Kim McMahill

I doubt there has ever been a year that so many are so glad to see behind them than 2020. I hope 2021 will be a new beginning for all, we can get back to the people and things we love, and we can embrace a new era of hope and compassion. Even though the actual New Year’s Eve celebrations will still need to be scaled back, may the anticipation of better things to come give us all the strength to be diligent just a little bit longer.   

Boxing Day is generally celebrated on December 26 th ; however, if Christmas falls on a Friday or Saturday it is recognized on the following Monday. Boxing Day is a legal holiday in England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other former British commonwealth countries. The roots of the holiday go back to the Middle Ages. On this day, members of the merchant class would take boxes filled with food and fruits, and give them to servants and the less fortunate. In the case of servants, since they would have to work on Christmas Day, it was only fitting that immediately after Christmas, they would be given a day off to celebrate. Today, in celebration of Boxing Day, people often fill boxes with food and clothing for the needy and perform volunteer work or give monetary gifts to charity.

To many, including myself, this Christmas will be uneventful and the much-anticipated end to a very bad year. Despite the situation in the world, I hope everyone can find a way to have a happy and safe holiday and hold on to as many traditions as possible. Most of all, the reason for the season has not changed, and there is hope for the year to come. Blessings to all this holiday season.

Time is running out on the N.N. Light Book Heaven sixth annual Holiday Gift Guide. This year there are 137 books featured in different themed gift guides. You can find each guide on the Holiday Gift Guide main page at https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/holiday-gift-guide . The Holiday Gift Guides will run from November 6 – December 31.

  Even in a normal year, I’m not really gung-ho about all the commercial trappings associated with Christmas. We generally put up a tree that we trim with handmade ornaments or ornaments that were acquired during our travels or that have other special meaning. But what I enjoy the most, is my nativity scenes and this year they happen to all fit in the same cabinet. Each one has a special meaning. My mom started one set for me the first year I was married (34 years ago), giving me an additional piece each Christmas until the company discontinued the set. One belonged to my grandma, one was handmade in Ecuador and I purchased it in a local village market, and one my mom bought me in Juarez, Mexico while we were there doing volunteer work many years ago. The smallest one was purchased during a major event that occurred in our lives eighteen years ago that we overcame, so it symbolizes triumph. This year, though, the nativity sets are what makes this Christmas feel just a little bit normal

 Across the Miles: Poems of Fantasy, Faith, and Fun by Annie Douglass Lima Watch a violinist spin stars and snowflakes into existence and wake dragons. Step into a bookstore full of dusty treasures, and wander through a graveyard for poems that died before their birth. Join a solitary star treading the measures of its stately dance above a rainbow like a stream of dripping jewels. Then mourn with the alien who crash-landed on Earth and can’t get home - but be careful to avoid the deadly shadow creatures slinking through the darkness. Grab your copy of this volume of poetry now and embark on an unforgettable journey across the miles! cover photography by Lisa Douglass These poems touch on themes such as travel, friendship, nature, God, music, fantasy, music, animal encounters, and school. Some whimsical, some serious, they include specific, lesser-known varieties of poetry such as pantoum, rondeau, triolet, roundel, and villanelle.  Read on to sample two of the poems in Across the Mile

My publisher suggested I write a short story to give away (as a downloadable ebook) to compliment the Risky Research Series in advance of releasing the fourth installment, A Measure of Madness, on April 9, 2021. I feared I wouldn’t have time to write a story with everything else going on in my life right now, but the exercise turned out to be very cathartic. At a time when finishing a novel seems overwhelming, this project provided a wonderful distraction and stress relief valve. So, I jumped in with both feet and the ideas poured out. I’m pleased to report that I finished it and submitted it to my publisher ahead of schedule. The story flashes back five years to a counterfeiting case Devyn worked on with Wyoming Sheriff Gage Harris (mentioned in book 1 in the series, A Dose of Danger). The title will be Midnight in Montana. I’m very excited about this little story. I think it turned out well and adds to the series. I’ll let everyone know just as soon as it is available. Thanks for you

  “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ―  Robert F. Kennedy

Here’s what’s on tap for December. Hopefully all will find a way to celebrate in a safe and thoughtful way. 7 th - Pearl Harbor Day 10th - Chanukah lasts 8 days 12 th - Poinsettia Day 21 st - Winter Solstice (shortest day of the year) 25 th - Christmas 26 th - Kwanzaa 27 th - National Fruitcake Day 28 th - Boxing Day 31 st - New Year's Eve