Back to Holiday Cheer!

Christmas traditions at our house:

Trimming the tree to Christmas carols (with egg nog and cocoa), two-three weeks before Christmas.

Watching Year without a Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, on December 23 (to get that last minute jolt of holiday spirit).

Finishing up the shopping on December 24. There's a certain feeling of triumph and accomplishment you can only get from braving stores so close to Christmas, and finding exactly what you need-- on sale!

Making sure the stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Going to a Christmas Eve movie and out to dinner with the kids (now 18 and 16), a tradition we established when we moved to Michigan away from family for a few years. The dinner-and-a-movie continued once we moved back to remind us to make time to appreciate our own little family unit in the chaos (and joy) of all the holiday visits to extended family and friends.

We each open one present on Christmas Eve (and it's usually new pajamas). Santa brings the rest over night.

Getting the kids to bed early (did I mention they're teenagers? this used to be much easier) to make sure Santa will come and bring all the gifts. Because Santa doesn't come until kids are sound asleep.

Waking up early to open the gifts and eat my homemade cinnamon rolls before getting ready to visit family for dinner. We host Thanksgiving and New Year's Day dinners. We're guests at other houses (my sister's or my in-law's) for Christmas dinner.

I'm looking forward to it. Merry Christmas, all! What are some traditions at your house?

Survivor: Samoa-- the right winner?

I'm a Survivor fan. I believe I've mentioned it. I've watched every season since the beginning. I even wanted Rich Hatch to win. I have a soft spot for villains. Weird, right? Even weirder-- while I eventually fell for evil Russell's strategic game play (along with almost every other Survivor fan), I did not think he deserved to win. He had no end game. I think Natalie played a better game than a lot of people are willing to admit.

The biggest move? Russell wants to say it was ousting Laura, and that was pretty important. But Galu was already falling apart and the numbers were even by then. The real big move of the game was the idea of getting rid of Erik (Jaison's idea) and convincing Galu to actually boot one of their own-- and that was all Natalie, working her way into Laura and Monica's good graces and charming the Galu into thinking Erik was a real threat. That's the week that Russell had no control of the game, no faith in his Foas, and was scared enough to play his idol.

Ironic, then, that Natalie failed to make a strong case for herself at the final Tribal Council and Erik charged to her rescue, making the case for her. I think it is Erik's final jury speech that swayed the vote to Natalie. My husband thinks Natalie had it wrapped up anyway because Russell failed to charm.

In the end, major player Russell was lacking that human connection, the insight into his fellow players that would have helped him to see this was not a jury to put their own egos aside and vote for superior game play. This was a jury that felt played and would vote against the one who played them. Had he tried to get to know his fellow players instead of discrediting them and patting himself on the back, he might have caught on early enough to win the title he craved. Survivor is a social game as much as it is about strength and skill, and Russell failed on that end. Natalie made those human connections, turned on the charm, and took the title from the self-perceived master. She deserves more credit for playing her own game, and playing it well. She didn't just ride coattails to the end. She made some major moves in her own right, moves that set up to keep Russell in the game as much as it worked the other way around. Congratulations, Natalie! And I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the end of Russell.

Survivor fans, what did you think of the final?

Christmas with the Erwins: Trimming the Tree

This is the view from my office window. The snow in the road is melted now, fortunately, but it remains on the grass. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The first or second weekend of December, we go pick out and bring home the Fraser Fir. We used to get big ones, but I have gone smaller through the years (because I'm the one who strings the lights). I have to rearrange the furniture to fit it in to the place of honor between the picture window and the French doors. I play Christmas carols and sip egg nog. My daughter delights in going through the ornaments with me and deciding which order we'll put them on. We assign a few ornaments to the family Scrooges (my husband and son) so that they can say they helped.

We don't decorate with glass balls, a tradition going back to my childhood. We had a "Little House on the Prairie" Christmas one year. We got rid of the artificial tree and got a real one. We hand-strung cranberries and popcorn for garlands, and we had a chain made out of ribbon. And we made yarn dolls to put all over the tree. I made the same kind of yarn dolls with my children when they were little, and they still grace our tree together with the ornaments I've bought to represent each one of us every year. When my children have houses of their own to decorate, they will take their own ornaments with them to start their own traditions. For now, they're still home with me.

What is your tree like? Real or artificial? If you're celebrating Chanukah, do you have a traditional menorah, maybe a family heirloom, or something new that's all yours?

Victorian Christmas

Charlotte Bronte's Christmas celebrations were probably comfortable but not lavish affairs, though many new Christmas traditions were introduced in the UK during Charlotte's time with the reign of Queen Victoria.

