Living the Dream

Like many of the traditions we’ve discussed so far, the Yule Log, which originally was an entire tree, not simply a branch or an large ivy wrapped log like below, originated in pagan celebrations, such as the Anglo Saxon fire ceremonies of the Winter Solstice and the Yule festivities of Scandanavian people. The Yule Log was brought into the home during the mid-winter festival, the large end set ablaze in the hearth. Our home is equipped with a woodburning fireplace, but while we do burn good-sized logs, I draw the line an an entire tree unless it’s been cut into suitable pieces.

Burning the Yule Log was popular not only in Scandanavia but in most of Northern Europe, including England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The log served the dual purpose of celebrating the rebirth of the sun since the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, usually December 21, had passed and to keep the fire burning while everyone overindulged in food and drink, feasting to excess. Since the log was so big, it lasted the entire period, meaning no one had to look after the fire while people celebrated. The Yuletime hangover was a real thing, heavily condemened by the early Christian church, but it wasn’t easy to stop people from enjoying themselves at the darkest time of the year.

As the Roman Empire grew, the Yule festivities merged with those of Saturnalia, the feast dedicated to the god Saturn, who was also the patron god of soldiers. Gradually Christianity replaced the old Roman religion, and in the fourth century when the Roman rulers created the Holy Roman Empire to spread catholicism, they dictated that December 25th would be the day they celebrated the birth of Christ. To make the new religion more palatable, they incorporated a number of pagan celebrations into the event– including the Persian festival honoring Mithra, the god of light and Saturn the god of agriculture. They even managed to place the Feast of Epiphany, the visit of the Magi on the twelth day of the pagan Yule celebration.

Throughout the Middle ages, people continued to use Yule Logs in various fashions. By the seventeenth century, celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas, the period between the birth of Christ and the Magi’s arrival, and the Yule Log were very much an integral part of the Christmas celebration. Robert Herrick, a seventeenth century writer described the fanfare that surrounded the arrival of the yule log. In England, a group of young men would carry it into the house with ceremony and singing.

In parts of France, cutting down the tree to be used as the Yule Log was a family affair, with a small portion of the log burned each of the Twelve Nights. Whatever was left over from the log was taken out of the hearth after the last night and kept safe in the house until the next Christmas when it would be used as kindling for the new Yule Log. People believed the burned log would protect the house from lightning strikes and fire. In the Netherlands, the log was kept under the bed for good luck–not the safest practice I’m sure. The ashes were saved and come spring, they were scattered over the fields to protect the new plants and fertilize the soil.

None of this sounds very Christian. In truth, it wasn’t. Over the years, the practice of burning the Yule Log has changed. With the advent of different methods to heat the home, burning trees indoors wasn’t practical. Instead, the Yule Log became more ornamental. Instead of burning the log, candles are placed atop it and burned instead. The candles can be almost any color.

Like in the past, the candlelight celebrates the return of the sun and the longers days leading to the arrival of spring.

Today, to many people, the Yule Log is better known as Bûche De Noël, Yule Log, in French and a dessert enjoyed by many at Christmas. IInterested in making one of your own? Here’s a step-by-step demonstration.

 

So there you have today’s pagan celebration incorporated into Christmas. Come back tomorrow for another Christmas Fact.

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We’re all familiar with the concept of a jolly, white-bearded man in a red suit who flies through the skies on Christmas Eve delivering presents to all the good boys and girls around the world. No matter how you picture him, Santa Claus, aka Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas, is a familiar figure at Christmas time. This image, taken by me a couple of years ago shows a Victorian Santa.

But did you know that today’s Santa has pagan origins, too?

Much of the information in today’s post is credited to Judith Gabriel Vinje from Los Angeles who posted parts of this in an article for the Norwegian American in December 2014.

The belief in a beared man flying through the night sky most likely dates back to the Norse and Germanic mythology. The various people of Northern Europe celebrated a holiday called Yule, which took place midwinter around the winter solstice. In many ways, Santa may owe his very existance to the Norse god Odin, but he’s certainly changed over the years, changing not only his appearance but going from a powerful and terrifying Viking god to a fat, jolly good natured man.

