Tag Archive for: Christmas

‘Tis the Season

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By AB Plum

A few weeks
ago, a friend told me jubilantly, “The date’s set.”

December 3—the date for her husband’s hip-replacement surgery.

They’d
waited for over six weeks for a definite date … 
because of Thanksgiving and the approaching year’s end. A scheduled time
was still up in the air.

And that
detail was driving her husband crazy. He was fretting over every possibility.

  • ·       
    What
    if the hospital set the time and then changed it?
  • ·       
    What
    if they had to arrive at oh-dark-thirty?
  • ·       
    What
    if the time got postponed after they arrived at the hospital?
  • ·       
    Why
    couldn’t the surgeons change their routine practice of epidurals and put him
    under?
  • ·       
    What
    if he became nauseated after the anesthesia?
  • ·       
    What
    if he couldn’t manage the post-surgical pain?
  • ·       
    How
    would she get him from the car into their ground-floor apartment?
  • ·       
    What
    if they couldn’t manage the shower without help?
  • ·       
    What
    if his adult kids didn’t understand why they couldn’t travel for Christmas?
  • ·       
    What
    if he was totally immobile during the holiday?
  • ·       
    How
    would he get his Christmas shopping done?
  • ·       
    How
    disappointed would everyone be because he couldn’t smoke the turkey?
      Somehow, the
fretting didn’t drive my friend nuts.
(Her patience borders on saintly). She said part of what helped her stay
centered was avoiding the non-stop Christmas ads and parties and implied demands
that Christmas required a nine-course dinner with twenty guests and a house
decorated by Martha and a new BMW or
Lincoln or Range Rover parked in the driveway as the gift du jour.

My friend’s
husband came through the surgery with no problems. He’s exceeding expectations
with the physical therapist who comes to their home twice a week. He manages
the pain with a third of what his surgeon allowed.

His fretting
about Christmas gifts and the Christmas dinner and decorating the apartment takes
center stage fewer and fewer hours of every day. To keep my friend’s stress
manageable, they’ve agreed on thirty minutes or so of fretting-debrief after
she comes home each evening. She’ll unpack a few ornaments this weekend while
he makes eggnog and queues up Miracle on
34th Street.
‘Tis the
season to fret because social and mainstream media never let us think we can finish
everything that needs to be done. Stress—the noun equivalent of fret—piles up
as we struggle to be perfect. Running faster and faster blocks the question:
WHY?
This year
I’m downshifting. I’m a reluctant shopper at best, but I’m boycotting Amazon.  Too easy to succumb to buying more stuff. I’ve contributed to favorite charities
to honor the people on my list who really don’t need more stuff.

And, I’ve
decided on a unique gift for a couple of family members and friends. I got the
idea from Through Rose-Colored Glasses, the
February release of my second Ryn Davis mystery. Check out the book if you’re
interested.

Here’s
wishing one and all a fret-free season—or as close as you can get to fret free.

*******  

AB Plum
lives, writes, and plays just off the fast-lane in Silicon Valley. A broken
hand in October caused a bit of fretting about getting her second Ryn Davis
mystery to market, but she’s ready to hand [pun intended] off the ARC and
feeling light as snowflake and ready to enjoy the holidays.

Meet The Queen of Christmas

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For the past few months, I’ve been working on a secret project – a Christmas short story called “The Queen of Christmas.”
I’m a huge fan of short stories at this busy time of the year. What better to read when there are so many demands on our time but also an increased need to recharge our batteries by taking a few moments to enjoy some fun holiday reading? 
Several readers have asked me to do a holiday story with the characters from my Lobster Shack mystery series. I started wondering — what do Allie, Aunt Gully, Verity, and all the other characters from the Lazy Mermaid lobster shack do at Christmas?
A visit to a holiday show house tour last December sparked ideas. A Christmas crazy friend of my mom has collected ornaments and decorations for decades. Over time, her single decorated tree became two trees, then three, and after several years this lady had a decorated tree for every room in her house and crowds clamoring to visit. Her Fantasy of Trees was born.
What if I moved this festival of trees to Mystic Bay? What if a desperate criminal was determined to cause holiday mischief instead of holiday merriment?
Writing a short story comes with challenges. The story has to be tighter. Every word has to work harder. Which characters will be in the story? How to keep the story to a length that is perfect to enjoy during the holiday crush?
I hope you’ll check out my new mystery short story, “The Queen of Christmas.” I hope it will provide you with a fun escape from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. The story also includes a recipe for hot toddy, because what’s nicer than curling up with a good story and a warm drink on a frosty winter night?
The story is available exclusively on Amazon for Kindle. Enjoy!


