Writing News: Small Town Christmas Romance

 

In November of last year, I finally tackled National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) after years avoiding it. Was thrilled to cross the finish line a few days early. 

The book has been edited and sent to beta readers. Feedback has been positive. Now, I am working on a query letter. Maybe there are enough small town Christmas romances out there, but I plan to add mine to the mix. 

Since I am a visual person, I created this mock book cover. Thought it was cute, but I was limited by images that were available. Would love to create something more realistic. Guess I will wait for that until a publisher picks it up. 

Are you ready for small town Christmas romances to hit the 2024 book market? What is one of your favorites? Which authors do you seek out in this genre? 

Christmas in the News: Hallmark, Netflix/NFL Deal, Steelers Versus Chiefs Christmas Game & Holiday Movie Review

 

Christmas had a mighty busy time over the last few days. We start off in Kentucky, Missouri, where it was announced the Hallmark Christmas Experience will be opening at Crown Center in November. The article states that this first-ever, immersive experience will be free and open to the public and have all the appeal of a Hallmark movie small town. You can read more here!

The New York Post reported that streaming service, Netflix, is set to pay $150 million to air two games on Christmas Day. You can read that article here.

Keeping with the NFL theme, TRIBLive reported that Steelers fans are anticipating the team will be playing the Chiefs on Christmas Day. Will there be a Taylor Swift sighting? Check out the article here. 

Finally, The Hollywood Reporter reviewed Christmas Eve in Miller's Point. Directed by Tyler Taormina, it tells the story of a large Italian family getting together for their annual winter celebration. You can read the review here.

What Christmas news are you most excited about?

Three Things to Do in May to Prepare for Christmas

 

There are 28 weeks or 200 days until Black Friday. As we in New England are planting our gardens, that seems so far off. But it will be here before you know it. If you do a little bit each month, that lessens the stress of the holidays. Here are three things to do in May to prepare for Christmas.

Shop for on sale craft supplies

When I stopped by JOANN's website, blanket yarn, sewing supplies, and buttons and threads were included in this week's ad. Hobby Lobby had t-shirts, yarn, and jewelry making supplies on sale. Michaels' website showed canvas and paint supplies on sale, deals on Cricut® materials, and frames on sale.

Make a family Christmas book reading list

Each year, I plan to read more seasonal titles between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Do I? Rarely. Use Goodreads or an online book wish list to add books you want to read, so that by November you can make a trip to the library or buy the ones off your list that you are sure you want to own.

Browse your cookbooks for recipes 

This is another thing I plan to do around the holidays that gets lost in the shuffle. If you take out your cookbooks now, you can bookmark the recipes you want to try. Especially if you will be making them for a party, you might want to try them ahead of time. Then, when November and December roll around, you will already have some menu ideas handy.

What are some other tasks in May you might want to tackle to prepare for Christmas?