The most wonderful time of the year, yes, Christmas will soon be here!

 Christmas is coming! I haven't posted here for twelve months, so I should have a lot to write about. I'll do my best.

I can tell you that I am writing a Christmas novel but I won't have it finished in time for Christmas. I decided last year that I would not write another Christmas romance and as you will have guessed, I have not stuck to my decision. The trouble with writing is that these characters keep walking about in my head, demanding that I write about them. The only cure is to sit down and start. I've been busy with a lot of stuff so I have not had time to really concentrate. However, I am up to Chapter 8 and writing all the odd moments I can.

I visited my daughter in Germany last month. It was wonderful to see her and my grandchildren after a two-year absence. I was really worried about travelling this time. Usually, I take it all in my stride but I got myself into a panic about having to put everything on my mobile - I could just see my phone collapsing and me not allowed on board the airplane because I couldn't show my boarding card, or my vaccination cert or something! In fact, all went very smoothly. Which is a huge relief, because I am going back for Christmas. Hopefully, the current surge in Covid infections will have abated somewhat by then.

When I got home at the end of October I discovered a small rash on the side of my neck and I also had some pain in my neck and shoulder. I decided that a) I had got a mosquito bite while in Germany - the little blighters were coming in out of the cold and buzzing around everywhere and b) my neck and shoulder pain were due to sitting in a draft at some stage of my travels. Imagine my surprise, when I visited the pharmacy to get a cream for the rash which was refusing to go away and I was told I had shingles. I learned that shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus which stays in the body and can flare up, very often due to stress. Well, I have never had chicken pox, so it is still a mystery to me how I got shingles, although I did stress myself out on the travelling bit. Everything cleared up in just over two weeks. I know I was very lucky because anyone I have spoken to who has had shingles tells me how painful it is. Apparently, there is a vaccine against shingles but I did not know that. I learn something new every day.

I am getting into the spirit of Christmas at the moment and I hope that all my readers are too. Although I don't have a new novel out, I have written a few Christmas romances. Have a look and see if one of them appeals to you.

Getting Back to Normal

I can't believe that I haven't written anything in this blog for a month!  It's amazing what I find to do instead of sitting down and writing and all the time I feel guilty because I haven't been editing that novel I wrote some years ago nor have I put finger to keyboard to write this blog. So here goes.

I spent a wonderful week in North Holland with my daughter and grandkids at the beginning of October. We had a few stormy days (just like real life) but otherwise the weather was pleasant. Lots of walks on the beach which stretches for miles and miles along the coast. The children had plenty of dips in the sea and especially enjoyed sliding down the sand dunes. We went to a fairy-tale themed park which they just loved and also to a maritime museum where they could admire the various fish swimming about as we walked through glass tunnels. In the evenings we strolled down to the beach to watch the sun go down and they enjoyed running around in the dusk.

We stayed in a holiday village in a nice big house with a garden and patio, and I did most of the cooking. With two fairly small children, it wasn't worth going to restaurants and in any case they preferred home cooking. Lots of lazy evenings drinking wine when the kids were in bed.
Holland is a great place to spend a holiday with children because they are equipped for both good and bad weather.
On my way home - I flew in and out of Amsterdam - I had a stroll around Amsterdam. Here is a picture of Amsterdam Centraal, the main railway station, quite an impressive building.

Now I have to roll up my sleeves and get down to doing some writing. I have completed my Christmas novel CHRISTMAS AT CASTLEDARRA and it can be ordered on Amazon as a print version and the Kindle version will be available from the middle of November.

Incidentally, while in Holland, quite a few people asked me for directions which makes me think that mothers - and grandmothers - have that universal  'can I help you?' look. I don't speak Dutch but am fluent in German so more or less guessed what was being said. I replied in English which everyone seems to speak over there and with a bit of sign language and a few laughs, we communicated.

Right, now I really must dig out that manuscript and start work on it. Christmas will be here in no time....
Have a good week everyone.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY READERS!

The time has just flown and I haven't got around to writing a new post. Although I shall be away for Christmas visiting my daughter and her family in Germany, I still seem to have had a lot of things to buy. I am celebrating New Year with some friends and as I won't be back home until 30th December, I really needed to get a few things organised for that celebration.

I have nearly finished my packing. I am just taking a carry on bag as usual and it is always a bit of a struggle to cram everything in - especially as I get presents for my daughter's kids given to me to take to Germany. Travel light is my motto, and really I can buy almost anything that I might forget to pack and need (like deodorant or a toothbrush) when I get there.  I am looking forward to meeting up with former colleagues, drinking mulled wine at the Frankfurt Christmas market and catching up on all the news, the triumphs and disasters of my grandchildren. What a wonderful time Christmas is!

So a big HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all my readers.  I wish you all a peaceful, joy-filled time.