I've got an excuse – well three actually – in addition to getting ready to eat drink and make merry, I've also been deeply engrossed in Alesha Escobar's fantastic novel, Dark Rift, you can read my review on this site and of course my interview with Alesha. A magnificent imagination, a brilliant story.
To entertain my young neighbour, I also downloaded a copy of "Lionel's Christmas Adventure" – while her mum and I chatted, Molly giggled out loud as she read on my kindle. As soon as they were gone, I had to read this one – Paul Hewlett has created a delightful character in Lionel, and I thoroughly recommend downloading this to your kindle to share with young friends and family. Not last, and definitely not least, the fantastic Charlie Plunkett (of True Diaries fame) published a tribute to children – her "100 little words on Parenthood" was published – at time of writing this blog it's currently free – so grab a copy. An amazing idea to round up parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts and collect their best memories of the significant children in their lives – all captured in 100 words, and Charlie has not only sorted these into easy to dip in and out of chapters, but she's also added apt quotations from celebrities and authors, past and present. Don't miss this one!
Last, and least! I spent some time when I should have been wrapping presents polishing off a short story – Crombie's Christmas – the bane of the Celtic Cousins' lives is stuck in Italy for Christmas – when all he wants to do is go home – told in 3,300 words with a humorous slant – Crombie picks a fight with the wrong cat, finally thinks of the very last word – too late – but then gets the best Christmas present of all!
Right now, Crombie's Christmas is free & will be until midnight 30th December – a belated present from me to you! Thank you to everyone who's taken time to review or tweet via twitter that you've enjoyed reading my little stories – believe me it's even more fun writing them!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy New Year, let's hope 2013 is one of the best yet!