Shirley Damsgaard

I have a confession…I’ve been surfing blogs looking for inspiration on something, anything to write about. Here’s what I’ve noticed—most of them are about what a wonderful Christmas everyone had. Was mine wonderful?? It sure was—all my kids and grandchildren were at my house Christmas Eve and we had a great time. BUT it was nothing like described on some of the blogs…shiny children’s faces watching the night sky in hopes of seeing Santa; the family gathered around the Christmas tree singing carols. No, mine resembled more of a P.T. Barnum creation rather than Charles Dickens. Here’s how it played out.

First, I started the celebration by slipping on the ice…kind of looked like Chevy Chase doing an impression of Gerald Ford as I went down…the night before. As a result, Christmas Eve I could not bend over, could not squat down. (Well I could, but someone had to help me up after I did. How old do you think I felt?? ) We had decided to forgo the usual Christmas ham and go with chili and potato soup, which worked great, except I made too much chili. (God forbid anyone should go home hungry, right?) And the potato soup boiled over onto my sparkling clean stove as everyone stood around talking and eating munchies. (Ah well, what’s a little scorched soup among family??)

And where were the grandchildren (the three middle ones anyway—boys—two eight year olds and a five year old) while the adults stood in the kitchen talking? Not with their little noses pressed against the window looking for a sleigh filled with toys I can tell you that. No, they were chasing each other around the house with the dog in hot pursuit and using voices that should only be used outside. The dog, by the way, was carrying one of her throw toys around in her mouth, hoping that one of them would slow down long enough to give it a toss. Unfortunately for her, that didn’t happen. (And if any of their teachers are reading this and the boys happen to be telling tales at school…honest, I was only kidding when I threatened to put them in the dog kennel!! I know that’s illegal!!)

After the gift exchange where the boys mentioned above received, courtesy of Grandma and to be taken home, toys that made all sorts of vroom-vroom noises, we adjourned to the breakfast room so the kids could decorate Christmas cookies. (Not homemade, I might add…Hy Vee grocery store has great specials on them this time of year! ) We hauled out the red and the rather noxious green frosting (those weren’t homemade either) plus bottles of sprinkles and colored sugar. (Note to self: next year DO NOT buy the little ball shaped sprinkles! They not only bounce all over the place when shaken by eager little hands, but they roll across the floor with the speed of light when one tries to sweep. Also remember to divide the frosting so each child has their own bowl. Community slobber from licked knives is a bad thing.) And btw, the birds in the backyard are now feasting on the frosting-laden cookies that for some strange reason the parents forgot to take home.

Yup, all in all it was a great Christmas! My once clean house might have had bits of colored wrapping paper strewn about; my kitchen might have looked like a tornado hit it, to say nothing of the lingering aroma of burnt milk; my kids might be feasting on sent-home, left-over chili for the next month; and I’m probably going to be sweeping up teeny tiny balls and colored sugar until spring, but we had what was important—we were together!

I hope everyone’s Christmas was as merry as mine!

Best,

Shirley

PS—Don’t forget THE WITCH’S GRAVE is on sale Tuesday!!! Yipee!!   

What has led to my emergence from my cave??? Book 7 is DONE!! Hip, hip hooray!! (Well, it’s almost done—once my editor, Emily, reads the manuscript, I’ll still need to make whatever changes she requests, but not a problem!! The sucker’s got a beginning, a middle, and an end and there was a point in time when I seriously wondered whether it would!!)

The above aside brings me around to something that I have lying on my desk. A couple of years ago when I was attending Malice Domestic, one of the venders was selling buttons with sayings on them. Now I’m not a big fan of wearing buttons personally, but I am of sayings. And here are the ones that I just HAD to buy:

“…and it’s finished! It only has to be written.” (That one’s flipped through my mind quiet a bit over the last few months!!!)

“How many writers does it take to change a light bulb? Never mind that—let me tell you about MY light bulb!” (Okay, does this mean writers can be a little self-absorbed? Umm…well…sort of! In our defense, I think we just get so wrapped up in the characters and the worlds that we’re creating that we like to talk about them…a lot!!!! )

And last but not least, at this point in time:

“Another deadline, another miracle!” (Self explanatory!)

Anyone else have any sayings that they’d like to share?? I’d love to read them!

Take care and have a good one!

Shirley

Sorry for my long absence!!! I don’t know where the summer went! The older I am–the faster time seems to fly! (That sounds so like something my mother would’ve said…scary! 8)) Anyway, here’s a quick update.

I just returned this week from RAW (Readers’ Appreciation Weekend) sponsored by author Lora Leigh. I had a great time—I met a lot of fantastic readers, hung out with some old friends, and had the chance to talk with the other authors attending. It was fun, stimulating, and at the same time, relaxing!

And speaking of relaxing—I needed a little R&R! I’m knee deep into Book 7 of Ophelia and Abby.(The manuscript is due November 15th…yikes!) In this one Ophelia, Abby, and Tink return to Abby’s childhood home in the mountains of North Carolina, and everyone finally gets to meet the infamous Great Aunt Mary! And Aunt Dot, a favorite with the readers, is going to be making an appearance, too.

Next weekend, I’m heading to St. Louis for an event at the McClay Branch Library in St. Charles and my first Sci-F/Fantasy convention—Archcon 32. Laurel K. Hamilton is the featured guest of honor, and my one of my blogging buddies over at Something Wicked, Angie Fox is going to be my partner in crime for the weekend! It should be fun and I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of readers!

Other changes over the summer, as many of you know, I’m now working with Dorine and Angie at Millennium Promotions. (Angie designed this website—didn’t she do a fantastic job??? 8)) We’ve some exciting things planned…a Myspace page and a Yahoo group (announcement only) with notices of what’s going on, latest contests, and new releases. Hopefully, the Myspace and the Yahoo group will allow me to be more consistent is staying in touch with all of you.

And speaking of releases—THE WITCH’S GRAVE is available now for pre-orders!! It actually hits the bookstores at the end of December, and I’m really excited about its publication! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

Last but not least, a special thanks to all of you who entered our mystery contest!! I’ll be announcing the winners when I return from St. Louis, (I know I’m late with this…go figure! )so stop back to find out if you won! (I will be emailing the winners!) We’ll also be announcing the winner of “You’ve Got to Have Friends” contest soon, so if you haven’t entered, you still have time! And, since October is almost upon us and that is Ophelia and Abby’s month, we’ll be announcing a new contest then, too.

That’s it for now—thank you all for your patience and your continued support!!!

Best,
Shirley