Mam's Birthday + The #WinterSolstice & #Christmas 2021 + Wishing You A Happy #NewYear

It was my Mam's birthday on December 19th.  She wanted a birthday cake I could have some of, so I made her a vegan one. It's a two layer ginger cake with vanilla buttercream icing between the layers, and pink icing in various shades on the top and sides, some of which spells out the words, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAM" with a couple of little hearts below the writing.  Here's a photo:

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I forgot to have Kelly take a photo of the fake mistletoe hanging above our living room doorway when he did our holiday decoration photos, so here's a photo of that:

Also, we got a pine reef for the door, so here's a photo of that too:

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As you may or may not know, Kelly and I celebrate the Winter Solstice, so for us the holidays kick off a couple of days early.  But the rest of the family celebrates Christmas, so most years we end up doing both.  This year was one of those years.  We had our own celebration on the 21st of December, exchanged gifts with my Mam Christmas Eve, and exchanged gifts with my Dad and Wayne (one of my brothers) on Boxing Day.  In between those things I was involved in various festive calls with the ACB, including a virtual tree lighting on Christmas Eve, which was great fun.

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Lilie was really excited when she realized Santa Paws had been, and eager to get hold of whatever treats he'd left for her.  Logan was rather confused by the whole thing, but eager to accept any treats and toys on offer.  Logan's always happy to be involved if there's something in it for him, even if he's not sure what's going on - especially if that something involves treats.

Anyway, here are our stockings and gift bags all set out on the chair and sofa ready for us to open.  There's a gift bag and stocking each for me and Kelly, and a gift bag and two stockings between the petkids (one stocking is for Lilie and Logan, one is for Mollie and Artemis, and the bag is for all of them).

 

 

 

And here's a clip we took when Lilie realized Santa Paws had been:

The dogs also got some tennis balls, and some squeaky snowballs...

As well as a toy goose each that's a cross between a cuddly toy with a squeaker in it and a rope tuggy toy, which I'm giving to them in this next photo:

Plus a honking pig toy each, which I didn't get photos of them with, and a load of treats, including the rawhide candy canes I'm giving them in the first of these next photos, which they're each enjoying in the two following it (at least, that's how it will be if these post in the order I'm uploading them).

Mollie and Artemis got some raisins and some dried rosepetals to share.  Mollie also got a willow reef to gnaw on.  I didn't end up getting photos of Mollie and Artemis though.

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As for me...

I got a potter's wheel and some clay to use with it, bath/shower stuff, plenty of vegan friendly treats, a whole load of Burrows & Badgers figures to add to my collection, a snuggly blanket, a bird sounds CD, two pairs of Disney socks (Dumbo and Eeyore) and some money.

I also got this Discworld themed bookmark and cuddly toy of "The Luggage" (a character from the series that's basically a magical trunk with loads of legs on its underside that gets in to mischief)...

A black "Witches Brew" teapot...

A wooden ornamental Hogwarts Express...

An oil/wax melts burner with oils and wax melts to use with it.  Plus the dragon shaped incense holder in this next photo, with some incense cones and sticks to use with it.

And some cards from a few of my family and friends...

Speaking of cards: if you didn't get one from me, that's because I only ended up doing them for immediate family, because I left it too late and didn't have the time or energy to even get them made before the holidays in the end.  I'll try to do better next year.

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Whatever you did to celebrate them, how were your holidays? Did you get anything nice?

 

Also, since it's New Year's Eve, I'd like to wish you a happy New Year! Stay safe while doing whatever you might be doing to ring in the new year - if you are doing anything, I mean.  See you in 2022!

A Reminder About The 2021 #Smashwords End Of Year #EBook #Sale - Grab Some Bargain #Poetry & #KidLit Today!

Don't forget: the Smashwords end of year sale is happening right now, and runs through January 1st 2022.

 

All my books are currently $1.49 or less!

 

It's a perfect oppertunity for fans of poetry and children's stories to grab some discounted eBooks.

 

And, yes, my latest release "Jelena" is included in the sale.

 

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In case you don't know...

