Happy New Year!

Good-bye 2017, and hello 2018!

May we all be happier, healthier, and keep our wits about us in the next 365 days.

Best wishes to everyone out there!

Released today! A Piece of Ourselves

My Christmas story A Piece of Ourselves releases today!

Link: https://www.mischiefcornerbooks.com/a-piece-of-ourselves.html


Balancing holidays between two families can make cheerful celebrations into chores. Carson Benedetti's mom has overscheduled the Christmas holidays and she's more than insistent that boyfriend Tynan Harris come into the family fold. There's so much to do Tynan can't find time to bring Carson over to his own family and he feels like they are being left in the dust.

​After dating for nine months, and with their relationship becoming more serious, Tynan's patience is sorely tested by the multitude of Benedetti family traditions keeping them busy. Tynan needs to figure out how to find some breathing room, split their time more fairly, and make Christmas more than just tradition by rote.

Christmas stories

I love Christmas movies. I can happily watch some truly terrible, cheesy, badly produced movies and be very happy. I know it was a massive hit and everyone loves The Christmas Prince, but I had to pause it partway through because I cringed a tad too much at the plot setups. Although I really liked the little sister and will get back to watching it just for her, I need to do it some other day.

The Netlfix released another Christmas movie, which I just finished watching, A Christmas Inheritance, which was on the watchable side of cringe. I'll have to expound on what elements work or don't work (for me, obviously, others' mileage always varies). But what I really, really wish had happened was that they'd switched the two actors between the un-worthy fiance part and trueheart inn manager part. I think both actors did great jobs as they were, but I think it would have been significantly more fantastic to see those roles reversed. (I wish they could film movies twice or three times, and switch up roles -- do the scenes exactly like they are, but with actors in different roles, and release the movies each way!)

Two articles I found about the release:

http://lacrossetribune.com/lifestyles/simplemost/netflix-surprises-everyone-with-one-more-cheesy-holiday-movie-christmas/article_93298e40-7f23-58b3-953d-389f24f343c0.html

https://www.romper.com/p/is-snow-falls-from-christmas-inheritance-a-real-place-this-netflix-movie-will-give-you-serious-stars-hollow-vibes-7587453

And since I'm on the subject of Christmas stories, I'm going to plug my very own. (I love Christmas stories, so I wrote one! I intend to write more!)

I think it is a little less formulaic, but just as fabulous.

"A Piece of Ourselves", at Mischief Corner Books
on sale now, and releasing on Dec 23rd -- only 6 days away!

https://www.mischiefcornerbooks.com/a-piece-of-ourselves.html

guest post about "A Piece of Ourselves"

My guest post is up!

Go here:

http://www.elizabeth-noble.com/thoughts-and-things-blog/a-holiday-to-remember-collection-with-special-guest-post-from-tray-ellis

My story is part of their A Holiday to Remember series and it is already on pre-sale, and becomes available December 23rd, which is shockingly close right this moment! (How does times fly?)

NET NEUTRALITY

Today is the vote by the FCC on Net Neutrality. (You know this is serious since I used all-caps in my title to this post.)

https://www.wired.com/…/why-net-neutrality-matters-even-in…/

I've been calling my members of Congress to keep encouraging them to speak up about this issue. (It is the FCC's vote, but obviously our elected officials vocal opposition can make things hot.)

I've been calling the FCC and leaving messages there, and sending them legitimate on-line comments (check out the furor over all the bot, fake, and stolen id comments) as well.

I've been posting and tweeting about this issue for a while now, and there has been a lot of other news that has taken away focus from it (important news, to be sure, but today this is important.)

SO IMPORTANT.

No matter how you feel about any other issue, this particular issue is going to personally impact you -- and very negatively if net neutrality is taken away.

Net neutrality (which is a great term, but a little clunky for most people who haven't run across it before) is your lifeblood on-line. It is what makes everything possible without 'nickle and dime'-ing you to a penniless death.

Today is the day to raise your voice.

Do not let the FCC take away net neutrality.

You're going to miss it when it is gone.

short days, long walks & soup

These days that are so close to the winter solstice are so short on daylight that it is hard to get anything done. It being Saturday, I did get out for a very long walk after bundling up for the cold. It was lovely to breathe the fresh, cold air and to meander around the neighborhoods -- of which I found a few streets I'd never gone down before. Then I came home and made a creamy, warm mushroom soup and had quite a bit extra, so I know I'll have some for later in the week when some even colder weather comes in.

Dreamspinner .99 coupon today

My stories sometimes qualify for the sales and coupons that Dreamspinner offers, and this is one of those times. This is a really good deal!

https://twitter.com/dreamspinners/status/938989069421252609

It's for books that came out prior to July 1, 2017 -- and How Sweetly the Whippoorwill Sings makes this date easily as it is one of my oldest stories, but Pyresnakes just ekes in as it came out on June 28th, 2017. So, grab this opportunity to go get something to read!

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/pyresnakes-by-tray-ellis-8608-b

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/how-sweetly-the-whippoorwill-sings-by-tray-ellis-4429-b

as the months go zooming past

And December is going to be even more busy than November. January will be slow, right? Right?

So far I've been up to my eyeballs in trainings and fixing other people's problems.

And how is it that Christmas is zooming at me so quickly? I haven't even made it to the Post Office for stamps yet!