Month: December 2016

2016 Gift Guide for Readers and Writers

This is not a sponsored post. There are no affiliate links and I was not asked to write this. I will get no money, whether you buy any of these things or not.

Are you doing your holiday shopping yet? I am, and I hate it. Every other year I’ve known just what my kids want. This year they have no idea, so I have no idea. It’s not a fun place to be.

Since I can’t help myself, I’ll try to help you. If you have a writer on your shopping list, at least.

Now, I did this same thing last year. Here’s a link. So I’m going to stretch out a bit and give you ideas for the readers in your life as well. Because, let’s be honest, no one’s a writer who isn’t also a reader. I will, again, be giving you two guides. One that will cost you money dollars, and one that will cost you only time. Here we go.

Gifts for readers that cost no money, only time.

  • Promise them, right now, that you will give them free reign to gush about their favorite book for a pre agreed to amount of time. Even better, read their favorite book.
  • This one might be big, because there are some big book movies coming out. Allow one ‘this movie sucks, the book was so much better’ rant.
  • If there are little ones in the house, promise some time without the little ones to read in peace.
  • Be a shoulder to cry on when their favorite character dies. Notice I don’t say if.
  • Find them a bookish wallpaper from one of the hundreds of free wallpaper sites. It costs no money at all, but it does save the reader time.

Gift for writers that cost no money.

  • Double a recipe and freeze half, then take it to your favorite writer.
  • Make a promise that you won’t use the phrase ‘real job’ even once in 2017. In fact, go ahead and promise never to use that phrase again.
  • Install Open Office for them. It takes some time, but it’s shareware, so it’s no money. It’s compatible with everything, and it’s the writing software that I use.
  • Take down their decorations for them, or do some other chore for them that they despise.
  • If you’re artistically inclined, draw a picture of one of their characters.

Gifts for readers that cost money dollars.

  • The Magical Art of Tiding Up. I recommend this book because, if you follow it, you only have to clean your house one more time, ever. Think of all the reading time you’ll have!
  • This cute little snail tea bag holder. I despise losing the little paper tag in my tea cup.
  • If you really love your reader, get them an E-reader or tablet. I love mine; it enables me to carry a whole bookshelf around in my purse. What reader doesn’t dream of that?
  • Get them a copy of your favorite book. This is a special, intimate gift that I think everyone should give people they love at least once. More times if you’ve known them longer and your favorite changed. Since I can’t buy a hundred copies of a book, I’ll tell you all that my favorite book is The Giver. If you haven’t read it, you should.

Gifts for writers that cost money dollars.

I hope this helps you in your gift giving pursuits. I can tell you that I have everything on that last list, and I appreciate them all.

Did I miss any great gifts? Let me know in the comments below!

6

Tell Me Something Good

You know how sometimes you think something’s going to take way longer than it actually does? You know how you feel when you’ve waited your whole life for something, and then it finally comes? That’s how I feel today. I have some epic news.

Broken Patterns is coming out on December 16.

Yes, if you follow me on social media, you already know that. But not all of you do, so there you have it. I’ll be providing links as soon as I get them.

I wanted to tell you all about my awesome publisher, Solstice Press. They’ve been so awesome through this whole process. I loved my editor, loved everyone I worked with on this. It’s so weird actually having someone to work with, after going it alone for Seeming.

Please, don’t think this was a quick process. Broken Patterns took me years to write, polish and prepare. Even with that it took months to go through edits and get everything prepared. It’s very much been like caring for a fruit tree for years and years. Now, it’s ready to bear fruit.

Here’s the thing, though. These two books, Broken Patterns and Seeming, they’ve been two bright spots in what has otherwise been a really dark year. But they aren’t the only good things to come out of this year. Here’s a list of things that happened that were really great in 2016, that kind of got overshadowed by the bad.

  • Suicide Squad.
  • Star Trek, Beyond.
  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
  • Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them.
  • Hamilton.
  • I went to my first Penguin’s game.
  • Two of my friends had babies.
  • One of my friends got engaged.
  • I ended up not having a serious heart condition.
  • I finally signed up for the Y like I’ve been meaning to.
  • Penguins won the Stanly Cup.
  • Three of my friends bought their first houses.
  • I finally signed the kids up for football.
  • Finding Dory
  • The Secret Life of Pets.
  • New M&M flavors.

I need some help from you all, now. What happened this year that was good? What made your life or the world in general, a better place this year?

And don’t forget to get your copy of Broken Patterns on December 16th!

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