 

Smashwords offers multiple eBook formats, and I always make my books available in all formats they offer, which means there will be a format that works for you, regardless of your prefered method of reading eBooks.  In fact, since one of the formats is HTML, if you can read this post, you can read my books.

 

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So, head over to my Smashwords author page, pick your books, and grab your eBook bargains today!

But hurry, because the sale ends this coming Saturday!

A #Holiday #Pet Photoshoot + The Writer's Grapevine Holiday Edition + Festive #Poetry & #Music Clips

It's Christmas Eve, so I think it's about time I shared the holiday photos for this year for my petkids.

 

First, here's Lilie the Westie in her elf outfit, complete with an elf doggy shirt, a bandana that says, "let it snow," on it, and a Santa hat.  There should have been snowflake legwarmers too, but she wasn't willing to wear those, so they got left off... I wasn't going to force her to wear them if she wasn't happy to do so.  There's only the one shot of her, because she was rather excited by the whole thing, so wouldn't stay still for long, which meant this was the only successful photo.

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Next, here are the photos we got of Logan, who was much easier to get photos of, since he was willing to sit quietly at least some of the time, hence there being more photos of him.

These two are of him wearing a festive bow tie and a bandana with "I believe in Santa Paws" on it.

And here he is wearing his gingerbread man outfit, which consists of a gingerbread man doggy sweater, his festive bowtie, and a Santa hat.  One of the photos is just a shot of him dressed up, but in the other he also has a reindeer ornament in the photo with him.

~

 

Finally, here's Artemis the tortoise among a selection of holiday ornaments we used to set up a sort of festive scene, which include a reindeer, a tiny snowman, an elf, and some fake snow and tinsel.  Don't worry, we were watching her closely to make sure the fake snow and bit of tinsel didn't end up in her mouth.  Mostly though she just wanted to see if she could dig in somewhere for a nap... She wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea of having photos taken that day.

 

 ~

Mollie wasn't included, since she doesn't do photoshoots.

 

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Want something fun to read this Christmas Eve?

 

Then head over to Patty's blog and check out the holiday edition of The Writer's Grapevine Magazine.  There's loads of awesome stuff in it, including a story of mine.  You can read it by clicking here.

 

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I also have some new festive clips to share with you.

 

First, here are a couple of clips of me reading two of my holiday themed poems:

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Finally, here are some clips of me singing some holiday songs:

#Audiobook Now Available For "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" -A #Children'sBook About #Death, #Depression, And #Grief

 

Cover art composite by UPB

Set vector clip art illustrations of bored teddy bears(c)vectorpocket/Depositphoto

After losing his best friend, Arth, Tedi is so sad it feels like his heart is torn up inside of him. Now Tedi just sits by the window and cries, no longer caring about anything but how much he misses his friend, and seeing nothing of the beauty outside.

Mama Bear insists it will get easier in time, but Tedi’s not so sure; Tedi’s sure he’ll never be happy again. And, as Summer turns to Autumn, and then Autumn turns to Winter, it’s starting to look like Tedi might be right.

But is Tedi really right, or is it Mama Bear who’s right after all?

Unless you somehow missed seeing the posts about the original release of this book, you'll already know you can buy "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" as an eBook in multiple formats from a variety of online retailers.  I won't list all the links in this post - if you'd like to buy an eBook of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" you can check out the post I just linked to for purchase links.  You can also buy paperback versions of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" via Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, many other Amazon sites, and all the places Amazon distributes their paperbacks to.

 

But, I do have news: if eBooks and paperbacks aren't for you, you'll be interested to know that "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" is now available in audio, narrated byRaymond Pental, and can be purchased via Audible, iTunes, and the various Amazon sites.

 

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Regardless of your prefered format though, if you're on Goodreads and would like to add the book to your shelves, you can find the book's Goodreads page here.

 

No matter the format, if you buy and read the book, please consider leaving a review, whether on Goodreads, your blog, or the retailer you purchased the book from.  And don't forget to tell anyone you think might be interested in the book all about it.  Remember: reviews and word of mouth help authors sell books.  And I appreciate all reviews - whether short, long, or somewhere in between.

