Almost There

With just over a week away, I'm almost ready for Christmas. The house is decorated, the cookies are baked, about half a the presents are wrapped, and most of the shopping is done. I just have a few more things to pick up.

Last night we went to an annual Christmas party at our friends' house. The week ahead is the last one before Christmas break. It's definitely the home stretch.

I'm also in the home stretch of the revisions for "This Feels Like Home". It's almost there. The trouble lately has been finding time to work on it. All of those holiday things are taking priority. Yesterday I snuck in about ten to fifteen minutes while dinner cooked. I got a page or so done, so that was pretty good.

I feel like I'm heading in the right direction, so that helps as well. At this point, I pretty much know what I need/want to do, it's just a matter of doing it. A nice change from previous moments of staring at the computer willing an idea to come.

My goal is to have the revisions done by the end of the year and to the editor by the time TRWP comes off of its holiday shut down at the beginning of January. Right now I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll make that goal.

After that, I'm pretty sure some of my New Year's Resolutions will center around writing: especially a kind of wacky idea I've been mulling over. But that's a topic for another time!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

For your holiday reading pleasure:

A Christmas to Remember - from The Wild Rose Press - On sale for 50% off!
Mistletoe and Folly - a FREE read

Christmas Cookies

For me, Christmas is all about traditions. One of our favorite ones is baking cookies. Yesterday was baking day. Earlier in the week I got out the recipes, checked what ingredients I had on hand, and Friday we went shopping for the things still needed. Saturday morning, we got right to work. It was quite the festive day as we listened to Christmas music and made five different varieties of cookies: peanut butter blossoms, chocolate mint Kiss cookies, homemade poptarts, chocolate peppermint crunch, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I did sample a couple as they came out of the oven, but for the most part, we managed to wait and indulge for dessert after dinner.

Here's a peek at what we did.

Ingredients.

Mixing station.

Baking.

Cooling station.

Results!

Since it's just the two of us, we won't eat all of these ourselves, but we'll share some with family, friends, and coworkers.

So how about you? What cookies are your Christmas favorites?

Until next time,

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

For your holiday reading pleasure:
A Christmas to Remember from The Wild Rose Press (also on Kindle and Nook)
Mistletoe and Folly - A FREE read

Another Transition

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was putting out my turkeys and Pilgrims in anticipation of Thanksgiving. No, wait, it seems like just yesterday that I was putting out my pumpkins, witches, and ghosts in anticipation of Halloween.

And here we are getting ready to celebrate Christmas one month from today.

Seriously...where does the time go? This time of year seems to slide into a time warp and the days fly by in a quick blur. Almost like those lines we use in our stories to transition us from one scene to another: A week later, the days sped by, over the next few weeks etc.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving here on Thursday. It was our first year hosting, and everything was simply perfect. A small group of family and friends gathered and we indulged in turkey, stuffing, corn, beans, two kinds of potatoes, rolls, and cranberries. Then of course there was dessert: homemade apple and pumpkin pies. After dinner we watched a bit of football, and then everyone headed out, stuffed and content.

Less than twenty-four hours later, the turkeys (both food and paper decorations) were packed away and the Christmas decs were in place. Two trees, outdoor lights, and a plethora of other decs went up. We took a break and had turkey club sandwiches for lunch, but went quickly back to work. All the while, Chrismas music played in the background. That night we watched our first Christmas movie: Christmas with the Kranks.

I even have some of my shopping done! Most of the nieces, nephews, and Godchildren are finished, and I have a few other presents already stashed away. There's still quite a bit to be done, but it's nice to have a head start. (And I am not one to brave those Black Friday sales...)

So, we've transitioned into another holiday here in this season of holidays.

Are you ready?!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Holiday Stories from Debra St. John and The Wild Rose Press
An Unexpected Blessing - a Thanksgiving novella
A Christmas to Remember - a Christmas novella
Mistletoe and Folly - a FREE read