As much I wish I could just write and read all the time, life gets in the way - day job, family, book promotion (Travelers), house work. But, I have 7 glorious days off from work, plus two weekends. That's 11 days of unencumbered time. My holiday to do list - write, read, hang with fam, repeat. I hope to get a lot of all 3 done. So, here's what's on my reading list.
I spent day 2 in NYC traveling around the city with my book, The Travelers, it's side kick Jane Bennet (see yesterdays blog as to why we brought her along) and my daughter's dance company (aka, a group of teen and preteen girls obsessed with dance). It was a day filled with an interesting mix of nostalgia and discovering things about NYC I never knew!
The Travelers took a little tour of New York City along with the dance company my daughter is a part of (C4 Dance Company) yesterday. (I luckily got to come with them!) The Travelers also had a little pal. (Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice Zombies.) She shares the same last name as the main characters in my book (Dagny Bennet and her family). She's also a sassy girl from a fantasy book with connections to the past, like my book. Plus, I have a recent obsession with POP figurines. So she seemed like a great side kick for our little trip through the city. It all began Sunday night...
No sleep till...Well, not Brooklyn. But we did stay up late getting into Manhattan last night. I think that's close enough that I had to quote the Beastie Boys song. So, now, I'm happily in Manhattan, my former home. (I did live in Brooklyn for a little bit in a tiny apartment with an oddly huge, completely pink bathroom. Only in NYC people.) This is the first place I tried a knish. The first place I went to a professional basketball game. (My husband had season tickets to the Knicks once upon a time.) The place my daughter was born. If I'm being honest, when I left the area, I left a little bit of my heart behind. NYC will always feel like home to me. In honor of my trip here, are some of my favorite movies and books set in NYC.
Christmas traditions have changed over the years. In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous, apparently lot like today’s Mardi Gras. From 1659 to 1681, Christmas was even outlawed in Boston. (Puritans were not fans of the celebration.) Christmas traditions themselves also changed over time, many finding their roots in ancient Pagan rituals.
Now, I may be wrong, but the preponderance of memes out there makes me think there is a certain stereotype about book clubs. In other words, people think book clubs are just filled with bored housewives who use the term "book club" as a code word for getting together to drink and gossip. Well, I'm here to set the record straight.
Buying gifts can be stressful. If you're like me you fret about giving people the perfect gift. I like my gifts to be meaningful. Honestly, if someone makes a wishlist that's the best. But, not everyone does and if it's a wishlist available to multiple people, then you risk giving duplicate gifts. So how do you pick the best gift for someone?
Today's T-shirt Tuesday is actually not inspired by one of my husband's t-shirts. However, he did buy it for my daughter because of her rather large obsession with unicorns. I'm pretty sure she doesn't actually think they're real. But, she may...and maybe she's not completely wrong...
K.L. Kranes 