicked off my promotion with an interview by my friend and fellow author Yvonne Mason of Off The Chain on blogspot radio. What fun! She’s showcased every book over the last few years and is a strong and generous supporter of Indie Authors. Check out her diverse archives!

– Hanging With Web Show has been a staunch supporter and hard marketer of all my books and right now they are heavily promoting Love and Blood. Check out their podcasts and see what Featured Authors they have because you might discover something new for your reading list.

–  Jennifer Wedmore of Wickedly Innocent Promotions worked a Facebook release for the book.

–  Jodi Hunley Bird of Ruby Red Romance Reviews, fostered me for Foster An Author 2018. As a fostered author, she promoted me for a week, from Oct 22-26 and wonderful promotions gave my book delicious exposure. Plus I made new contacts on Twitter, Instagram and on my Facebook page! If you haven’t done this program before (this was my first time), then I recommend you give it a try next year. #FAA4 #FosterAnAuthor #FAA2018

– On Oct 26, Laurie Kehoe interviewed me on blogspot radio program, Authors Corner. What a fun hour! If you missed the advertisement about it, please check it out. We talked writing, the new book and books we loved by others. It was a free interview and what a gracious gift to an Indie Author like me. Check into her archives too because she interviews all sorts of cool folks!

– Coming up, I’m a part of the 2018 Halloween Pub Crawl, and you can sign up! All you have to do is join a bunch of groups. Then starting Oct 31, the groups will give out passcodes which you will need to collect and then return to the main page and turn in on a form. The more passcodes you collect, the more entries you get to win. What do you win?  Some books and a $250 Amazon gift card! So what are you waiting for? The crawl only lasts 48 hours once it starts!

–Coming up on October 31, Silver Dagger Book Tours is going to do a month long showcase of my books. YOU CAN SIGN UP AND HELP! Go here and join in on the party. I will thank you!

-Finally, if you want a treat, join me for my monthly live chat, FIRESIDE WITIH THE PHOENIX, on my Facebook Author page, Hallloween day 1pm EDT for 15 min (or so) of craziness. No telling what I might do on that spooky day!

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As you can see, marketing is both a pain and important. You can’t skip it if you expect to sell books or gain visibility. I hate doing it, but doing it means someone new might learn about me. So help me by checking out these fabulous people (and maybe they will be helping you later.

If you have read any of my books, I would be very grateful for your support by leaving me a review on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub. Your love is always best shown by reviews. Authors think of them like hugs.

NEWSLETTER!!! Going out by Halloween! Sign up NOW.

Hope your Halloween is FRIGHTFULLY fun.

Yours Between the Lines (and in the dark)

Sherry

The holidays came to and end for me on Saturday, January 6, as I celebrated Epiphany. Understand, I’m not a overtly religious person and I don’t wave my faith around for others to witness, but my holidays are overflowing with traditions and celebrating Epiphany is one of them. Epiphany is the day that follows Twelfth Night or the 12th day after Christmas. Basically, this day is believed to celebrate the arrival of the Magi to the stable where Jesus lay. The traveling magi followed the star of Bethlehem to the stable’s location and it took them 12 days to make the journey. Twelfth Night celebrates their arrival.

In today’s world, most use Epiphany as the day when Christmas decorations come down, a tradition that has been in practice since the Victorian era. Many people practice this and claim to use the date for removal of the holiday sparkle but few understand why. Whether you use Twelfth Night or Epiphany, there is a basis for removing your decorations.

The tradition goes that it is unlucky to remove decorations prior to 12th Night and if they aren’t removed by Epiphany then they should remain up all year (takers anyone?). Until the 19th century, people left decorations up until Candlemas Day on February 2 (the 40th day of Epiphany and celebrates other Christian events).

Going back to medieval and pagan traditions, it was once believed that tree spirits lived in the greenery – such as holly, ivy and pine cones – which decorated homes. During the holiday season, being indoors provided shelter for these delicate spirits but had to be released once the celebrations ended. If they were not, then fields and gardens did not return and agricultural and food problems resulted. So great seriousness was placed on the traditions.

And though today there is so much commercial glitter and gloss to Christmas decorations, there are so many, like me, who still adhere to the “old ways.” 

For example, I have a very old crèche that goes under the tree during the holidays. Why does it go there? Because the tree symbolizes the star (my tree is topped with an angel) and after Christmas, the tree lights signify the star that lights the way. When I was little, even the magi were moved closer and closer to the crèche so that they stood in the doorway to this little stable by the time 12th Night arrived and the wonder was fulfilled.

 
(mine is like this sample)

Such is Epiphany. It is also a symbol for the writer in me. I slowed down and then ceased most of my working writer time from the end of NaNoWriMo (Nov 30) until Saturday and Epiphany. There were too many distractions and I felt I needed to step back and regroup. After all, I did publish two books in 2017 and won several awards. I completed several freelance editing jobs and continued mentoring several young writers. I felt tired and I needed to feel the holidays, appreciate the moment, and find my own Epiphany.

What does that mean? I needed to realize the reason for my own season. To find the purpose in myself and why I needed to continue writing. In centering myself I rediscovered purpose and desires.