The next few paragraphs are taken directly from the article.

Odin was chief among the Norse pagan deities. (We still remember him in the day of the week named for him, Wednesday, Woden’s Day.) He was spiritual, wise, and capricious. In centuries past, when the midwinter Yule celebration was in full swing, Odin was both a terrifying specter and an anxiously awaited gift-bringer, soaring through the skies on his flying eight-legged white horse, Sleipnir.

Back in the day of the Vikings, Yule was the time around the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21. Gods and ghosts went soaring above the rooftops on the Wild Ride, the dreaded Oskoreia. One of Odin’s many names was Jólnir (master of Yule). Astride Sleipnir, he led the flying Wild Hunt, accompanied by his sword-maiden Valkyries and a few other gods and assorted ghosts.

The motley gang would fly over the villages and countryside, terrifying any who happened to be out and about at night. But Odin would also deliver toys and candy. Children would fill their boots with straw for Sleipnir, and set them by the hearth. Odin would slip down chimneys and fire holes, leaving his gifts behind. Sound familiar?

With the advent of Christianity, participating in any pagan celebrations was forbidden. Yule was changed to a celebration of the birth of the Christ child and Odin gradually faded from the picture and the celebration.

The first person to take Odin’s place was St. Nicholas, a Greek bishop from the 4th century, usually dressed in a flowing red cloak. He became the patron saint of gift-giving in most parts of the world, but not in Scandinavia.

In many parts of Scandinavia, including Norway, neither St. Nicholas nor Santa Claus are the most common Christmas gift-giving icons. That honour belongs to julenisse, a creature found in Scandinavian folklore, a nisse, called a tomte in Sweden, is a gnome-like, short creature with a long white beard and a red hat. Nisse were a lot like the elves who helped the shoemakker in the fairy tale. During the year, they helped farmers with their chores, but on Christmas Eve they entered the houses through the front door and left gifts for the family. But Nisse were temperamental creatures, and if the family forgot to leave him bowl of porridge with butter in it on Christmas Eve — the spirit might turn against his friends and that could be a lot worse than a lump of coal in a stocking.

With the Reformation, Saint Nick and all the other sainbts were pushed aside in most places but not in the Netherlands. There he became Sinterklaas, a wise old man with a white beard, white dress, and red cloak who surprisingly rode thtough the skies on his magical eight-legged white horse, delivering gifts down the chimney to the well-behaved children on Dec. 6, also known as St. Nicholas Day. Do you see the mixing of pagan and Christian traditions here? He arrives with his helper Zwarte Piet who keeps track of all the good girls and boys.

Time passed and when the Europeans came to North America, they brought their traditions with them. While the Dutch brought Sinterklass, the English Father Christmas, the French brought Père Noël  or Papa Noël who came down from the heavens and delivered toys and gifts. Before going to bed on Christmas Eve, children would fill their shoes with carrots and treats for Père Noël’s donkey, Gui, the French word for Mistletoe. Père Noël would accept the food and replace it with gifts small enough to fit inside the shoes. In some parts of France, notably Alsace and Lorraine, Belgium, Switzerland, and some areas in Eastern Europe, on December 6, Le Père Fouettard, a sinister figure clothed in black travels with St. Nicholas and spanks those boys and girls who’ve misbehaved throughout the year. I grew up in a French Canadian home with Père Noël although mine looked a lot like my English friends’ Santa Claus.

Today, much of the tradition we associate with Santa Claus comes from the poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement C. Moore. Odin and Sinterklaas’s eight-legged horse has morphed into eight flying reindeer–nine if you add Rudolph. The nisse have become elves who work at the North Pole making toys, and Santa eats milk and cookies, not buttered porridge.

Today’s image of Santa owes a lot to the Coca-Cola company advertizing. In 1931, they gave us the image of the jolly, old elf we are most familiar with.

