Prickle Forrest Chronicles December 2020 Newsletter

PRICKLE FORREST CHRONICLES

By Chrissy Hartmann

December 2020

It’s that time of year when snow covers the ground, the temperatures drop, and Father Time is dimming the lights and pulling down the shades of 2020. Mother Nature nestles into her down comforter with hot cocoa to review her notes of this past year. Jack has stepped in with his frosty mornings to the full-blown snowflake deluge here at the end of the month. And with all honesty, Father Time should have sped up things months ago or maybe better yet, skipped the whole thing. But alas, the year is finally coming to an end. Hallelujah! So if you’ve set a goal for writing or getting that book you’ve wanted to read for the past few months, now is the time to take on that task. Whichever you do, enjoy and see you next year!

Au revoir, 2020!

THE TOP FIVE

1. Gift giving.

2. Snowmen

3. Hot-hot Coffee.

4. Christmas romances.

5. White Elephant parties.

WIP IT… WIP IT GOOD…

To be honest, haven’t had much time to work on the latest book with the holiday and switching programs at work, plus let’s not forget to mention the update to JAWS.

Almost finished with Act I though. Maybe need to write one more video blog and two chapters, hoping to write one tonight. Thankful that the outline for this story is pretty detailed. Not too hard to write a 2500-word chapter once the fingers get tapping. The deadline for finishing this book might have to get pushed back to February. But going to work hard at getting it written by January 31st. Ha! Yeah going to need a miracle for that to happen, but it is the season for them. Believe it, and it can be done.

QUERYING…

Like above haven’t had much time to send some out. Haven’t heard back from the few sent in October, but still have a few weeks to get a response yet. Still got the fingers crossed, but they are getting quite cramped. Compiled another short list of perspective publishers to query to. Just got to get them submitted. Considering changing it up, but the query is written so much like the book don’t want to stray too far from it. Will consider it though… But, not changing anything yet.

THE CRAFT

This month’s writing tip…

Using the word “was” in a sentence tells the reader very little of what’s going on. Try to eliminate that word and replace it with a more descriptive verb or what some would call a “show verb”.

For example…

The dog was in the street.

Change to …

The dog stood in the street.

This helps eliminate the telling in your story. And it might add to your word count, but best of all, the reader gets a clearer picture of the story.

THE HOLIDAYS:

Love Christmas and New Year’s Eve just wish they were more than a week apart from each other. Jamming them into such a short period of time just doesn’t seem like enough time to enjoy it all, especially when one spends the first two to three weeks decorating baking, and shopping for gifts. Did get some wonderful cookie recipes this holiday. Definitely going to make them soon. As far as all are concerned, Christmas cookies are an anytime of the year cookie.

Did the white elephant party with the family again this year. Not as crowded, but just as fun. Not a fan of the gag gifts though. For one person to spend money on a quality gift for the event and then end up taking home a gift that will go directly into the trash just doesn’t seem fair. Yes, its understandable people want to have fun, but come on, this year the gag gifts were truly tasteless. In fact, once they were opened the receivers quit the white elephant exchange. Don’t blame them either. Hopefully next year the childish and tasteless prank gifts will be left in the car. Other than that one hiccup, Christmas was wonderful with all the snow coming down on Christmas Eve, at least six inches worth. Truthfully, anything, but a white Christmas is not favorited around here. Definitely could not live in Florida or California at Christmas. Hoping next year, we can go on a sleigh ride. Always wanted to do that during the holiday season. Now on to prepare for the New Year. Rumor has it that it’s going to be better than 2020, but in all honesty, what year hasn’t been better than this one?

MY BOOKSHELF:

1. A Christmas Bride and Christmas Beau by Mary Balogh

2. Happily This Christmas by Susan Mallery

3. Understanding Show, Don’t Tell And Really Getting It Skill Builder Series Book 1 by Janice Hardy

4. Rivet Your Readers With Deep Point Of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

SEASONAL FAVORITES:

SEASON: Winter…Brrr!

SPORTS TEAM: Buckeyes (Big 10 Champs) and Browns. (10-5, playoff bound) O! H! I! O!

COLOR: Dark Brown

CAUSE: The Seeing Eye 🦮

SONG: Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

FOOD: Baby bella cream cheese sausage stuffed mushrooms Yummy!

COCKTAILS: Beringer‘s White Merlot and Dry Champagne 🍾

FLOWER: Daisies and roses…better yet…both!

DID YOU KNOW…

Dexcom G6 is a fabulous continuous glucose monitor. No more finger pricks. This is almost like having the pancreas working on its own again. Provides a lot of freedom. One quick look at the app to see the blood sugar and you’re good to go. And if you want to dress your CGM up why not try an overlay patch from Expression Med?

Lots of great designs. Puppy paws, flowers, flags, shamrocks, etc. Check them out with the link below and get $5 off your firsts order. Hopefully you’ll love them too.

PRICKLERS OF THE MONTH..

• Cheaters, liars, thieves, hypocrites…In other words, DemoRats! 🐀

• Fake facts, censorship, fear tactics… In other words, DemoRats! 🐀

• Manipulators, corrupters, destructors, Fear mongers… In other words, DemoRats!🐀

THEY SAID…

“A business yields success not only for its owner but the whole nation. It drives the wheel of economy. And small businesses are essential to local economy.” – Unknown

HOMETOWN UPDATE:

• Looks like the locals are tired of the mask wearing. Not surprised either. After all, the virus infections are going up a little, but most important, the deaths from it haven’t. In fact, the survival rate across the nation is at 99+ percent. In fact the local paper, posted an article saying even though Rona infection is up, deaths are down and steadily falling.

• The schools might just reopen for students to go back to at the end of the holiday. But No definite plans have been announced yet and probably not until a day or two before the new semester starts.

• Happy to say the small businesses are holding their own for the most part. A few are closing, but not all due to COVID-19 or the lack of help from the government., but those two didn’t help either. The ones who are surviving are those who have come up with unique ways to keep their businesses going, but local support is a key factor. So Buy local and support the local businesses. #USESmallBusinesses #BuyLocal

INQUISITIVE MINDS…

The Muses want to know…

Do you prefer reading holiday themed novels only during the holidays or anytime of the year?

Please leave your comment below.

GOOSING OFF…

Goosie & Gander

After recuperating from last month’s feast Goosie and Gander located the perfect poinsettia flowers for Ivy and Fern. Then They had fun with Frosty the Snowgoose, Santa Goose, Elfie the Goose, and even managed to wrap a few presents and decorate the Christmas tree. At this moment, they are searching for the appropriate outfits for New Year’s Eve… but they’ll wait to show that off in the new year. So stay tuned…