From my Family to Yours,

Go, spend your day with your family, and I'll be back next week, hopefully with some news.

Happy Holidays... Mostly

I have complicated emotions around the holidays. Not all holidays, of course. For instance, I love Valentine's, no holds barred and White Day (a Japanese semi-equivalent of Valentine’s Day, more on that in a future post) is a high favorite on my list. No, the ones I have issues with tend to be Christian holidays. Specifically, because I'm not Christian anymore, which means that most of my feelings on them are more complex than whether or not I enjoy it or believe in it.

I won't be getting into why I changed religions here. I didn't change my beliefs because paganism is better or because there was anything wrong with Christianity. For me, asking why someone follows a specific religion is like asking why someone chose blue as their favorite color instead of yellow. One clearly fits better on a personal level. My experience doesn't invalidate yours, any more than your experiences would invalidate mine. They’re different and that’s okay.

So, why do I bring this up? Well because Christmas is the one holiday that I feel invested in, regardless of the fact that I'm not Christian anymore. It was a part of me, ever since I was a child. Being born only three days before Christmas essentially meant that as I grew up, that was simply part of my holidays. The two were connected. Add to that my inherent love of pageantry and you can see where I lost everything.

Still, for a few years after changing my religion, I was adamant. My tree was a Solstice tree, gifts were Solstice gifts. We celebrate Solstice, not Christmas. Despite that dedication, there were some things I just couldn’t seem to shake the habit on and therefore kept or adapted and traditions from other places that I’ve stolen to add to our own celebrations. So, what does this end up meaning?

Well, it means that my winter holidays tend to end up a bit muddy.

I love Christmas songs, even if I’m more fond of the modern songs than I am of the classics. They get added to my music list usually on December 1^st. I set up a Christmas tree every year (since I never remember to call it a solstice tree), crowned by a blue/silver angel that my husband and I found and loved, despite my preferences towards wanting a star (to stand in for the Sun). I give gifts throughout the season to friends and all of my family gifts on the 24^th. After that, things start getting odder.

I love Santa Claus but prefer to go with the ‘history’ as coined by L. Frank Baum in the Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (where he’s a human raised by fey who gives gifts to children) and he delivers gifts whatever and whenever your winter celebration is. December 25^th is a dedicated non-work day, usually devoted to reading and playing video games. We will usually order Chinese food for dinner. I say Happy Holidays, rather than Merry Christmas, to people and I support service staff not being forced to say Merry Christmas to everyone (happy holidays will suffice if the company insists). I give all of my friends and family books and snacks for Jolabokaflod rather than giving Christmas gifts, unless I have no money and then I make art for them. We honor the Jólakötturinn (the Yule Cat) and make certain that every year both my husband and I receive something made of cloth (blankets, socks, and scarfs are common gifts). We celebrate the Solstice (this year on the 21^st) and the return of the sun on the twelfth day after that (usually celebrated on the first of January because we’re more likely to have it off) as the first day you really notice the longer days.

Yes, it is kinda weird to say "Merry Book Exchange" but I've been
using it in holiday cards for too long to change now.

So yeah, that is my muddy, nostalgia-filled holidays. Do you celebrate any holidays this time of year? If so, what and how do you celebrate it? Do you take traditions from multiple sources or are you still doing things the exact same way your parents did it? I know we have a lot of readers from the southern hemisphere, so I’ll be excited to hear what differences there are among us.

Just a Quick Editing Update

 It's been a good week, even if I have been more on the anti-social end of things. I've been working away on my novel and have finished editing the first eleven chapters. That puts me 25% of the way through already. And while the new chapters are definitely better written, I have to admit that for the most part, the editing hasn't been too bad. I think I've only had a really tough time with one or two of the chapters so far and the new direction for the book is making my original story pop a lot more than it was originally. I have very high hopes that this book will be out to you all soon. 

That said, it isn't all easy. I live in Canada and I have to admit that the stress of the new lockdown is starting to get to me. I've taken a few more days off than I should be doing things other than writing; usually still things that I need to get done, so at least I'm still being productive. In the end, it's slowing me down, but I'm not letting it stop me. I don't let anything stop me. 

And I think that's where I'm going to end it today. I'll be jumping back into my editing as soon as this goes up, so wish me luck! :)

Gifts for the Writers on Your List

 The season of giving has returned to us. While I usually hard push for presence, rather than presents, this year, our unique circumstances suggest that if you do have money to buy gifts for your friends and loved ones, this is the time to take that route. 

With that in mind, if you're looking at that reader/writer in your life and just not sure what to get them (and you don't want to stoop down to buying them the holidays' newest savior), here's a list of things they are almost guaranteed to enjoy. 

1. Author Swag
   Most writers and readers love books more than anything. However, most buy their books themselves, so buying actual books can be difficult. Instead, I suggest swag from their favorite author. A mug with the catchphrase of her favorite series, a t-shirt with the cover of his favorite novel on it, a notebook with art directly from the books... all of it will go over insanely well. In particular, most of your favorite writers will have a store where you can buy said swag. Buying direct from the author when possible is a great way to support that author while making your writers really happy. 
2. Books
   Does your writer love science fiction? Find out if they're already rocking the new favorites that were just released this year like Network Effect by Martha Wells or To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini; both of which were nominated for Best Science Fiction book of the year on Goodreads. They love Fantasy? There are, of course, my books, but if they've already read those, you could look at Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, 4th book of the Stormlight Archives series and just released in November so still very new. Looking for a graphic novel to expand their reading experiences? I suggest Monstress. Start with Volume 1 unless they're already following it though. If you want my suggestions for favorite books, I absolutely loved The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns and The Good Brother by E.L. Chen. I also finally had a chance to read the first book in the Wolf and Parchment light novel series and it rocks as well, though my preference stays with Holo and Lawrence from Spice & Wolf.
3. Stationary
   Most writers and readers love pens and other stationery. While I'm not sure why, I can easily suggest colored pens, colored paper, pretty notebooks, pencil cases, washi tape (not only good for crafts but for using in school for personal things as well), and any pen that writes in metallic inks.
   
4. Subscriptions
   Believe it or not, there are book subscription boxes out there. You can get a new book each month, with tea, cookies, candles or bookmarks. These boxes are generally cheap, are usually separated into genres so you can get them good books delivered monthly to their door. And let's be honest here, new books delivered to your door in a pandemic when you can't go to a bookstore is awesome. Even if you can't afford a big gift, even just one month for them to try the system out will almost certainly make your reader/writer friends smile. There are even a few subscription boxes for authors, specializing in improving craft, new stationery and other writing supplies and other authorly goodies. 
5.  Cash
   It's 2020 and we need to move past the idea that giving money is gauche. There are a lot of things that are too personal for me to suggest for readers and writers, but they still need. Writing software, subscriptions, e-readers, tablets for e-readers... these are very expensive or exceptionally personal items that we need, but we would never expect someone to buy for us. A donation from multiple people means we can afford big-ticket items that we will absolutely love.
   

And that's it for this list. Let me know if you think of any other good ideas to add to this list and let me know if you want me to look into making writerly swag. I don't know if that's something you'd be interested in, but if it is, let me know and I'll put it on the planning lists for next year.