This Time of Year

Tree's up!

By Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


This time of year my brain pretty much shuts down, tunes out, and gets all fuzzy-warm with family and friends.

As much as I want to work on my story, the holidays (which begin on November 19th at our house with my husband's birthday) seem to demand my full attention, and I'll roll in the holiday mode until January 2nd.

Between decorating and baking and planning for get-togethers and designing a Christmas card and trying to find that one perfect gift, there's very little time left for the work I love. Writing takes a back seat.

It is what it is.

This time of year is also a time for reflection. We've lost some wonderful authors this year, voices in our writing community who have been extinguished forever. Beyond their families, they've left a legacy in their words, and in those we'll continue to find light.

And we've lost Nelson Mandela. A light for our world, who showed us how love and compassion can overcome both fear and betrayal. It's a choice. I'm having trouble figuring out who will come next. But I firmly believe someone will. Maybe it will be Malala.

And that reflection extends to each one of us in our personal journeys. Some things we've done well and those need to be acknowledged. Other things we've slipped with and may need to reevaluate.

Which brings me to the fact that this time of year is when we traditionally look ahead. Gather our ideas. Prioritize our desires. Work to make them legitimate. And move our energy into making the next year one we can be proud of.

This time of year is exhausting.

But this time of year, and all year long, I wish you every ounce of love and hope and comfort you have room for.

Mysterious holiday gifts

I don't usually publish a gift suggestions list, but I've had a few requests for it this year.
I'm going to assume that CFC readers already know what books are out there, so this post will focus on other mystery-related gifts.

ThinkGeek.com: 

DIY library kit, which includes " 20 self-adhesive pockets, 20 checkout cards, date stamp, inkpad, and pencil"  (books not included).
Mugs - with a handle shaped like a gun,  or brass knuckles.


AgathaChristie.com:

Death on the Nile jigsaw puzzle - 1000 piece puzzle includes a short story to read before you attempt the puzzle.  Does NOT include a picture of the finished puzzle.
Various interactive games for DVDs, PC, or Nintendo Wii.

NancyDrewSleuth.com:

Subscriptions to The Sleuth magazine
Jewelry
Handbags & accessories
Many, many, many collectibles


Calendars

Amazon.com has several mystery-themed calendars, including
Sherlock Holmes
NCIS
Law & Order SVU
Dexter
Edward Gorey


Stocking stuffers:

Dead Fred pen holder
Splat Stan coaster
Crime Scene sandwich bags, bandages, "scotch" tape
GingerDead Man cookie cutter
Pistol-shaped iPhone stand


Of course this is just a sampling of the plethora of stuff out there.  If you know of something so wonderful it should have been included, please let me know in the comments.

So you want to read a holiday mystery?

There are those who enjoy reading mysteries set during whatever the current season happens to be. Coincidentally, there are several places to find titles of such books.

I'm not going to try to reinvent the wheel, so here are some links to lists of holiday mysteries.

- Cozy Mystery List - this one includes Hanukkah and New Year's mysteries:

- Mysterynet.com

- Myself.com

- Stop You're Killing Me!

Happy whatever-holiday-you-celebrate!

.

Holiday Chaos

  By Gayle Carline

Everyone here at the Collective has been trying to get their latest novel finished, editing done, book released, etc. They are all nearly collapsing under the weight of their deadlines and begging for a holiday break. Personally, I'm fresh as a daisy.

The guilt is staggering.

You see, I'm working on the third book in my Peri Minneopa mystery series. I keep saying that I'm "in the middle of writing" it, but the truth is, I've only gotten 13,000 words, which is not nearly the middle. While not wanting to rush the process, I want to get it written and edited and out sooner, rather than later.

Time IS money to writers, these days.

In addition to getting this book finished, I have an idea for another mystery, either a standalone or a new series. I can only work one story at a time, so I'm just jotting notes here and there to remind myself what I want to do with the new book while I work on the current project.

So I should be carving out time each day and getting a goodly number of words on the page. It's my plan. My goal. My raison d'être.

But it's also Christmas.

I promise myself I'll write, just as soon as I:

1. Get the Christmas picture taken (see this blog post for how that went).

2. Get the Christmas letter written.

3. Print Christmas card-letter and mail (see this blog post for how that went).

4. Clean living room to prepare for tree.

5. Go get tree.

6. Decorate tree (oh, just go here for the rest of this).

7. Decorate rest of house.

8. Clean rest of house before attempting No. 7.

9. Shop.

10. Shop some more.

This isn't the whole list and you can see how my writing is going. In addition, I still have riding lessons to teach, and riding lessons to take (don't judge, this is my de-stresser), and a Corgi who pouts when bored, so I must walk him and/or play with him at intervals.

So I have one question for my fellow Collective: How the hell do you get anything done during December?

Happy holidays, anyway, from me and my familia!