For years now, I’ve collected various Santas. He changes from year to year and country to country, but in the end, he still brings joy and laughter, candy and gifts, to children everywhere.

So there you have it. Come back tomorrow to see what new fact I’ll have to share.

Another Christmas tradition rooted in paganism is the act of gift-giving. Think it started because of the gifts of the Magi? Think again.

The custom of giving gitfs at Christmas originated with Saturnalia, the Roman feast celebrating the god Saturn.

Unlike the mega shopping blitz of today, Saturnalia gifts were small and given for luck. It was also considered proper to give charity to those less fortunate, something that contiunues to be popular at this time of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8mjRxkMBkE

As Christianity grew in the Roman territories, the custom of gift-giving moved over to New Year’s Day. In the 4th century, the church made December 25th the official birthday for Jesus, and tied the tradition of giving gifts to those presented by the Magi–gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The song, We Thrre Kings clearly explains the symbolism of each gift.

They tied that Biblical incident to the legend of Saint Nicholas a fourth-century Christian bishop who was known for his generous gift-giving. Gradually, the practice of giving gifts became a part of Christmas celebrations.

Not every ruler interpreted the practice the same way, and some saw it as a time to gather tributes and tithes during that period. The story of Good King Wenceslas changed that thinking. Soon gift-giving to superiors was replaced by gifts to children. In some countries, gifts were exchanged on other days than Christmas itself. For some, gifts were given on December 6, St. Nicholas Day, while others were given on New Year’s Eve. The custom of gift giving at Christmas was given a boost by books such as A Visit From St. Nicholas and Dickens, A Christmas Carol. In fact some gave gifts on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Today’s custom of giving gifts got a real boost from the Coca-Cola company in the 1930s, but that’s tomorrow’s story.

While the beginning of giving gifts might have started small, today it is a billion dollar industry that can make or break a company. Now people try to outdo one another in a frenzy of mass consumerism and greed.

See you tomorrow.

My favorite part of the Christmas season has always been listening to the festive music and singing along, whether it be in my car, in church, or just in the house while I do chores.

There are two kinds of Christmas songs: the religious ones like Silent Night, O Holy Night, Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, and many others, and the secular ones like White Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, and too many more to list.

This is one of my favorite songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9kfdEyV3RQ

But the tradition of singing Christmas carols is actually another one borrowed from paganism and incorporated into our modern Christmas traditions.

The idea of singing songs at this time of year goes back to pre-Christian era fertility rites where in those celebrations, villagers went through fields and orchards singing and shouting in an effort to rid the land of evil spirits that could prevent a good crop come spring. While the church tried to put a stop to all pagan celebrations, in the end they found it easier to simply switch the idea of celebrating the Winter Solstice to celebrating the birth of the promised Messiah.

The oldest known Christmas carol originated in France in the 4th century. Jesus Refulsit Omnium (Jesus, Light of All the Nations). Another from the same era came from Spain Corde natus ex Parentis (Of the Father’s Love Begotten). The Friendly Beasts a carol still sung today was written in France in the 12th century. The French continued to create Christmas music with Entre le bœuf et l’âne gris (Between the Ox and the Grey Donkey) from the 13th century. Another carol, this one from the 14th century, In dulci jublio (In sweet rejoicing)/ Good Christian Men, Rejoice) was rooted in Germany and is also still sung in churches. And did you know the original words to Adeste Fideles, (O Come, All Ye Faithful) were written in the 13th century? But the most popular version is from the mid-eighteenth century. Although they had carols, singing Christmas songs in churches wasn’t a thing until the 13th century when St. Francis thought it might be a good idea.

So, how did the practice of caroling gain popularity? Well, add a little booze, and anything even going door to door on a dark winter night has its appeal. The practice of Christmas caroling started another tradition, wassailing, when people went door to door singing and drinking to the health of their neighbors.

