Getting into the Holiday Spirit

I’m not sure what it is - the pandemic, the lack of family and friends gathering together - but this year, I’m having trouble getting into the holiday spirit.  Even last year, the first year I celebrated both Thanksgiving and Christmas with only my husband and cat, was a bit novel and cozy - we hunkered down, cooked by ourselves, and enjoyed the peaceful solitude of our home.  This year, however, the edges are tearing and the center cracking.  I’m not sure how much more alone time we can take!  (As further explanation, we are in the minority (at least it seems like it) of still staying home, masking, social distancing, and avoiding inside social activities, notwithstanding the promise of the vaccination.)  So, what to do to jump-start that special holiday feeling?

My husband knew we needed a holiday spirit injection, so planned a trip to nearby San Francisco, a place that usually puts on a dazzling holiday display.  But this was not an easy task considering our current restrictions.  Used to riding in enclosed buses and taxis, I wondered how we would get around.  Of course there was the old tried-and-true walking (I got 20,000 + steps daily!) and the open-air cable car.  

(Pre-pandemic photo)

We dined outdoors despite the 50ish degree weather.  There were plenty of outdoor gas heat lamps for warmth.

And stopped to pose in front of our favorite holiday displays.

This weekend trip got the ball rolling and when we returned home, it was time to decorate the house.  We got a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, a record for us, but I stalled on decorating it.  I needed some sort of holiday motivation, and music is always an important part of that.  

I highly recommend the Los Straight Jackets Holiday Pandora station - includes mostly surf rock, Elvis, Stray Cats, BB King holiday songs, and the like.  This year, I stumbled upon the WWOZ New Orleans annual Frightening Holiday Music Extravaganza radio show.  I can’t explain much about it, other than to say it was a truly unique mix of holiday music, and I hope I’m able to tune in yearly from now on.  It, coupled with my favorite holiday cocktail, a Peppermint Martini (2.5 oz. vanilla vodka and 1 oz. peppermint schnapps):

provided the impetus to finally finish decorating the tree.

Once that was done, an Amaretto Sparkler (small amount of Amaretto liqueur topped with sparkling wine) inspired the rest of the decorations around the house.

Along with those drinks, who doesn’t need a savory snack?  My mother used to make cheese-and-sausage balls for breakfast on Christmas morning.  I’ve kept up the tradition by making them ahead of time and enjoying them during the weeks before Christmas.  Easy and delicious.

Next up for that cozy holiday feel, I love to immerse myself in holiday books, movies, and TV shows.  Elf and Bad Santa are a yearly tradition for movies, and any holiday baking show will warm my cockles.  

Many authors have holiday books and short stories to help make spirits bright.

Like Livia Washburn's Naughty or Mice

What are your favorite holiday traditions?  What recipes, movies, and books do you like?  Are you an author with a holiday story to tell us about?

Happy holidays to you all!

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.

Back in the Saddle

 

I missed my October post because my husband and I were on a road trip. I took my laptop with me but never took it out of the case, LOL. This was our first long trip with our travel trailer. We left home on September 7th and returned on October 4th having been on the road for 28 days, 12 states, and 4,856 miles. We learned a lot, including the fact that we can spend a month in close proximity and not get on each other's nerves - much.😂 We also came home with a minor list of repairs to make to the camper, most of which my awesome hubby has already completed. 

Including our home state we visited Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. We also visited two national parks/monuments: Acadia National Park in Maine and the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania. However, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm going to let my photos do most of the talking and share some of my favorites with you beginning with photos from West Quoddy Head, the easternmost point in the continental United States, which is located near the tiny town of Lubeck, Maine.

The lighthouse at West Quoddy Head

  

 

 

 

Sunrise at the easternmost point in the US

The coolest thing about this picture of the sunrise is that The Weather Channel saw it on my Twitter feed and contacted me requesting permission to use it on the air! Mind. Blown.

I fell in love with the rocky coast of Maine.

The coast at West Quoddy Head

A sunny day at Cutler Preserve

The sunset at our campground (conveniently named Sunset Point RV Park) was nothing to sneeze at.

Sunset at the campground

We suck at selfies but we keep trying, LOL.

We may not be good at selfies but we have fun!

I'll be back with more photos next month. Until then, happy reading!

