Have A Holly Jolly....

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas and Chanukah, Kwanza, Winter Solstice, Happy New Year...Enjoy whatever holiday you're celebrating!

Oh, I love the Hollydays...er, Hollidays...er, Holidays!
I think that shows in my books.  It turns out that I've written a lot of Holiday romances.  Even in books that aren't precisely holiday romances, there can be a scene or two that focuses on celebrations.

Why?  It's not just my name!

I love writing holiday stories because of my family, friends and the fact they represent glee!  If you follow me on social media you know how much I love glee!  There's something about getting together with people you love and spending time.

This year, the holidays are going to be a bit different here.  We're not getting a tree.  We had a flood in the basement and everything from my family room down there is in the living room up here.  Tomorrow the plumber is coming to install a new back-flow preventer.  Then Monday, the flooring guy is coming to install a tile floor (after ripping up wet carpet, I'm not putting that down again). He's hoping to be done by midweek.  Less than a week before Christmas.  So no tree.

But to be honest, that doesn't dim my Hollyday spirit.  And my kids are part of the reason why.  We all agreed as a family to forgo exchanging presents and are instead donating the money we would have spent to an orphanage.  As every one of my kids said they had everything they needed and gave gleefully gave up their gifts to give to others...well, I don't need a tree.  I don't need anything like that.  My kids are more of a shiny symbol of the season than any tree could be.

Yes.  I love the holidays and have written a lot of holiday stories.  And my family is one of the biggest reasons I believe in and write about the holiday spirit!

Whatever holiday you celebrate, may it be filled with family, friends and the holiday spirit!

Holly

Check out some of my HollyDay Stories:

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!