Wassail, pronounced WOSS-ul, is another name for hot mulled cider, a beverage that can trace its origins to the Old Norse word, ves heil  which meant be healthy! During the middle ages the act of “wassailing” irequired serfs and peasants to visit their feudal lords and receive food and drink in exchange for a blessing.

That activity inspired various songs such as Here We Come A-Wassailing and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. So, from going to get a hot drink and figgy pudding, we have people going door to door to sing and entertain. If you’ve ever been caroling, you’ll know how much fun it can be.

And there you have it, another Christmas tradition born in the distant past. Drop by tomorrow for a look at another Christmas tradition.

Hello again. Today’s Christmas tradition owes its origin primarily to the Celts and Druids, although a number of other cultures had a hand in it, too.

Mistletoe was an important part of several pagan cultures. To some, the white berries symbolized male fertility because they thought the seeds resembled male ejaculate–gross right? The Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm” since oak trees, also sacred to Celts and Druids, were often home to the parasitic, poisonous plants.

According to Pliny, a Roman author, mistletoe played a significant role in Druidic beliefs, specifically as a key component in a ritual known as oak and mistletoe. The Druid priest climbed an oak tree and removed the sacred mistletoe growing there. Afterwards they used the mistletoe to create a drug whose purpose was two-fold. First, it cured infertility and then mitigateed the effects of its poison. According to evidence recovered from bodies found in bogs, the Celts did ingest mistletoe, possibly as some sort of medicine or as part of a ritualistic human sacrifice, surprisingly a practice banned by the Romans and replaced with the sacrificing of white bulls– good for people, not so good for the cattle. Acvording to the Aeneid, Aeneas consumed mistletoe berries to get to the underworld so that he could visit his father’s ghost and see the future.

Stepping across the North Sea, Norse Mythology also laid claim to mistletoe, pointing out that Loki, the trickster got the blind god Hodur to murder his own twin Balderby shooting him with an arrow made from mistle toe wood, the only wood that could kill him. In some versions of the story, mistletoe became a symbol of peace and friendship to atone with its part in the murder.

That aspect must’ve been what the Romans gleaned from their pagan neighbors because to them, mistletoe became a symbol of peace, love, and understanding. They hung it over their doorways as a way to protect the household.

So how does any of this make it part of our Christmas traditions? During the Middle Ages, long after Chritianity had taken root in Europe, mistletoe continued to be associated with fertility and vitality, as well as a means of protecting themselves from witches and demons. The easiest way to get this protection was to kiss under it. By the 18th century, kissing under the mistletoe was popular among the servants in England, possibly because they though themselves more vulnerable to demons.

The servants in Victorian England are credited with continuing the tradition of kissing under the mitletoe, even adding to it, claiming people were expected to kiss under it and find true love.The rule didctated that any man could kiss any woman standing underneath mistletoe, and if that woman refused the kiss, she would be earn herself some bad luck. One variation of the tradition stated that each time someone kissed, they had to remove one of the white berries from the sprig of mistletoe. Once all the berries were gone, so was the mistletoe’s magic. 

Did you know that mistletoe is the floral emblem of Oklahoma?  Every year, in Tenbury Wells, a town in Herefordshire, holds an annual mistletoe festival and chooses a Mistletoe Queen. Today, kissing under the mistletoe is ingrained in our Christmas tradtions and found in many of our Christmas songs. Enjoy a different take on one of those songs. Come back tomorrow to learn about another of our Christmas traditions.

Welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tales. Today’s word prompt is PERSUASIVE. I’m beginning a new book, one which will be released in the spring. The title is Royal Flush. Meet my newest characters, Pearl and Kyle. They have a lot of adventure ahead of them. Enjoy!

“Can I get you anything else?” If this guy was from around here, where had he been hiding?

“How about a piece of lemon meringue pie and more coffee?” he asked, his gaze filled with interest as he eyed me from head to toe. Normally scrutiny like that bothered me, but his didn’t. Could it be because I found him fascinating, too?