Whatever your personal religious beliefs, beyond the glitz and glam of the holidays season (whatever you do or do not celebrate), I hope you found your own Epiphany and are now prepared to bring focus and energy back to your work and your writing. The renewal is important to your continued success or to finding your initial success.

And even as you do this for yourself, I will ask you how do your characters celebrate? Have you any holidays for them? Do you even think of giving them the traditions that include some sort of pagan or religious reasons in their life and purpose? You don’t have to be religious to realize that every person has some sort of raison d’etre (reason for being).

As this year moves forward, I hope you find your epiphany. In other words, I hope you find that something that is very important to you, that fulfills you and gives you understanding of yourself and your role as a writer and a person.

And I don’t mind if your decorations are still up. I like the sparklies too and loathe to see them come down. I may leave mine up til Mardi Gras! (just kidding. Maybe.)

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 Allow me to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year and thank you for all your support in 2017. Stay tuned — going to have some fun this year.

I remain, as always,

THE LEGACY OF TRADITIONS

As I prepared for Christmas this year, I went through my usual, annual habits and realized some of my habits were in fact greater than such a trivial label.  Many of my habits are actual  traditions, made so not by me but from a long list of women who prepared for hundreds of Christmases before me.

I guess my realization began as I gathered the tablecloths from the bottom drawer of the sideboard. In the bottom, lovingly folded, the white tablecloths with candy canes, cookies, and Santa stockings were waiting for their annual viewing.  I inherited these tablecloths from my mother who got them from my paternal grandmother, who received one of them from my great-grandmother.  I removed these cloths and as I passed my fingers over the well-worn pattern, I realized that I was standing, walking, and working in the shadow of a great Christmas tradition – the ritual unpacking and ironing of the cherished linens.

    From 2009

How many times had I seen my grandmothers and mother stand beside the ironing board and watch the back-and-forth motion accompanied with the “sssshhhhh” of steam rising from the freshly washed, pristine cloths?  How often did I marvel at their patience as they performed this ritual ironing, wondering why on earth would they bother (you know teenagers and their lack of “big picture” living)?  How often did my mother send me to the kitchen to refill the little spray bottle with cool water, used to dampen the heavy cotton cloths and eliminate wrinkles?  I even have a memory of a great “thud” of a true cast iron as my grandmother labored over very old, thick, cotton tablecloths with an oven-heated iron. Talk about arm muscles!

  This year

As I pulled out my ironing board, all these memories and thoughts rushed back. I had a small, self-satisfied moment as I realized now I was a part of a wondrous past, a line of great women who continued a truly satisfying tradition of Christmas linens.  I need not ask “why go through all that ironing” as I look at my dining room or kitchen table.  I can’t help but smile, proudly I admit, as I spot the Christmas table cloths with candy canes and Christmas stockings draped over sofa tables or the sideboard. There is a Christmas magic of which I am now a part, as woven as I am into this tapestry of tradition.

Need you ask why a woman who never irons at any other time of the year, irons once a year for Christmas? Call it part of the decorations?  Sure.  But it is so much more to me now.

This is the legacy of traditions. Like the corn soufflé served over certain holidays but only once a year. Like serving ham on New Year’s Day, turkey on Thanksgiving,  or goose for Christmas. Like red, white, and blue decorations for Fourth of July but only that day. These are the things we expect, demand and rely upon as legacy and heritage. Whatever we grew up with or adopted and continue throughout our lives, these matter. These actions and items are comforting and fulfilling because they are part of our “life identity.”

Just like I must have chocolate chip cookies that include a box of Jell-O Pudding to keep the cookies soft, and I must bake these just before Christmas. As I turn on my mixer, I am transported to an older kitchen where other women mixed a batter just like mine and turned out chocolate chip cookies as I will do, to the delight of the house. Habit? Tradition? Legacy.

As an author, this legacy of tradition matters in your writing too. Each book in a series builds on a legacy. The familiar habits of your characters, the places they go regularly. The friendships they develop and the depth of each relationship changes and is enriched in ever chapter, in every book. Every story revisit is a chance to use the traditions and the legacies that you give your readers. And like things we do for ourselves over holidays (even birthdays), so the readers feel taken into your family of stories when you surround them with traditions which completes legacies and legends.

Build these traditions from the beginning in your stories and when you can, repeat them as your stories continue. Pay attention to your real life legacy of traditions and as you enjoy the habits of the season, remember you can give your readers the same joy. Whether you mirror, mimic or create new ideas for your characters and their lives, remember the legacy you leave in your stories can be as real to your readers as your enjoyments are to you.

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ANNOUNCEMENT:  Be sure to join me in my monthly Facebook Live chat on Thursday, Dec 21 at 10 am EST. And come back to Facebook later in the day for a BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION FOR DRAHOMIRA – she’s turning 1000 (well, actually 1020 but we’re keeping to the stories). And she’s got a surprise for you which I will tell you about during my chat!

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I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year. I won’t have a blog post for you on Christmas day but I will have a Year in Review post to celebrate the opening of 2018. Come back then and share tales of your Christmas with me.

Here’s to Auld Lang Syne, a song that means “for the sake of old times” and reminds us to cherish old friendships, good health and to toast the new year. Here’s to you! See you next year and thank you for joining me this year as we all strive to be the best we can be.

I remain,