Boxing Day

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by Bethany Maines

I had a friend who was extremely disappointed to learn that the day after Christmas had NOTHING to do with boxing. I don’t know if she was hoping for some sort of tale of a historical rumble at Five Points or Canadians engaging in fisticuffs, but she was quite put out to learn that it was about literal boxes and tipping.  I cannot help the history, but the tradition in our family is to loll about the house and stuff our faces while watching an entire days worth action movies selected by my brother.  And action movies frequently involve some sort of hand to hand pummelling, so, there… Boxing Day accomplished.

Watching movies at my brothers house has gotten more complicated due to babies and competing in-laws, but this year’s movie theme is Time Travel.  So in no particular order we are all invited to watch the following:

  • Back to the Future – Michael J. Fox
  • Frequency – Jim Caviezel
  • Time Cop – Jean Claucde Van Damme
  • Looper – Joseph Gorden Levitt
  • 12 Monkeys – Bruce Willis
  • The Terminator – Arnold Schwarzenegger
  • Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure – Keanu Reeves
  • The Final Countdown – Martin Sheen
Merry Christmas, happy Boxing Day, and a wonderful New Years to all!
**
Blue Christmas – Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Kobo – iTunes – ¢.99

Drunken TV news cameraman Jake Garner thought he
was tackling an intruder. But no, Jake just took out the fantastically attractive dog sitter. Mortified, Jake does what any man would who has just
been dumped right before Christmas would do—give the offended party all his ex’s things. Meanwhile, Blue Jones is determined to do whatever it takes to get
her grandmother the best cancer treatment possible, even if that means some high-rise burglary from one of her worst dog-sitting clients, the failure to
walk, feed or book a pet-sitter for a three day weekend, Grace Lorra. But Blue didn’t count on Grace’s ex, Jake, showing up and drunkenly handing over all of Grace’s belongings— including her adorable French Bulldog, Jacques. It takes no time at all for Blue to fall in love with Jacques, but Blue also finds herself wondering if it would be so bad to
return to the scene of the crime to reconnect with Jake. But as Christmas draws closer, Grace pressures Jake to return the dog and Blue is targeted by mysterious assailants. Can Jake find Blue and Jacques before her stalkers do? And can Jake and Blue stop these mystery men without also getting Blue arrested for
theft? For Blue, Christmas has never been quite so dangerous. For Jake, Christmas has never been quite so Blue.

**
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San
Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo
Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to
exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in
karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working
on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube,
Twitter and Facebook.

Bad Poetry for the Holidays!

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Writing in a Mystery Wonderland
by Shari Randall



In the spirit of the holidays I thought I’d share this poem I wrote last year for Writers Who Kill. Twas the week before Christmas and all through my house, I was tearing my hair out trying to finish a Christmas novella. (sorry!) I was knee deep in a new story and after a night tossing and turning and trying out different plot twists, my mind turned to one of my favorite Christmas songs….and this happened.

To the tune of “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”

with apologies to Felix Bertand and Richard B. Smith


Slay-bells ring! Are you listening?
In the lane, blood is glistening.
A criminal sight, we’re sleuthing tonight
Writing in a mystery wonderland.


Gone away is the body,
Here to stay is the bobby
As we start the chase
To solve a tough case
Writing in a mystery wonderland.


In the story we will solve a murder
And pretend that we are Sheriff Brown.
They’ll say “Are you guilty?” We’ll say “No, man!”
But you can arrest my evil twin when you’re in town.


Later on, we’ll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid
The plot that we made
Writing in a mystery wonderland!


  Wishing you all the joys of the season!
Shari Randall is the author of the Lobster Shack Mysteries from St. Martin’s Press.

