Summer is Coming! No! Winter is Coming!

 
Tomorrow brings the longest day of the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. . . the solstice arrives at 6:51am on Saturday morning. At Stonehenge and other neolithic sites, many will gather to greet the sun as it is reaches it farthest point in the northern sky. 


   So, if tomorrow brings Summer, why am I thinking Winter?  

Well, I'm looking ahead six months, to the Christmas/Holiday season because I'm planning to publish a Christmas novella connected to my MacKendimen Clan series! As the days grow longer and brighter, I'm thinking about the dark, short days of winter. Swirling snow storms in the mountains of the Highlands instead of scorching sands of summer's beaches. Christmas and holiday traditions rather than lazy days, reading in the sunshine. 

    As a reader in the print publishing world, I could always depend on wonderful collections of themed novellas or short stories for each new season -- Christmas/Holiday, Valentine's Day, Spring/June Brides, Halloween, etc. They were really convenient because I could read one in a sitting and when busy with the various holiday tasks. And there were/are themes-within-themes, too, like Regency Christmas, Western, vampires and more. 
  
  Now, with digital publishing, novellas and short stories aren't restricted to collections. Novellas and shorts are stand-alones and lots more seem to be available now all through the year. Some introduce readers to connected series. Some fill-in-the-blanks between longer length releases. And some authors are publishing multi-author collections, too. 

    How about you? Do you like to read novellas and anthologies? Do you watch for collections or just read the stand-alones? Or both? What's your favorite?  

    Post a comment and I'll choose someone to  receive a print or digital copy of a recent collection -- Royal Weddings bundle - 7 stories about historical royal weddings -- or Royal Weddings Through The Ages - a special print edition of the collection. 

Terri is working on her new historical fantasy series - Warriors of Desting - for NAL and her new Highlanders series - The Feuding - for Harlequin Historicals. Visit her website for lots more info!

Where Did Winter Go?

I'm not sure how it happened, but clearly winter has decided to skip southern NJ and go to other parts of the country instead. As I write this, a MAJOR winter snowstorm/blizzard is heading for Seattle. . . SEATTLE? Around here? Well, after a Halloween weekend surprise snow, we've had nothing! I am seriously not happy. Then my azalea bushes began to bud and three blossoms even showed up a day later. 65 degrees in December is simply not acceptable.

It's this time of year that I get at least a couple of wonderful, hunker-down reading days during snowstorms or just after it. I make a nice pot of tea and curl up with a good book. . . or two or three. If the weather is really bad, I could spend two whole days on the couch. Ah, those are good times.

Not this year -- 2011 has slipped into 2012 and there's no sign of winter! Spring will bring its flowers and nice(r) weather and outside activities and I will have missed my significant winter reading time.

So, at this point I'm hanging my hat on the only guilt-free reading day that's possible -- I've been called for jury duty next week. Since it can be difficult or inconvenient to bring my laptop and attempt to get some writing done, I can only bring along a book or two and simply sit and read through the day while waiting to be called to the courtroom.

Either way -- it's pretty bad when I have to rely on winter storms or jury duty to get some quality reading time for myself! LOL!


How about you? How do you carve out reading time for yourself? Is it weather-related (more or less in winter or summer)? Is it job-related? Some other way? Post a note and I'll be choosing two commentors to each receive a copy of the special Mills & Boon release - ROYAL WEDDINGS THROUGH THE AGES - an anthology of seven stories about historical royal weddings. (It's only being released in the UK so it is SPECIAL!)

Terri is working on her next Harlequin Historical release (returning to the MacLerie Clan in the Highlands of Scotland!) while re-publishing her first four books that include 3 time-travel romances and one historical. Visit her website for all kinds of info about her and her books and events!