Yuletide thoughts so soon?

I have heard more than one person say that this year has flown. I cannot believe it's November all ready, and I bet you can't either. Didn't we just send the kids back to school and start to ease into the fall schedule of practices, recitals, and busy, busy moms and kids?

I know I about fainted when I saw holiday decorations as early as September. Sheesh! Talk about put away the back to school displays and bring out the jingle bells. And secretly, my favorite holiday is Halloween, or Samhain in the pagan faith. I like the solemn night when the veil is the thinnest to take time to remember those who passed on. This year was particularly poignant for me because I'd had a senior kitty put to sleep just a couple of weeks prior, and I have to admit, I'm not taking his loss well, even though we had two more years than we'd expected with him. But I digress...

So today for the first time this fall/winter season, we had something not-rain falling from the skies. I know, I know, the northeast had their big storm; I saw it on the Weather Channel. And like them, I thought "isn't this early"?

But, you got to admit, when the white stuff (or the "s" word as it's known around here) starts falling from the sky, it puts you in a certain mood. November is the month when the Halloween decorations come down and it's still kind of early to break out the tree. (In my case, the fiber optic fake one, because the kitty mentioned above, dashed all my hopes for a big tree in my own home fourteen years ago when he thought it was a riot to swing from the 6' tall fake fir and bat my perfect little apple ornaments all around the apartment.) I'm kind of getting in the mood for the holidays though. We might not have big presents, but I am all about the joy, and the happiness, and the giving. My guy already knows I'm redoing his website for his gift, and he's mighty thankful. My mom, well, I told her she was still with us, and doing well, getting clean bills of health from her doctors -- what more could I ask for? (Okay, some tickets to the rodeo that's going to be in town on my birthday would be nice.... LOL!)

But yeah, I'll admit my little secret. I'm having yuletide thoughts. And you know, that's okay. Just don't forget to pass the turkey in a few weeks, and I prefer pumpkin pie, thank you.

(If you, too, are in a yuletide mood, then check out my holiday book, This Divine Night.)

Putting Yourself Into Your Writing

Write what you know.

Nearly every author has heard that old adage at one time or another. And many authors go off to write stories featuring people like them. That's all right. There's nothing wrong with it. However, some authors take the saying deeper, going into their hearts and souls to pour a little of themselves into the book. It doesn't matter if we're writing sweet tales of small town families or highly charged science fiction adventures. If authors put a little bit of themselves, or a whole lot of themselves, into the story, it will resonate with readers.

I don't think this means that we can only write about people like us. If we did, then there'd probably be no books about vampires or werewolves or aliens on a spaceship. But it does mean that we have to be open to the world around us and see our own qualities reflected in others. The main character may be from a different planet or a different time, but that character probably has much the same thoughts and feelings as we do. The same hopes and fears most likely resonate in a historical person's life just the same as they do our own. (Of course, there will be exceptions to this, such as in science fiction where well-written aliens won't think or act like we would.)

In addition to the emotional and mental ways you can put yourself into the story, you can also draw on experiences in your own life. If you write inspirational books, then your own faith and spirituality may be put into the story to varying degrees, for example.

But this doesn't mean you can't research and you can't put things you don't know into books. If it's a subject in which you're interested, then that's a part of you. The important thing is to make sure you are invested in some way in the story. Then, you'll be sharing more than just a made up story with your readers; you'll be sharing a part of yourself.

Mary Caelsto, New Age Girl at Heart

I've always been a new age girl. I blame it on the local library. At the age of sixteen I fell in love with the work of Mercedes Lackey and had just finished her books Oathbound and Oathbreaker. The main character, Tarma, worshipped a goddess. The writing seemed so vivid, and being an aspiring teenage writer myself, I knew it had to be researched from something in real life. So off I went to the library and came home with a copy of Margot Adler's, Drawing Down The Moon.

Once I discovered Wicca, a whole new world of tarot, crystals, anything and everything new age was opened up to me. Although faith has been a strong part of my family, I'm blessed to have family that looks beyond the labels to the person beneath. When writing science fiction and fantasy, it seemed easy to incorporate my faith. As a romance reader and writer, I'd thrilled to Evelyn Vaughn's The Circle series from the old Silhouette Shadows line. Seeing paganism, or Wicca, depicted with accuracy in romantic fiction makes me smile. Thus, when it comes to writing the "books of my heart", I choose to write what I like to call pagan inspirational romance.

I've had two books published, and a cute, sweet, novella about a rescued kitten, with Pink Petal Books. As a nonfiction author, I've had numerous articles published in magazines and websites. (My most recent article has appeared in the latest issue of Global Goddess.) I've also had a nonfiction book about reiki for animals published, as well as repackaged into ebooks several years' worth of articles I've written about pet parrot care.

I look forward to blogging here every month and sharing a little bit about myself and my work.

And to those who celebrated Lughnasadh, the first harvest festival earlier this week, Happy Harvest! May all you reap the bounty of the season. :) I know I'm enjoying fresh, Iowa grown sweet corn (YUM!) and the sweet banana and chili peppers in my garden. (Waiting for the tomatoes to ripen, yet, alas.)