I love the holiday season. Cooler weather and the arrival of fall colors seems to bring people together. Cheering at high school football games. Evenings gathered around a fire pit with a hot toddy. Sharing popcorn in a theatre for the latest fall blockbuster.
And my personal favorite, curled up on the couch in front of a fire with a festive drink and a fabulous book.
I no longer celebrate Halloween, my son Derrick’s favorite holiday. But while doing research for my novel, “Malice in Mazatlán”, I learned about Día de Muertos, a Mexican festival celebrating the dead. This Mexican memorial was a perfect addition to my story. Sarita García’s hotel, Fiesta de Fuego, treated guests to a Día de Muertos celebration every Wednesday night to honor the alleged ghosts from a love triangle rumored to haunt the hotel. Oh, and Sarita might have an affinity for skulls. And I love the idea that maybe a future Stoneybrook Mysteries novel features a haunted house in the Redneck Ranch’s old barn.
Thanksgiving is the holiday that seems to get lost between the ghoulish fun of Halloween and merriment of Christmas. I, however, have an impressive pumpkin collection. Each year, I drag out the orange orbs and decorated my house with fall colors. I love the sentiment of Thanksgiving encouraging us to be thankful for all that we have and blessings still to come. I haven’t found an occasion to put a Thanksgiving celebration in a novel yet but hope to do so soon. It would be fun to see Harley and Wyatt, along with their family and friends gathered around a large table waiting for the turkey to be carved. I’ve spent a couple of Thanksgivings in México, so maybe a scene with my México Mayhem characters planning their version of a Thanksgiving celebration will appear in future books.
And then there’s the Grand Dame of Holidays—Christmas! This is still a hard holiday for me, but I’ve found ways to make Christmas new again. I’ve started collecting ornaments that remind me of my characters, human, animal or insect, for my tree. I have countless dragonfly decoration and beautiful ornaments from México I’ve collected over the years. Last Christmas I added a Día de Muertos collection. This year the tree will showcase Maverick the donkey and a couple of crocodile ornaments. Luckily, last year, I was invited to write a short story for Windtree Press’s “Crime Never Takes a Holiday” anthology. My story, “Five Golden Rings has morphed into the second book in my Stoneybrook Mysteries. Despite my dark and twisty side, Five Golden Rings has a happy ending with a feast being planned at the Redneck Ranch for Christmas Day.
I love all the other holidays we celebrate, too. There’s a Memorial Day dance in “Whispering Willows”, my latest story in Windtree Press’s current anthology, “Whispers”. But as I race the clock to finish editing of the third book in my México Mayhem series, “Vanished in Vallarta” for the holiday buying season, my writer’s brain occasionally wanders.
How fun would it be to see one of my female character’s proposed to on Valentine’s Day? In “Redneck Ranch”, Pastor Jamey hosts Cowboy Church on a beautiful June day, and I can see a future scene with Cowboy Church celebrating Easter. I’m currently working on my next novel, “Willow’s Woods” and am hoping to write my way to a Fourth of July celebration in the town of Stoneybrook.
Probably one of the best gifts my writing has given me are characters I love, places perfect for visiting or putting down roots. And stories to be enjoyed curled up on a couch, with a hot spiced wine, in front of a fire!
Now for my shameless promotion. “Redneck Ranch”, “Five Golden Rings”, and “Whispers” are available on Amazon:
Ladies of Mystery 