Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowded with perfumes,

I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,

The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.

--from: "Song of Myself," by Walt Whitman

I have to admit, Whitman goes on far too long, and his words tend to wander a bit far afield at times. However, the rooms of perfumes coincide with some elements of Christmas, and with myself substituted for Old Walt's self the poem itself does fit the topic of this letter.

But first, I heard this statement this week: "Golf is just shopping--for men." Thoughts?

I note that the first three books in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series are only 99 cents each through the end of the year. Get them now, or use your Christmas loot to add them to your library. It is the first trilogy of the series, forming a single fantastic story arc. The make great gifts.

Looking back at the year, it has been tumultuous for me. I left the safe haven that had been home for 16 years and sailed to Byzantium to continue my labors at the daily grind and at writing. I've written two novels this year, but have posted neither for publishing. My adventure book for boys, tentatively titled The Dragon Feather and The Pirate Treasure has just been submitted to the publisher. My exciting near future dystopian thriller, Bugs in the System, waits for the finishing touches, which won't come until after the new year.

I have been busy writing short stories. Short stories provide for rapid triumphs. It takes months to write a novel, but only a week or two to do a short story. The rush of completion arrives more frequently than with novels, and getting them accepted for publication provides another hit of happiness (the payments/royalties aren't bad either). These are my published short stories:

"Monica on my Mind" actually came out in 2023 in PinUp Noir 2.

"A Matter of Letters" came out this year in Wyrd West.

"Freedom on Wheels" came out in Road Trippin'.

"Letters in the Mail" came out in Wyrd West Cursed Canyon.

"Love under a Purple Sky" came out in Space Cowboys 6 Fission Chips.

"Tokens of Moonlight and Mist" is in Cirsova Magazine #21 - although it was the first short story I sold, it is the last one published this year.

Cirsova also recently purchased my short story "Drown Melancholy" for publication in fall of 2025.

Do you have thoughts about the subversion of Christmas and good and evil? I do. That's why I wrote this short rant: I object

If you would rather read novels, Smoke is on sale, along with many other good tales - find it in this multi-genre sale

Did you know the Revolutionary War has never been a big part of British education? Did you know that King George III had less power than virtually every other monarch in Europe? Although he had little to do with the policies that brought about the revolution, he became the driving force in Britain behind the war. Lord North, consistently wanted to resign as Prime Minister during the war, but the King could find no acceptable alternative as PM, so he was forced to retain North. -- All this comes from The Men Who Lost America, by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy. I'm enjoying the insights into the character and circumstances of the British generals and politicians whose mistakes and misapprehensions contributed to the outcome of the conflict.

Have a Merry Christmas - and remember that the best thing you can do for me this Christmas is to read one of my books and post a glowing review -- 4 of them are on sale.

Stanley