What is Your Favorite Holiday Tradition?
Dec 28, 2023 4:00 pm
Hey there!
We had an incredible holiday this last week! The kids were all delighted with the gifts they were able to give to their siblings, as well as the gifts they received. My only wish for the day was that it wouldn't have ended so quickly.
But alas, time keeps moving forward.
Things got pretty chilly around here (it was down to 4 degrees Fahrenheit/ -17.8 Celsius) this week, which meant that taking care of the goats and chickens proved more challenging. When I went to grab the cleaning wipe for the goat's udder, they were frozen into a solid brick! Neither she, nor I, were thrilled about that situation, but we did it and survived to tell the tale.
We also took some time to make gingerbread houses! And yes, I made sure they were edible so the kids could dig into them afterwards. Needless to say, I spent more time focusing on family than actual writing. And you know what? I'm happy with that. I hope you and your family are having/had a great holiday season.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your favorite holiday tradition?
One of my favorites (of our many traditions) is the charcuterie meal we have. Here's a little peek at what our fun dinner was on Christmas!
And now it's on to the new year!
My Progress This Week
Despite the little writing break, I still managed to get Demonblooded to about 82K words. As per usual, my discovering writing mind decided to take the story in a different direction than I expected. I still think I will be wrapping up the book at around 110K words, so we aren't far off from that.
Darkness Incarnate is going through final edits now so that I can submit it to the Writer's of the Future competition by the end of this week. This short story is a about finding hope when despair and darkness are closing in. It is a bit darker than I expected, but deeply satisfying to read. If you'd like to take a read through of this short story, just reply to this email and I'll send you the story!
New Episode of The Casual Author!
From challenging confrontations to successful communication. Non-fiction is a thriving genre for many authors. Join Jill and me as we discuss her book, Conquer Sticky Situations, as well as her learnings from publishing non-fiction for the first time.
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And Now for the Free Books of the Week!
warm regards,
Dan
