The Great Christmas Tree Tour 2016 Kicks Off!

The Great Christmas Tree Tour has become a popular tradition for readers, writers and even editors! I just love seeing how others decorate and hearing about their family customs, and plenty of you enjoy it too, because it's my biggest traffic event all year.  

Once again this season I have a great line up of trees and Christmas decorations you are going to love. You'll want to visit every day to see who has shared their lovely Christmas tree.

I have a few spots left if you'd like to participate. All that's required is a photo and a big dose of Christmas spirit. 

email me at SaintJohn@aol.com for available dates.

Here's how to participate and see your Christmas tree on the web: Take a photo of your tree as soon as it's up. 



or:
Take a photo of a tree you particularly enjoy, for example at a museum, a lobby or mall.
Send me the photo as a .jpg attachment. Include anything you'd like to share: a family tradition, something about the ornaments.

If you're an author, include a cover and a brief blurb about your current book, so readers can learn more about it and you.

Check back in the morning to see Laura Chapman's tree and a GIVEAWAY!

Winter Schwinter! Christmas is.....coming?

      Possibly it's the record-breaking spring-like weather here in southern NJ? Possibly it's the arrival of my second grandbaby - another Brisbin princess named Sydney Grace? Possibly it's the cold that is trouncing me right now? Or some of each of those? Whatever the cause, I have lost the Christmas spirit!


That's alarming to me since Christmas, especially with the family gathered at my house, is my favorite holiday and day of the year.  I look forward to the family getting together to decorate our tree -- each year there are new personalized ornaments to add to the collection. The boys (and their wives/fiancee) take turns putting theirs up on the tree, each vying for the best position to be seen. And, each year, we add a new Disney ornament,
too.

On Christmas morning, they would all come over to open presents and have brunch...well, a late breakfast really of scrambled eggs, sausage gravy over biscuits and hashbrown casserole. Mmmmmm...Sometimes they'd hang around and we'd order Chinese take-out for dinner or even go to a movie.

But this year promises to be very different and I guess I'm not happy. Now with babes of their own, two sons have other arrangements for the morning. We're not going to be able to all be together due to work schedules and extended family plans. Some will be here Christmas Eve, some in the morning, some...whenever.  So all of that might be influencing my feelings and lack of anticipation, I think.

Then, in spite of my best efforts and massive quantities of Airborne, I now have the cold of the year. I thought it was my allergies (hey, those spring-like temps all month have grass and flowers growing already!), but last night it took me down hard. I've gone through 2 boxes of tissues so far and there will be more.....

Of course, I refuse to blame it on my newest princess, Sydney. I've enjoyed every single second of the time I've been able to spend with her since her arrival just before Thanksgiving. She is, of course, the cutest little baby in creation (along with her beautiful cousin Alexis - shown <<

So, with four days left and the arrival of winter today, I'm still searching for my Christmas spirit. But I hope you have yours and that your Christmas will be filled with health, happiness, family and friends!

Merry Christmas to all and a very Happy and Healthy 2016!! 

 

Terri is looking forward to 2016, once she gets over this mood, with new books and some exciting news to share after the holidays. Visit her website for more info! 

Crowing about roosters — Kandy Shepherd

“Do you think we have enough rooster and chicken stuff in this kitchen?” my husband asked when my new placemats arrived in the mail.

Perfect for my country-style kitchen (even hubby agrees!)

He made me think. When we first bought our little farm, the country-style kitchen had a very cute border tile of farmyard poultry that we loved. It seemed to be a good starting point for decorating the room.

The kitchen tiles that started it all

Our friends certainly thought so. Our first rooster-themed things were gifts—ornaments and dishtowels.

Italian, but purchased in San Francisco when the Romance Writers of America conference was there

I enthusiastically picked up on the theme. I’m a lover of gadgets and knick-knacks anyway, and love to bring back souvenirs of my travels. So over the last few years the collection has grown.

The gorgeous girl in the middle was bought in Reno, Nevada when the RWA conference was held there, and came home in my hand luggage on the plane

Two years ago, a house fire destroyed most of our kitchen and severely smoke-damaged everything else in the cottage. Most of those border tiles went, only a row around the chimney breast (we have an old-fashioned wood stove in the kitchen) remained. Try as we could to find those tiles to use in the rest of the kitchen, they couldn’t be replaced.

I use this cute timer often, I found her in Mendocino, California when I was doing location research

Thankfully the other chicken-themed stuff remained. I like them even more knowing they survived the fire.

Bowl from a flea market, eggs courtesy of our chickens

The latest purchase is some beautiful placemats and coasters, exactly what I want for my wooden table. They’re easy to clean and look smart. I love them!

I didn't need it,  I just thought it looked cute by the fireplace! 

I’m sharing some of my treasures here today, but there are others. Too many? I don’t think so. My eye is too easily caught by a rooster or two. (And yes, I am writing a story with a rooster in it!)

We have real chickens, too. Thirteen Isa Browns at the moment who look wonderful in the yard and give us beautiful brown eggs—perhaps my favorite chicken-themed items of all!

Meet Ginger, we rescued her from the jaws of a fox and my daughter nursed her back to health

I have friends who collect owls, dolphins and cats. My daughter loves anything with Audrey Hepburn on it. It makes gift-giving so easy! What about you? Do you have a favorite theme for collecting? Anything unusual? A theme you’ve grown tired of? Please leave a comment—I’d love to hear about it!

Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

Her new contemporary women's fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and other e-book retailers. 

Kandy’s romances include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.

Watch out for her first release from Harlequin Romance in 2014.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com