I nodded and moved to refill his cup, then cut him a generous slice of pie. Maggie would probably dock my pay for it, but I didn’t care. The longer I could keep handsome here, the better I liked it.

“Here you go.” I placed the pie in front of him, hoping to strike up a conversation now that most of the breakfast crowd were gone. “You must be new in town. I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

He chuckled. “I could say the same about you. I was raised here but left about ten years ago to spread my wings. I figured it was time to come home and visit what’s left of the family. And, since you look vaguely familiar, I will apologize for ignoring you all those years ago.”

I laughed. “If that’s your best pickup line, it needs work.”

“Maybe I’m just out of practice,” he answered, giving me a ‘please take pity on me’ smile and dropping his eyes to my name tag. “So, what have you been up to all these years, Pearl?”

“This and that,” I answered the way I usually did when someone asked.

“So cryptic. You can do better than that. Let me start. “I’m Kyle Stapleton. I was born and raised in Forest Falls and left a few years ago to seek fame and fortune in the big city.”

I cocked my head. “Did you find it?”

“Find what?”

“Fame and fortune, silly, fame and fortune.” I leaned against the inside counter and crossed my arms over my chest.

“To some extent. So what’s your story?”

I chuckled nervously. “I’m Pearl Wisemen. I left the big city in search of quiet and peace,” I said, knowing that might be part of the truth by not all of it.

“And did you find it?” His voice had a persuasive quality to it as if he hoped to get me to reveal my secrets. If only he could.

“To some extent,” I mumbled echoing his words.

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales

Many of the Christmas traditions we adhere to each year are actually based on pagan celebrations, notably those belonging to the Romans, Celtics, Norse, and Druids.  Let’s start with the Christmas tree itself.

Early Europeans, many of whom were nature worshippers of one form or another, began decorating their houses with evergreen branches long before the arrival of the Messiah as a way to add color and brightness to their homes during the longest days of the winter season. No doubt it improved the aroma, too. For the Romans, that time occured between December 17 and December 23 as a way to honour the God Saturn, not the mightiest of the gods, but a deity of great importance.

Post Christianity, Christmas trees became a symbol of the holy birth as well as the Trinity, but those trees didn’t look a lot like ours. Why? Because they hung upside down from the ceiling. This practice originated in the middle ages when Saint Boniface, a Benedictine monk, first used the tree as a ‘show and tell’ object in his lessons to pagan Germanic tribes.The idea was popular right into the nineteenth century, especially among the working poor who hung trees from their rafters for both religious and secular reasons. Houses were small, lacking floor space. Upside down Christmas trees are actually seeing a comback, and when you consider houses with pets and small children, that makes sense, but I think I’ll stick to mine.

The people who resided in what is now southern Poland were especially proud of their podłazniczek tradition. They used fruit, nuts, candies wrapped in colorful material, straw, ribbons, and painted pine cones to decorate spruce trees dangling from the celing in the middle of the room. Eventually, more home and handmade decorations were added. In many homes, that tradition continues today.

Our modern version of a Christmas tree had another beginning, one also found in Germany. Religious plays were popular during the medieval era. Among them was one depicting Adam and Eve’s fall from grace and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. One of its props was an evergreen called a paradise tree, decorated with apples–the forbidden fruit–and wafers, symbolizing Christ as communion wafers The people would set these paradise trees inside their homes on December 24th. Eventually apples were replaced by balls and wafers gave way to cookies, ribbon, and pinecones.  

Those who didn’t have trees might have a Christmas pyramid instead.  These items weren’t actually shapped like pyramids They were a type of carousel which turned because of the heat generated by candles. You may even have seen one and not known what it was. Some of the Christmas pyramids were relatively plain, and depicted religious images, while others were more elaborate and focused on everyday life. Christmas pyramids remain popular today. But, for the most part, the paradise tree and Christmas pyramid merged into what we call a Christmas tree today.

