When I started this blog I had a goal of updating it at least monthly. Since my last post was nearly two months ago, I have clearly failed at that. I apologize to my tiny handful of faithful readers. My excuse is that I was wrapped up in trying to finish the steampunk airship adventure I started this spring. I succeeded and have now done a lot of edits based on feedback from critique partners and beta readers. I've sent out just a few queries to test the waters, but I'll be surprised (pleasantly of course) if one of these early queries results in an offer of representation. My instinct is that I probably still have some polishing to do before it will really shine for an agent. I'm focusing now on entering it in the Author Mentor Match mentorship contest and have picked out the four mentors I'm going to apply to. Just for fun, here's the latest aesthetic I created for my book.
I'm not just here to brag about the book I finished, though. Since it's Christmas Eve, I figured I'd share some holiday reads I've enjoyed. And I say holiday reads as opposed to Christmas reads because one of them is about a holiday (actually two holidays that share a name) I don't celebrate.
As you may remember from last December's
post, my family has a lot holiday reading traditions and I love Christmas books. For years I had a habit of reading Tony Abbot's beautiful Santa Claus origin story,
Kringle, every December. However, this year I tried to read it and just couldn't get into it. I think I've read it too many times and just need to take a break from it. However, for those who haven't yet read it, I highly recommend it. It's a Santa Claus origin story told in the form of an epic fantasy including elves, goblins, and a rune that stops time. It even gives a nod to the Christian origin of the holiday, which the average Santa Claus story doesn't often do.
Last year, through #MGBooktober on Twitter, I discovered what might be my new favorite Christmas read, Kate Milford's Greenglass House. This fun mystery with just a hint of the paranormal is a wonderfully enjoyable book to curl up with in December. Even better, it has a sequel that also takes place at Christmas, Ghosts of Greenglass House.
Today, instead of reading Kringle, which I brought with me on my Christmas travels just in case I felt inspired to read it, I'm reading another book that was recommended to me on Twitter. Like Greenglass House, this story is a mystery of a sort and takes place at an isolated hotel, but it is otherwise quite different. I'm really enjoying it so far. The book is
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson.
This year at Advent my family moved away from the middle grade reading trend to read an adult novella by well known dog book writer W. Bruce Cameron. Even though it's written for adults, by my ten year old and my sixteen year old really enjoyed
A Dog's Perfect Christmas, and I can confidently recommend it as a family read if you have children who are upper elementary or older.
My last recommended holiday read is a short story collection I read this fall, focusing on a holiday that is not mine.
Once Upon an Eid is a collection of stories by Muslim writers from a variety of backgrounds that feature families celebrating both Eid Al Fitr and Edi Al Adha. I found the stories delightful and enjoyed learning about two holidays that are quite different from any of the holidays I celebrate. This book is a great example of how books from outside of our culture and experience can serve as
windows into experiences different from your own.
If you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you have a wonderful holiday. If your winter holiday has already happened or is still to come, I hope it is or was a joyful time, in spite of any changes this never-ending pandemic caused. I'm thankful that my entire immediate family is now vaccinated along with my parents, brothers, and sister in law, so we can all gather (relatively) safely, but I still long for a day we can celebrate with larger groups of people without having to think so much about it. In the meantime, books, both holiday books and other books, will be here for us. In books we can peek into scenes from holidays we celebrate an holidays we don't celebrate. We can travel without need for a test, mask, or passport, to places that exist in our world and places that don't.