Joy to My World

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by Bethany Maines
As the year draws to a close, I find myself doing the usual
assessment of what I did this year and what I’ll be doing next year.  But this year, I’m trying to concentrate on
evaluating more through the lens of not just financial success, but emotional
success.  What was fun for me?  Because if a creative project doesn’t bring
me joy, why am I spending valuable emotional time on it?
One of the joyful projects of my year was Blue Christmas. I
like romantic adventures that find characters swept up in dangerous events.  And I liked turning a Christmas Carol into
something that’s not quite so sweet and sugary. 
I also find myself already pondering what Christmas carol I can do next
year.  Santa Baby?  Sleigh Ride? 
Mele Kalikimaka?  Gabriel’s
Message?  What message could Gabriel be
getting and how could it upend his life? Or what message is he sending?  Who is this Gabe guy anyway?  A struggling coffee shop owner soured on love
by the barista who left him cold?  A
photographer who just cannot take one more fake happy family photo for the
holidays? The possibilities are endless and so are the Christmas Carols. 

Another project that made me happy this year was the SharkSantoyo series.  This action packed five
book series follows the ups and downs of Peregrine Hays and Shark Santoyo as
they try to outwit the mob, the FBI and Peri’s private investigator uncle.  I loved creating the overarching storyline,
the quirky characters, the bad guys with hearts of gold, and the bad guys that
were just plain bad.  I loved the
characters and I’m hoping that people will enjoy the roller-coaster ride along
with them.  (Book #3 comes out in April
2019!)
2018 was a great year for exploring the characters I love
and what I want to write. Next up in my pondering: the best way to pursue what
I love in 2019! 

PS. Have a suggestion for which Christmas carol I should turn
into a story next?  Comment below!
**
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San
Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo
Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to
exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in
karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working
on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube,
Twitter and Facebook.

Peace to one and all

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By Barbara Plum aka AB Plum

At this time of year, my cul-de-sac hops with holiday
celebrations:
  • ·        
    Dewali (November 7)
  • ·        
    Hanukkah (December 2-10)
  • ·        
    Yule (December 21-January 21)
  • ·        
    Christmas (December 24-25)
  • ·        
    Kwanzaa (December 26-January 1)

I’m aware many people don’t celebrate at this time of
year—for a variety of reasons. But. For family, friends, strangers, and
non-celebrants, I send out a personal hope for peace to shine—if for only a
moment—in your lives wherever you are.

**** Barbara Plum aka AB Plum lives off the Silicon
Valley fast lane but in the shadow of Google. She writes light, funny
paranormal romances and dark, gripping psychological thrillers. Both genres
provide escape on long winter nights. Find her books here on Amazon and here.

Tales of Christmas

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by Bethany Maines
In 2017 a Romance novelist friend of mine invited me to be
part of an anthology of holiday novellas as part of a marketing event.  I said, “Of course!” Did I have a holiday
novella?  No, I did not.  Was it September when she asked and all
content was due in November?  Yes, yes it
was.  The result of my feverish typing
and carpal tunnel syndrome was Oh, Holy
Night.  This fun romance about a
freelance graphic designer and the cute guy she keeps meeting at her local
Starbucks somehow managed to end up also being about a bank robbery, friendship
and recovering from grief.  But despite
the record breaking pace I actually enjoyed my little holiday story and I
decided that I wanted to do it again. Just… not quite so fast.

So this year I’m releasing Blue Christmas.  This Suspense
Romance novella also features a  teeny
bit of crime, a helping of romance, and a dog. 
Because I like dogs. This time our intrepid heroine is a college student
Blue Jones and the square jawed hero is local TV news cameraman Jake Garner.  And the dog is an adorable French Bulldog
named Jacques who disapproves of almost everything.  If you’re looking for some Christmas
adventures please feel free to indulge in these holiday treats.  They’re calorie free. 
Blue Christmas – ¢.99 – available
12/4 –Blue Jones just stole Jake
Garner’s dog. And his heart. But technically the French Bulldog, Jacques,
belongs to Jake’s ex-girlfriend. And soon Jake is being pressured to return the
dog and Blue is being targeted by mysterious attackers. Can Jake find Blue and
Jacques before her stalkers do? For Blue, Christmas has never been quite so
dangerous.  For Jake, Christmas has never been quite so Blue.