The #Smashwords #EBook #Sale + #BodhiDay + #Holiday Decorations + A #Tortoise On The Loose + Freshly Groomed #Dogs + #Poetry Reading

The Smashwords end of year sale kicks off today (December 17th 2021) and runs through January 1st 2022.

 

I've enrolled all my books that are usually priced higher than $0.99, so that many of my other titles are currenly $0.99, and the more expensive titles of mine are $1.24 or $1.49 throughout this sale.

 

In other words, all my titles are $1.49 or less today through January 1st 2022.

 

Smashwords sells books in multiple formats, and I enable them all, so there will be a format that works for you regardless of your prefered method of reading eBooks, whether you need an epub, a mobi, a pdf, or a html document.  Basically, if you can read this post, you can read my books.

 

So, head over to my Smashwords Author Page, and grab your book bargains. 

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Bodhi Day - the Buddhist day of enlightenment - was on December 8th.  I'm not Buddhist, but I do incorperate some of the Buddhist beliefs in to my own, so try to acknowledge Bodhi Day.  This year I went one better and celebrated it by putting up my holiday decorations and making rice pudding that day.

 

Something to bear in mind: you can make rice pudding in a slowcooker.  However, if you do,, be aware of how much it expands, or you'll have quite a mess to clean up.  Yes, that's the voice of experience speaking.

Anyway, here are my holiday decorations for this year:

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A couple of days later Lilie and Logan had a grooming session.  While they were gone, I had Artemis having some peaceful free-roaming time in the livingroom, and took these photos of her:

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I had Mollie out for a while too, but didn't get any photos of her.

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And here's a photo of Lilie and Logan after their grooming session:

 

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finally, here are some clips of me reading a couple of my poems.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

#Holiday #KidLit #BookRelease - "Jelena"

 

cover art composite by UPB

Coniferous tree macro. for branch close up. evergreen tree in park

© kle1njke@gmail.com/depositphoto

Forest dryads and their magic

© A_Petruk/depositphoto

 

 

Humans have forgotten the old ways, and no longer respect nature as they once did, or ask before taking what they want.  They’ve forgotten about nature spirits, and the strength of the bond a dryad shares with their tree.

 

When an excited family come to the woods to choose their Christmas tree, and end up choosing the Frazer Fir to which Jelena is bonded, they make no attempt to warn her to find herself a new tree.  Now all Jelena can do is watch in tearful dismay as her tree is cut down and taken away; feeling its pain through their shared bond as though it were her own.

 

Distraught and in pain, Jelena can do nothing to save her bonded tree.  But she doesn’t have to share its fate; there’s a chance she can save herself.  Will Jelena find the inner strength to survive the experience, and bond with a new tree before it’s too late? Or will she follow her bonded tree to the place where spirits are reborn?

 

*NOTE: this story – while not overly violent or graphic in nature – is not your average cheerful holiday story, so may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive readers.

 

Today is the official release date for "Jelena" - my latest book, which is now available in eBook.

 

You can now buy "Jelena" from Smashwords.  Bearing in mind, Smashwords offers multiple formats, and I enable all the ones they allow me to, which means there's a way you can read the book regardless of your prefered method of reading eBooks.  In fact, if you can read this post, you can read the book.

 

The eBook is also available to purchase via other online retailers such as Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon US, other Amazon sites, and a few other places my books get distributed to,.  So, look for it at your favourite eBook retailer.

For those who aren't fans of eBooks: I haven't forgotten you.  I hope to have the book available in paperback and audio early in the new year.  So, watch for me announcing those.

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Regardless of your format of choice, if you're on Goodreads and would like to add the book to your shelves, you can find the book's Goodreads page here, where all available formats will be listed.

If you buy a copy, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review somewhere - either where you brought it, on your blog, on the book's Goodreads page, or anywhere else you happen to review books - and tell your friends, family, or book club members about it.  Remember: reviews and word of mouth help authors sell books, and I appreciate any review, no matter how long or short it may be.