Yesterday was my kind of Christmas. Terry and I woke up and snuggled in bed for a while, just enjoying each other’s company and the fact that we are together and so much in love. Then our son Travis called from Alabama and we talked for a while. He and his wife Geli are doing well and are healthy and happy. What more can any father want for their children?
I answered some e-mails, mostly Christmas greetings, approved a few entries in our weekly drawing that ends today (see below), and made a couple of holiday greeting phone calls.
About 2 PM, our neighbors Jesse and Jennifer, friends Dennis and Tami, and Terry and I piled in the Pacifica and drove to Daytona Beach for Christmas dinner at the Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet on International Speedway Boulevard. My friend and fellow author Frank Butterfield met us there, and the seven of us had an excellent meal. It was so much easier than spending hours cooking and more hours cleaning up afterward. The place was really busy, so we weren’t the only people with the same idea.
After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Frank and then spent some time driving around Daytona Beach, showing the area to Dennis and Tami. Dennis lived here when he was a teenager, but a lot has changed since then.
Back at home, we did a Facebook video call with our daughter Tiffany and her family in Arizona and talked to them. Then Terry and I watched the Call The Midwife Christmas special, and that was about it for our day.
It’s back to work for us today; Terry is finishing the final readthrough of my new book, Big Lake Ranger, and I am making any last-minute changes she suggests. The plan is to wrap it up sometime today and get the e-book edition formatted and upload it to Amazon. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, and depending on how quick they are working on a holiday weekend, hopefully it will be live sometime tonight, or else first thing tomorrow. As soon as it goes live I will announce it on Facebook, as well as here in the blog, and by sending out my free author’s newsletter to the subscribers.
Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an audiobook of The Scribe’s Daughter, the first book in Stephanie Churchill’s Crowns of Destiny historical fantasy series about a young heroine who escapes a brutal prison to journey through imperial cities, dark swamps, and across stormy seas to unravel clues to the mysteries of her family’s past. In doing so, her discoveries make her the target of a man who would use her for his own dark ends. But first he has to catch her.
To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.
Thought For The Day – My pay envelope was filled with parsley. It seems somebody garnished my wages.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!