Oh, Holy Night – ¢.99 – available
now – Christmas is a lot more dangerous than it used to be. Graphic
designer Violet Harper is usually found at her local Starbucks. Handsome Roman
Knox is usually carrying a gun. But tonight they’re both in a bank and there’s
a body on the floor. It’s a mess, a robbery and almost the worst day ever, but
maybe a Christmas miracle can get them out of the bank and into love. Join Violet and Roman as they try to figure out the rules to modern dating and bank robbery.




And for more holiday humor
and adventure with a touch of romance, check out fellow Stiletto Gang sister
J.M. Phillippe’s A Christmas Spirit –
The recently deceased Charlene Dickenson is stuck in a place where the
Christmas music never ends and the holiday treats will never make you full. Charlene is going to have to figure out how to let go of her mortal life and
embrace the Christmas Spirit.

Available in print and e-formats on 12/4.  Pre-order on: Amazon

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San
Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo
Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to
exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in
karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working
on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube,
Twitter and Facebook.

Time for Christmas and Holiday Shorts!

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by Paula Gail Benson



On the day before
Thanksgiving, Dru’s Book Musings featured Sleigh Bells and Sleuthing,
an anthology of 16 cozy mystery novellas to celebrate the season. Here’s a link
to Dru’s post. One hundred percent of the
proceeds from sales of the anthology will benefit Good Fortune Farm Refuge, a non-profit ranch
located in Semmes, Alabama, which rehabilitates abused and abandoned animals
and finds homes for rescued animals.

Dru’s post reminded me
that this is the time for reading seasonal shorts, so here are a few anthologies you might wish to consider:

Murder Under the
Christmas Tree: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season, edited by Cecily Gayford, has stories by Ian Rankin, Val McDermid,
Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Edmund Crispin, G.K. Chesteron, Ngaio
Marsh, Carter Dickson, Margery Allingham, and Ellis Peters.

Otto Penzler’s The
Big Book of Christmas Mysteries contains 60 stories divided into
categories like traditional, funny, Sherlockian, pulpy, uncanny, scary,
surprising, modern, puzzling, and classic. It features authors like Mary
Higgins Clark, Sara Paretsky, Max Allan Collins, Edward D. Hoch, John D. McDonald,
and O. Henry.

Mistletoe Mysteries,
Tales of Yuletide Murder were
compiled by Charlotte McLeod. It contains 16 stories by McLeod, Mary Higgins
Clark, Sharon McCrumb, Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini, Peter Lovesey, and others.

Last year, I
discovered and was completely charmed by The Usual Santas. It
includes stories by Helene Tursten, Mick Herron, Martin Limón, Timothy
Hallinan, Teresa Dovalpage, Mette Ivie Harrison, Colin Cotterill, Ed Lin,
Stuart Neville, Tod Goldberg, Henry Chang, James R. Benn, Lene Kaaberbøl &
Agnete Friis, Sujata Massey, Gary Corby, Cara Black, Stephanie Barron and a
Foreword and story by Peter Lovesey.
In
2013, my December post for Writers Who Kill was
the final installment of a series about writing short stories and compared the
story structures of three excellent holiday short stories:

B.K. Stevens’ “Little
Dumber Boy” (individually published under the Fingerprints imprint by Untreed
Reads, December, 2010) (available on Amazon).
Barb Goffman’s
“Christmas Surprise” in the collection Don’t Get Mad, Get Even: 15
Tales of Revenge and More (Wildside Press April, 2013).
Earl Staggs’ “Caught on
Christmas Eve” in the collection Short Stories of Earl Staggs: 16 Tales
of Mystery from Hard Boiled to Humor (Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
2011).

At the end of the post,
I listed the following holiday anthologies:



Lori Avocato, Dana
Cameron, Mary Daheim, Cait London, Suzanne Macpherson, Kerrelyn Sparks, Sugarplums
and Scandal (HarperCollins Publishers 2010).