Christmas trees became popular. Father Christmas became a celebrated figure. Christmas crackers added livelihood to Christmas dinner, which was probably a Christmas goose or turkey for Charlotte. In Jane Slayre's time with the vampyre Reeds, the holiday guests doubled as the meal-- now that's household economy. And of course, who didn't look forward to Christmas pudding, and finding the silver sixpence and thimble for luck? (If you were Jane Slayre, you needed it :))

L'ORA DEI VAMPIRI

Today, I had a surprise in the mail from Trisha Telep, of London's Murder One Bookstore, editor of the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance, which features my short story Fade to Black. She sent me the Italian translation: L'ORA DEI VAMPIRI. Fade to Black is Stingersi di Nero. Ooooh.

There's even a sexy book trailer:

Watch it on YouTube.

And remember, commenters are entered in a drawing to win a signed Naughty or Nice.

Ciao, Bella!

And the winner is...

It's a tie. People seem mostly torn between the two (photos by Andrea Burns). I'm playing with both of them on my websites and social networks and you'll just have to wait and buy JANE SLAYRE on April 13 to find out which one made the final cut.

Speaking of winners, I think it's time I gave something away. All commenters in the next week are eligible to win a copy of my Christmas paranormal romance, NAUGHTY OR NICE. I'll choose a name and announce on Dec. 18.

Happy holidays!

New Pictures: Which to Choose?

Time for New Author Photos!

Oh-oh. I hate posing for the camera. But it must be done. Gallery needs a new author photo for JANE SLAYRE . Charlotte obviously won't be joining me in this, unfortunately. Misery loves company.

So I have been warming up with Apple Photo Booth. What do you think? Hair straight or curly?

That Is All

JANE SLAYRE available for pre-order.

Gone Hunting

Hunting zombies, that is. I'm mid-revisions on JANE SLAYRE, finding creative new ways to save the world from zombies, vampyres, and werewolves. Awooooo! This is too much fun.

JANE SLAYRE, April 2010

Good news! JANE SLAYRE will be released on April 13, 2010. It's now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Pop Culture

One of the things Charlotte Bronte never had to contemplate: Reality TV. TV at all. I imagine she might have been one of those who claimed to never watch TV, but secretly caught every episode of Seinfeld. We might have shared a few laughs over reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Charlotte seems very serious and studied, but she had a sly wit and I think she might have appreciated Joss Whedon's humor.

Still, I believe I can safely assume that we might have parted ways on the subject of Reality TV. I don't think she would have liked it.

Definitely not the shows I like to watch, my guilty pleasures: Survivor (I haven't missed a season), America's Next Top Model (a recent find, but I've caught up on all seasons, plus Britain's, Australia's and Canada's, thanks to YouTube), Rock of Love I, II, and Rock of Love Bus (I'm waiting for Rock of Love Boat), and Man vs Food (Adam Richman, adorable-- and hungry).

Survivor Samoa is proving to be more exciting than I anticipated after the first few episodes. Evil Russell "The biggest Survivor villain ever!" was kind of annoying to watch. He was smug, self-centered, deceptive, and making the bold and ridiculous error of sabotaging his own team. Plus, they showed him so much that we never got to see the other Survivor contestants. But then, something happened. We started to get to know the others and it turned out-- Russell was the only one really playing the game. Now I'm solidly on Team Russell. I find myself on his side, actually cheering for him to plant his evil Russell Seeds and run away with the game. And the past few weeks have been incredible with fun Tribal Councils and excellent blindsides. I don't think Russell can win, but maybe one of the original Foa Foas will pull it off. After Galu started with such a huge lead, it's really something to see them implode. It's enough to make me smize. (Smile with my eyes-- you'd have to watch ANTM to know).

I also enjoy scripted TV: House, Lie to Me, Fringe, Glee.

Do you watch Survivor? Any reality shows? What are your favorite new shows?

Whine Sisters

Pop in and check out my other blog, the one I share with bestselling authors Julia London, Kathleen Givens, Dee Davis, Kathleen O'Reilly, Jacquie D'Alessandro, and Julie Kenner. When I'm not musing here, I'm whining there, with The Whine Sisters. Join in the fun!

Refilling the Well

Took the weekend off from writing to refresh and recharge.

What I watched:

Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal.

Boss from Hell forces engagement on assistant in order to avoid being deported, and to keep both of their jobs.