 

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FAN MAIL, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

A few days ago, I received a fan letter. I don’t get a lot of them, so I’m always excited when a reader takes the time to send me a note. I was eager to check it out when it arrived in my inbox, but in no way was I prepared for the words I read. 

As an author of cozy mysteries, I keep my stories light. I love the gentle genre that promises a few hours respite from the real world. But I also try to add a note of sincerity, of grace, and maybe a bit of optimism as well. Yes, like many of us, I want to save the world. 

I usually have no idea if any of these subtleties come through to my readers. Then this letter came: 

 

Dear Ms. Hunt,

 

I am in the middle of The Ghost Cat of Ocean Cove, and it’s such a perfect book for me I don’t want it to end. Camellia’s dream is my dream too, leaving the big city and moving to a cottage on the coast with my cats, so I am reading very slowly, especially since it’s the first book of the series! I can’t wait for the next one. 

 

The world feels like such a mess right now. Getting lost in a mystery with a cast like a Miss Marple Mystery, and a ghost cat (!!) helps me cope. You remind me that it might someday be possible to take a different path in life. 

 

Reading your book feels like sitting by the fireplace with my furry ones when it’s pouring rain outside, (my favorite thing to do) even while riding a city bus in Seattle. That’s quite an accomplishment!

 

Thank you for the comfort and joy you have given to me through your writing. It really is a blessing.

 

Jennifer

 

After I stopped smiling and crying, I wrote back to Jennifer, whom I’ve never met. I told her how much her letter meant to me. And do you know how she responded? She sent me pictures of her cats!

 

Have you ever received a fan letter that’s stopped you in your tracks? I hope so, because this one made my day year!

   

You can find Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her blogsite: https://molliehuntcatwriter.com/ 

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Twitter: @MollieHuntCats

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Happy Halloween!

It’s that time of year again when Summer and Fall straddle the fence.  Some days are in the sweltering 90’s, only to switch to the comfortable 60’s or 70’s within 24 hours (at least out here in northern CA where I’m lucky to be living).  I’m never ready for the transition—change is hard for me—so I’m happy for the gradual adjustment.  Since time flies when you’re having fun, especially as you get older, we decided we should unpack the Halloween decorations this past weekend.  I found some old Halloween costumes that I might need to revive.

Me as Madonna and my friend, Ben, as Prince circa 2000 (??).

Once we get all the pumpkins bought and decorations in place, we might even have a small party this year in the back yard.  Last year was a bust due to the pandemic, although we were able to pass out candy in bags in the front yard.

This year, I might even bring back the wine and candy pairing—a popular activity for Halloween in wine country.  Last year, we went to a formal tasting with candy pairing at a winery.  

Although it was nice to have it done for us, I enjoy doing my own.  Here are a few favorites:

A combination of two of my favorites, although I understand candy corns are a polarizing treat in the Halloween world.  

Or for something a little more substantial—peanut butter and buttery Chardonnay.

And now for something red and fruity.

What’s your favorite wine and candy pairing?  Favorite Halloween candy?  Favorite Fall tradition?

 

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.

Words Can Hurt – Ruben D. Gonzales

I’m sure I am not alone in just hating to cut words from my manuscripts, but some just need to be jettisoned before they hurt my writing. We recognize the more common clichés that should be edited out of our work, but there are also word gestures that can distract from your story. Words that tell but don’t show. Words like pausing, laughing, smiling (my preferred), staring, shaking head, nodding, frowning, shrugging, turning (second favorite), etcetera. It is an effort to rewrite a passage to “show” rather than tell, but the resulting work will be better.

In a master’s class I took we were advised to use our word program’s “search and find” function to locate clichés and replace with not just other words but also replace a sentence with a more “show” passage. The results will be more compelling actions related to the story at hand and more purposeful dialogue instead of chit chat that doesn’t move the story forward.

Using the “find” function I searched through a work in the editing phase and discovered I used the word “headed” over two dozen times. Some sentences with the word are justified but others could be “updated” a notch. For instance:

Before: “They think she swam out but tired and headed back in but the cold got her.”

After: “They think she swan out and tired, but before she could make it back the cold got her.”

The second sentence is just better all the way around. I know it happens in my writing, when I am rushing through the first draft and just anxious to get the story down. I promise to go back and look at the work critically, but get lazy and not always follow through.

