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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Christmas Memories

This entry first appeared on A Montage of Writers.

As I get older my love for family time has grown, and my happy memories of huge family gatherings as a child are more poignant. They give me a warm, fuzzy feeling, and I remember the childhood magic of Christmas.

 I am grateful for any time that we get to spend with our families, as my husband’s job as a paramedic and my non-writing job as a nurse means we don’t always get traditional holidays off. Our extended families now live out of town, except for one cousin, and because my husband is an only child and I have only one brother, my children rarely get to experience the kind of holiday chaos that comes with large families. I remember these fantastic, frantic, loud, crowded experiences with so much love.

Christmas Eve was reserved for Dad’s family: my Warner grandparents, his three sisters and brother, and later their families. It was amazing. For several years, Christmas Eve dinner was self-made pizzas with unique toppings, or delicious soups made by my aunt’s husband. My two cousins, brother and I would hope for snow and make “snowla-colas” if it did: hard packed snow in a glass, over which you poured the soda. By the time more little cousins arrived, we were happy to pass on that tradition. I was the only niece/granddaughter until I was twenty one, when my aunt finally ended the male-dominated cousin situation. I was tremendously spoiled. 

Dad’s family was a little quiet, less demonstrative in their emotions, but the wrapping paper snowball fights after opening presents were legendary! However, compared to the maternal side of my family, they were downright sedate. 

Christmas Day was reserved for the Pallmes. Mom’s family consisted of my grandmother, Mom’s two sisters and brother, and usually included my uncle’s in-laws as well. This meant about ten adults, and nine cousins who eventually married and started having kids of their own. I don’t remember a lot of organization in regard to meals. I remember fabulous meatloaf once, ham, turkey, and even pheasant that my uncle had hunted. It was there that I learned to drink sloe-gin fizzes. You could never hear yourself over the level of conversation (hearing loss is a family demon).  Here, there was no dearth of estrogen: I had five girl-cousins, and drama was inevitable, although we were very close when we were young. I remember a cutthroat game involving monkeys on a tree one year that had us all screaming. Since I usually asked for books for Christmas, my introverted side would eventually end up in another room with my book, but I could always be drawn out for ping-pong.

As we cousins grew up and married, we started drifting away from these huge family gatherings on holidays. We moved away and got more scattered. It was difficult to schedule get-togethers with multiple in-laws, jobs, family obligations and other things that happen when you grow up. 

That’s why it’s important to me that we are able to get together with relatives whenever possible, and my children get to experience the madness that is having twenty-five second and third cousins at my husband’s family reunion once a year. It’s an experience like no other to be swarmed with people who are related by blood ties: loud, crazy, annoying at times. My adult self probably remembers these gatherings with more sentimentality through those fuzzy, fond glasses we all wear when we look back on happy memories. But I’ll keep them close, and remember those Christmases with love.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Last day of my tour!

The last day of my tour, and what better way to end it than this lovely review from Aly on Tina's website!



The Book Landers: Book Review + Giveaway: Song Magick



and a spotlight from Penny:



Penny Writes



Thanks again to the fabulous Roxanne Rhoads at Bewitching Book Tours. This lady knows her stuff. What a great time I had!

Friday, December 5, 2014

Two more stops on the tour, and a live book signing!

Come see me at the Grinter House this Saturday for a local artisans fair, where I will have signed copies of my book available!  I believe I'm even doing a reading :-)







Two more stops today, and then more on Monday, which will wrap up my tour. 



Sapphyria's Book Reviews

Sapphyria has a book spotlight for me today, and



Lissette Manning  has a guest post from me, and a spotlight. It states there's a review to come as well later today!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Another review that has me in lunar orbit!

Holy cow, I'm going to become an egomaniac writer and sit in my pajamas all day banging away at my keyboard, expecting others to bring me tea and chocolate. (I already have the sitting in my pajamas all day banging away at the keyboard part down to a science!)

 Making it Happen  : Carra has written a beautiful review. My gosh. I'm speechless, you guys.

Fantasy Book Lane  - What a beautiful site!

Deb Sanders also has a lovely spotlight for Song Magick today.

Three gorgeous websites and a stellar review. I'm just gonna sit over here being happy and working on Telyn's next story, TRUTHSONG.


Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Two more stops on the tour today...


Thanks to these lovely folks for hosting spotlights on my tour today...

Share My Destiny

Cassandra M's Place

Stop by and say hi!





Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Smiling so much my face hurts!

Two stops on my blog tour today. The first, Paranormal Romance and Authors that ROCK, posted a review that had me doing happy dances and grinning like a fiend.



The second location (her mustache wallpaper made me giggle!) has a guest post by yours truly - if you ever wondered about my musical inspirations while writing Song Magick, it's there...the links don't work though. I will repost it here after the tour.

Kayl's Krazy Obsession


Monday, December 1, 2014

Week long Bewitching Book Tour!



Thanks to the amazing Roxanne Rhoads from Bewitching Book Tours for setting tour up for me! There are chances to win copies of Song Magick, and one review already that had me doing the happy dance all weekend. Seriously. She about made me cry in a very good way...

Make sure you show these folks some love! I will post them as they come.

http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com/2014/12/song-magick-by-elisabeth-hamill-blog.html?showComment=1417443713847#c454972580555673055