Merry Christmas!

Our gas-log fireplace with a fire burning for the first time. A tile hearth and the very edge of our lit Christmas tree.
Our fireplace works! Who knew?

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! This year has been a little rough (massive understatement), but I hope you are enjoying some peace and happiness as the year draws to a close.

This is the first year we’re not visiting our family for the holidays, and I think it would be a lot rougher if I hadn’t been on deadline this month. But I’ve worked for 25+ days straight, so time sort of lost all meaning.

BUT…

THE BOOK IS DONE!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Well, the rough draft is done, as of about 8:30 last night. It still needs some pretty serious edits, but at least I made it to the end. Everything else can be fixed, so huge weight lifted. If you’ve been around for a while, then you know that writing this year has been super difficult for me. At the beginning of December, I wasn’t sure I would hit my early January deadline because I needed to write so much.

But I did it!

I wrote nearly 44k words this month. For comparison, in November, when I was also super worried about the deadline, I wrote 12k. (You can see why I was worried.)

I’m chalking it up as a Christmas miracle.

We don’t have any big plans today, since it’s just Mr. M and me, but we bought some nice steaks for dinner, and now that the book is done, I’m going to enjoy a day off. Edits can wait until tomorrow.

I hope you and yours have a good day, and if you’re not seeing family this year to keep others safe, know that your kindness and generosity is appreciated. 💕

Happy holidays, and I wish you all the best in 2021!

11 thoughts on “Merry Christmas!”

  1. Merry Christmas, Jessie! Your stories and posts have brought great joy this past year. Thank you for your generosity and the kindness that you show and encourage from others. I’m sending warm wishes that you and Mr. M have a very Merry Christmas and a great start to the new year. 💗🎄✨

  2. Let me echo Jillian’s comment above! Your stories have given me many happy hours this year. Thank you for sharing them with us.

    In this strange and unusual year, there are friends whose economic circumstances have made it difficult for them to afford to purchase any books, and for them, your serial chapters of the queen’s adventures have been a great gift. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

    May the joy you give away come back to you tenfold.💕

  3. Merry Christmas! And wow, what a lot of work! I hope you can feel very happy and productive while you do nothing but relax today. :) Bought myself The Queen’s Triumph last night as a Happy Christmas Eve to myself – can’t wait to read again!

  4. Congrats on finishing the book! What a whirlwind race to the end! You deserve time off after all of that. Looking forward to reading it. Good luck with the edits. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

  5. A bit belated, but Merry Christmas! I cannot emphasize enough how much I admire your efforts this month (44k words!?!?). You are one of the authors who makes life so much better for me and so many others. I’m thrilled you’ve chosen this profession. May the coming year be full of inspiration, health and many opportunities to gather with your loved ones in safety.

  6. Congrats and merry Christmas! Best wishes for 2021, or as my cousin said, “a healthy, happy, and less crappy new year.” Looking forward to New Shiny!

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