The tree evolved once more in the sixteenth cetury when Martin Luther placed candles in the branches to symbolize the stars in heaven. What a fire hazard that must’ve been! Today, most trees are decorated with electric lights, some of them all white like candles would’ve been, others multicored. My tree can be programmed for either, but then, for a number of reasons, I have an artificial tree.another evolution.

This picture of me and my mother–I was four–was taken in front of my grandmother’s tree. My grandfather would go out and find the perfect tree, usually a spruce, and then he would spray paint it all white. To me this indoor snowcovered tree was an incredibel sight to see. How bright the colored bulbs seemed, surrounded by angel hair to protect the tree from catching fire. The balls were all made of glass and super delicate. I still have a few hanging from the branches of my own tree.

Today, while green appears to be the most popular color for both real and artifical pines. anything is possible. You can find then in all shapes and colors. Remember Mrs. Trump’s red trees? I’ve seen pink, and purple, too. They aren’t all real, although if you like your tree up for the entire Christmas season, then an artificial one may well be the safest. These lovely decorations brighten our homes at the dreariest time of year. Given the pandemic and all of the other horrors we’ve faced the last two years, it could well explain why decorating earlier than ever was the theme this year.

So, is your tree up yet? How do you decorate it? Do you give it a theme, select a colour scheme? Or like me, is your tree full of memories of the significant events in your life. And if your traditions don’t involve a Christmas tree, what is your most signifigant item/ event that gets you though the darkest days of winter?

I have several holiday themed romances for you to enjoy.

Check them out on my website, https://mhsusannematthews.ca/

Come back tomorrow for another Christmas tradition.

Welcome to December and other Tuesday Tales. It’s cold here nad we have a dusting of snow with I’m sure lots more to come. Presents are wrapped and I’m getting closer to being ready for the holidays each day. This week, our word prompt is FABRIC. I’m continuing with Forever in my Heart but this will be the last snippet from the story since I’m hoping to have it released before Christmas.

Once Mike and Liz Faraday left the room, Callie finished her wine and nibbled absently on the remaining hors d’oeuvres, trying to make sense of this mess. And it was a mess. She stared at the envelope, not sure she could open it to look inside. She would have to, sooner or later, but maybe she could wait a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or in the words of Buzz Lightyear, “to infinity and beyond.” Just because Cassie had left it for her didn’t mean she had to read it. She’d ignored dozens of her letters in the past.

God, Cassie. How I wish you were here so that I would never have to face this dilemma.

It wasn’t that the prospect of mothering her twin nieces and living here with Mike was unappealing. Just the opposite. Those babies had wormed their way inside her heart the second she’d laid eyes on them. And Mike? Her intense attraction to him complicated matters. How could she live under the same roof as him, knowing she wanted him the way she did? A sensation as alien to her as this resort was. She wasn’t frigid, and she’d enjoyed sex with Brett, but this feeling, this blind need to be with him—a perfect stranger—made no sense. It destroyed the fabric of her life, of her dreams and aspirations for the future, and yet it felt as if it were destined to be. Could it simply be the result of residual feelings from her time with Luke, and if that was the case, would being with Mike be any different that being with Brett? She’d loved Luke with everything in her and now, faced with his twin …

Too agitated to sit still, she walked around the family room, examining the mementos displayed there, waiting for the housekeeper to return. She couldn’t blame Mike for leaving her like this. As a veterinarian, his patients would always come first.

On the floor to ceiling bookcase, among the books, she found a few of Luke’s trophies for various sporting achievements, several pictures of the twin boys at a variety of ages, as well as one of Iris and Rose in what had to be christening gowns. On another shelf stood Cassie and Luke’s wedding picture. They’d looked so happy. How were they to know they would barely have four years together?

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales

Welcome to December! Here in the north, we’re waiting for fall to give way to winter. It seems this has been the shortest year that I can ever recall but a productive one. We are a little closer to a new normal, but many things have changed and many more will never be the same.

This month’s question is: In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?