What worked-- Likable male lead, heroine's character development, witty lines, and comic situations distract from some implausibilities. Heroine remains strong and in charge while learning to open up to love. A little fluffy, but I think Charlotte would approve.

Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni in The Family Man.

Shallow, materialistic Wall Street investor gets in touch with his true values when he finds himself living the small town life that could have been.

What worked-- Strong characterization (and acting) add genuine warmth and depth to a plot that could have come off as preachy, trite, or contrived. Believable development of characters and plot. Probably just average for Charlotte due to lack of strong female lead.

Steve Carell and Juliet Binoche in Dan in Real Life.

A widower finds love again-- only it happens to be with his brother's girlfriend during a family reunion weekend.

What worked-- Good examination of Goal, Motivation, Conflict, with believable characters in warm, family setting. Charlotte might like this one best. Female characters are equal to the men and independent without having to compromise.

All movies had a central developing romance that led to a happy ending. All were character-driven, with well-drawn leads and secondaries that encouraged the viewer to overlook potential minor weaknesses in plot. Interesting. Have you seen any good movies lately?

Diving In

My favorite part of writing? Getting the first three chapters down and shaping a new project.

I love it when the characters are fresh and new and I'm getting to know them. That early shaping phase, when I'm not quite sure of the plot, but have a general idea, and I can still take it anywhere, is full of hope and inspiration. So much better than when I get in about seven chapters and start to panic and wonder if I'm really headed in the right direction, and if I shaped it the right way leading in. I always panic between chapters 7 and 11. It's my rethinking phase. But the beginning? Fun!

Today's for research and planning. Testing the water. Maybe getting some words on the page and playing around. Maybe I'll hear Charlotte's voice in my head even as I'm working on a new project that doesn't involve her. And I know what she'll be saying. "Not bad, but it needs more exclamation points." Charlotte really loved her exclamation points.

Clinging to Ideals

No doubt Charlotte and I would have our disagreements if she were alive today. The first might be on my choice to represent her with the idealized Duyckinick portrait completed in 1873, nearly twenty years after her death. It is based on a drawing by George Richmond, done in 1850 when Charlotte was about thirty-four years old (seen left).

But Charlotte looks so cross in the Richmond drawing. From reading JANE EYRE, I can gather she had a fine wit and probably a lively sense of humor, so I like to imagine she was not always so dire. The real Charlotte was probably somewhere between the two representations.

In fact, there is an actual portrait of Charlotte (found with thanks to the Bronte Society), to prove the case, in which she looks equally serious and pleasant. Quite lovely, actually (right). If her treatment of Jane is any indication of the way she felt about her own appearance, I can well imagine her instructing her portrait artist to be harsh and as accurate as possible. I was perhaps a little kinder to Jane Slayre, allowing her to feel pretty under Mr. Rochester's loving gaze, and to become a bit pretty as well. It's all about self-confidence, isn't it?

And let's not forget, I've written romance novels. I believe in fairy tales and happy endings, and also, apparently, in using pretty pictures to represent a woman I admire. So be it. Who really knows how Charlotte would have felt on the matter, or on the matter of my writing JANE SLAYRE? Or on her popularity over a hundred and fifty plus years after her death? She isn't here to say.

Welcome!

How did I end up writing with Charlotte Bronte?

I read JANE EYRE for the first time when I was thirteen, and again when I was sixteen. I decided to read it yet again, twenty-five years later, so I could discuss it with my daughter after she reads it for a school assignment later this year. What did I find? The same dramatic, thoughtful, persevering young heroine I remembered.

But why, dear reader, did I start imagining paranormal forces working against Jane? A bolder Jane? A fiercer Jane? A Jane who could occasionally laugh in the face of danger, and triumph over not only her own sorry circumstances, but over actual evil in the form of vampyres, zombies, and werewolves? The whole new story unfolded to me as if Charlotte were over my shoulder, re-imagining it with me. She was, in fact, the voice in my head as I wrote, my muse.

I know she wasn't really there. In 1855, she died from severe dehydration and perhaps typhus at age 39, only recently married and pregnant with her first child. But I consulted her, in my mind, as I worked (What would Charlotte do?), and I feel she would be satisfied and even amused with my retelling, which by no means intends to replace the original JANE EYRE, a celebrated and beloved work of English Literature. I only hope I can encourage some new readers to enjoy my version, JANE SLAYRE, and to go back and delight in JANE EYRE all over again, or for the first time. Check back to join in the fun and see what Sherri and Charlotte are up to next. Happy reading!

Look for JANE SLAYRE in Spring 2010 from Gallery Books.