Carols and Crimes, Gifts
and Grifters (Wolfmont Press
2009) (Authors Tony Burton, Austin S. Camacho, Thomas H. Cook, Herschel Cozine,
Gail Farrelly, Margaret Fenton, Chris Grabenstein, Sue Ann Jaffarian, Frank
Zafiro, and others).
John M. Floyd,
editor, The Gift of Murder (Wolfmont Press 2009) (Authors
Austin S. Camacho, Hershel Cozine, Bill Crider, Kris Neri, Randy Rawls, Carolyn
J. Rose, Elizabeth Zelvin). 
Steve Hockensmith, Naughty:
Nine Tales of Christmas Crime (an e-book collection of stories that
previously appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine or Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine).
Stuart MacBride, 12
Days of Winter: Crime at Christmas (HarperCollins Publishers 2011).
Margaret Maron, Five
Christmas Gifts (Maron & Company; Ebook edition December, 2012).

John Mortimer, A
Rumpole Christmas (Penguin Books, 2009).



May all your holiday reading be merry, bright, and only a little murderous!

Christmas is Coming!!

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by Bethany “Run for the Hills” Maines

Thanksgiving is looming and that means that… gulp… Christmas is around the corner!  But what that means for me is that I have some awesome new releases to share with readers. That’s right, I’ve been hard at work on stories of murder, romance, theft, and puppies. I may just need the holidays to happen so I can get a rest. On November 15th (that’s this THURSDAY), I have a short story, Mayhem & Mahalo, included in the the Stiletto Heeled issue of Switchblade Magazine.  I’m pretty thrilled to be included in this list of all women crime writers and can’t wait to get my own copy and see what mischief my co-conspirators are up to. Next up is Blue Christmas, a romantic holiday adventure (now available for pre-order) which will be released on December 4th! This cross-genre romance / crime story has everything you need to kick off the holiday season.

Switchblade Magazine – The Stiletto Heeled Issue

featuring Mayhem & Mahalo – Available on Amazon 11/15/18

Hawaii—the land of sun, surf, and a giant pile of dead bodies. Paige Kaneko thought she had left the Kaneko family’s criminal ways behind her, but when a 3 a.m. text from her brother asks for one simple thing—help—Paige can’t say no. Now Paige must get her brother and herself out of a situation that includes eight dead bodies, a backpack full of cash and one slightly dented heroin addict.

Blue Christmas – Pre-Order Now!

High-rise burglary to pay for her grandmother’s cancer treatments might not be ideal, but Blue Jones is determined to do what it takes to get her grandmother the best care possible. She just didn’t plan on being tackled by gorgeous Jake Garner. Jake, drunk and recently dumped, mistakes Blue for the dog sitter and begins shoving his ex’s belongings at her including her French Bulldog—Jacques. But soon Jake is being pressured to return the dog and Blue is being targeted by mysterious attackers. Can Jake and Blue stop these mystery men without also getting Blue arrested for theft? For Blue, Christmas has never been quite so dangerous. For Jake, Christmas has never been quite so Blue.

***

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Incoming

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By Bethany Maines 

The holidays are coming. I can feel them barreling toward me with the speed of one of those fancy Japanese trains that float on magnets and go like three hundred miles an hour. Of course, the train type doesn’t really matter. Amtrak or coal trains will both kill you just as dead.

Yes, death and trains. That’s the holiday metaphor I went with. That should tell you all you need to know about how I’m feeling about this upcoming season.
I think one of the most unfair parts about being an adult is that we no longer get to enjoy the seasons like we did as children. For adults, time compresses until you’re blinking through the seasons like you’re in an H.G. Wells time machine.

And with that as a backdrop it’s easy to go down the trail of “Why put up holiday decorations when it’s just going to be over in a minute?”
But I’m putting my foot down. Christmas will be enjoyed. There will be décor. I might even décor it up pre-Thanksgiving. Holiday rules be damned. And I’m banning guilt. Didn’t buy someone a present? Well, presents aren’t obligatory. Didn’t bring a potluck dish? How fortunate that some other mom showed off and made extra. Decided not to do the holiday shuffle between in-laws and stay at your house in the morning? Tough cookies, Grandma. The stockings are still up, the munchkin will still get sugar-high, you can wait the extra hour.

You know what else I’m going to do over the holidays? I’m going to read at least one book. I used to enjoy doing that before I tried to have kids, see my husband periodically, and write all the words into new books. I’m going to pick out something awesome, probably fluffy, and enjoy the crap out of it.

That’s my 2017 Holiday Manifesto. Who’s with me?