In the manuscript I used "headed" in many forms; headed - out, in, over, back, down, up, under, through, off and others, but thankfully not, "headed for the hills".

I love dialogue but must temper this love to make sure all my dialogue provides a texture to the story and not take up space/add words. If you have a 70,000-word story, don’t write a 90,000-word manuscript. A sample story an editor proofed came up with 4,000 words that could have been eliminated, not counting supporting words like pronouns or other helping words, and the dreaded adverbs.

The first manuscript I finished hit the 150,000-word mark and I was so proud, until I read that most publishers want a mystery between 70,000 and 80,000 words, especially for a first-time published author. It took some time but I actually got that book down to 79,000 words and it finally got a contract.

But surely you ask, and ask I did, there must be room for, He turned and glared at her. And yes, there is, just not twenty times as your protagonist might get dizzy with all that turning and start to go blind with all that glaring. And even with a limp in your main character’s gait, once or twice mentioned is sufficient until the final chase scene when the limp prevents him/her from saving their lover.

Every gesture in your work should serve a purpose and body language should expand characterization and emotion. Fidgeting, a slight stutter, nervous tic, or unhealthy grooming practices can add depth (or dirt) to your characters, but don’t overdo it.

Ruben D. Gonzales
“Murder on Black Mountain”
www.rubendgonzales.com

THAT FANTASTIC FIRST CHAPTER, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

 

I don’t mean to harsh the buzz of creativity, but the opening chapter—and in fact, the opening line—may be the most important part of your book. The story ark, the sub-plots, and the satisfying ending are important as well, but it’s those first words that will be read ten times more often than any other part of the work. You will recite them at presentations and send them out in your first chapter promo; potential readers will pursue them as they decide whether to take a chance on your novel. It is worth it to make sure these first words are well-written, enticing, and ultimately catchy. 

It took me a long time to remember this when I was starting a new book. My instinct is to start with whatever the story whispers in my creative ear and go from there. Sometimes that includes a catchy beginning, but often it doesn’t. I’ve found myself coming back more than once to make the opening more enticing. This isn’t easy—altering something once it’s written does not come naturally to me. 

Now after many years and many books, I’m finally getting the hang of it. Catchy first sentence. Intriguing first section that when read at presentations or publish as an excerpt, will entice people to buy the book. 

 I’m currently starting a new cozy mystery. Have I taken my own advice? Not really. But at least I’m thinking about it before I’m typing “the end.” I foresee an intense edit session in my near future. 

What are your thoughts about tailoring your work to the promo you will inevitably be required to give? Commercialism? Professionalism? Superfluous? Is it better just to shut up and write?

Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also pens a bit of cat poetry. Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, the Cat Writers’ Association, and Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats. Like her cat lady character, she is a grateful shelter volunteer. You can find Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her blogsite: https://molliehuntcatwriter.com/ 

Meet the Mewse

 

I'm amazed by the number of writers who have playlists they listen to while writing. I am not one of them. I have to have silence when I write; any noise distracts me, even music. Well, there is one sound that doesn't bother me - the purring of a cat. Those purrs are provided by Molly, my muse - or as I prefer to call her, my "mewse".

Miss Molly, mewse extraordinaire

 Due to the recent passing of our oldest kitty (Delilah), Molly and her brother Desmond (Dez for short) are now the old lady and old man of the house at 12 years of age. (They were named for the couple in the Beatles song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.) Dez is a bit of a fraidy cat but Molly is much more mellow, a nice trait in a writing partner. When I sit down to write, Molly climbs into my lap and quietly demands attention. Once an acceptable amount of affection has been supplied, she curls up in my lap and purrs. For the most part, I couldn't ask for a better writing buddy. Molly is well generally well-behaved and stays off of my keyboard. She does occasionally get annoyed when I insist on doing things such as using my arms/hands and will pop off to her cat tree for a bit. But, once I'm forgiven, she comes back for more cuddles.

Molly and her nemesis (my pen)

Lest you think my mewse is "purrfect" I can assure you she is not. As I said, she stays off of my keyboard but, when it's time for pen and ink edits, all bets are off. As soon as the pens come out, the games begin and my formerly well-behaved mewse goes bananas, swatting at and chewing on the pen. Oh,well. I guess a girl's just gotta have fun.

Until next month, take care and happy reading!

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