What stresses me the most is coming up with something new that will be unique and different and yet still be marketable. There are thousands upon thousands of books out there, in more genres and subgenres than I can name. Some are more popular than others, but in the end, they all have a fan base. The key is to discover your niche of readers and writing a book they’ll want to read. What delights me is when I’ve succeeded, when someone reads one of my books and tells me how much they’ve enjoyed it and how they’re looking forward to reading more of my work.

As a pantser, I don’t outline my books, so often when the story starts, I’m not sure where it will go, other than the fact that good will triumph, and there will be a happy ending. That method of writing can be stressful, especially when I hit a wall or a roadblock. Then I need to go back and see where I went off the rails to bring the storyline back into focus. For example, in my suspense novels, the hero will eventually catch the villain, save the day, and find love. In The Harvester Series, it takes four books to take down the organizations and stop the one responsible for the deaths and end other threats, but in each book, one villain is stopped, people rescued, and one couple falls in love. In my romance novels, whatever conflict is keeping the hero and heroine apart is resolved and they find their happily ever after, in my chick-lit, the heroine will work her way through the situation, encountering a few humorous situations along the way to her haapily for now, in my historical novels, the crisis will be resolved and life will move on with love at the heart of it, while in my paranormal novels, good will triumph over evil. So while writing this way can be stressful, completing the book, bringing the charcters through countless situations that I couldn’t predict or imagine when I started writing the story is extremely satisfying.

I’ve tried to write with a outline and failed dismally, which was enormously stressful. The best way for me to do it is my way. How about you? What stresses you in your writing?

Wishing you all a happy holiday season, regardless of which of the many end of year holidays you celebrate.

Check out other IWSG posts here: https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Welcome to this week’s edition of Tuesday Tales. Wow! November’s over and done and we’re moving on to December. We got our first snowfall last Friday. It was only a couple of inches, but it’s sticking around. Are you ready for Christmas? My tree is up and the house is decorated, but I’m far from ready.

This week’ word prompt is ANNOYING. I’m continuing with my holiday romance, Forever in my Heart.

After Cal left, Mike stood, not sure how to continue what was a sensitive subject. He wanted to convince her to stay here, get to know him and the girls, give them a chance to be the family Luke and Cassie had wanted them to be, but how hard could he push? “More wine?” he asked, picking up the bottle. “Molly won’t be serving dinner for another couple of hours. That’s why Liz Faraday brought out the appetizers.”

“Sure.” She held out her glass. “Alcohol makes everything brighter, right? I don’t have much of an appetite right now anyway, but the Merlot is good.”

Mike frowned. Small talk? Polite strangers discussing the quality of the wine? This wasn’t what he wanted, but maybe it was what she needed, and he had to back off. The last thing he wanted was to be annoying, but damn it, they really didn’t have all that much time.

Callie sat once more, placing the manila envelope on the table and extending her wine glass. “Besides, once I open that,” she indicated the envelope, “I doubt I’ll be in the mood for food or company.”

He nodded and refilled her glass, wishing Cal had waited to give her that. Hadn’t she been through enough today?

Liz Faraday returned carrying a portable phone. “Excuse me for interrupting, Mike, but Clint’s on the line. It looks as though Snowdrop is in active labor, and he’s worried about her.” She extended the phone to him.

His responsibility to the animal kicked in, and he was all business. “I’m sorry. I need to take this. Snowdrop was Cassie’s mare. She isn’t due for another three weeks, but she’s carrying twins. We’ve been monitoring her closely, but things change quickly in a case like this.” He grabbed the phone. “Yeah, Clint … You’re sure? … I’m on my way.” He ended the call, handed the phone to the housekeeper, before turning to Callie once more. “I’m afraid you’ll be on your own for dinner. Liz can show you around the family quarters and then take you up to your room. Len should’ve brought up your suitcase by now.” He turned to his housekeeper. “Liz, can you make sure Callie gets dinner? Tell Molly I’ll get something to eat up at the bunkhouse? It’s going to be a long night.”

He hated leaving her like this. Cassie was gone, but he would be damned if anyone or anything else died.

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales