Over the past couple of days the temperature has fallen and we have enjoyed the first snow of the season in Yorkshire. It means that winter is here and it has been the perfect end to my birthday week. My Christmas tree is up and the house is all ready for the festive period. I do love snow - especially when I have nowhere to go and nowhere I need to be, which has been the case this week.
I've spent the snowy days hibernating in my cosy study, working away on the next project, occasionally looking up to watch the snow falling in huge feathery flakes. It's been so pretty and I have had such a nice time. I feel like I am living all my Jo March dreams this winter. I am about halfway through the current project, with another lined up to start immediately afterwards, so there will be a few drops from me next year. It's an exciting time and one that is filled with joy and gratitude.
The snow is lying quite thick on the ground and as I write this post, it is getting even colder, now that night has fallen. It will be crisp and icy tomorrow. November has been such a lovely month this year, beginning with the warm, golden bronzed tones of autumn - the trees have been spectacular this autumn - and now ending in the winter wonderland of snow! How wonderfully kind my birthday month has been to me! It has brought me my Masters Graduation, a very happy birthday, new writing to get on with and now my favourite weather of all - snow! I feel very blessed.
There is something about snowy days that collude with a writing life. It's too cold to go outside for long, and after a brief walk, it is nice to come back indoors to the cosy vibes of the Yuletide tree and settle in to work. I've had my Sleigh Ride or Fireside ambient DVDs playing in the background while I work, and the festive treats of warm mince pies and Turkish Delight hot chocolate beside me as I invent my next project on the page.
It has been so enjoyable and I am reminded daily of how much I love my job as a writer and how thankful I am to have so many new opportunities coming to me again. It occurred to me a few days ago that I have actually received my birthday wish from last year - it came true and now I am living it on a daily basis. Magical thinking is powerful indeed.
Now the year turns towards its end. The festive season beckons, with presents and Christmas baking and pretty new party dresses to twirl in until midnight. There are sugar mice beneath my tree, soft carols playing in the background and a book of festive Nordic tales by my bed, so I can read of even snowier climes at Yuletide, each night before I close my eyes and drift off into dreams of dancing sugar-plum fairies. I have been burning Yankee's Peppermint Candy Cane candles and the whole house smells like the Land of Sweets from The Nutcracker. It's delicious!
I feel as if the break from Wicca and magical writing was much needed, because I was suffering from burn out. Also, it has given me a new perspective on my own magic and in the space that break created, a whole new magical writing life has taken root. Sometimes you do need to take a break from magical living in order to recharge and allow the next phase of enchantment to germinate and come to fruition. I needed the break, but I am so delighted to be back in my enchanted world as a magical writer once more and the writing process is so joyful to me again. I feel a new found sense of wonderment in my work.
It hasn't always been easy to trust that I would be guided back to a writing life again once my studies were over, but this time last year I was just putting out feelers to publishers regarding new projects and plans - and now, I'm in the thick of those plans! The dream, made manifest, became my reality and I never truly get used to that feeling or take it for granted. It always fills me with a sense of being wonderstruck!
But for today, my word count is achieved and it is time to relax on this glorious, snowy night. I'm going to warm up some mulled wine and gingerbread, then sit by the fire in the light of the twinkling tree, to watch A Kylie Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall. I can't think of a nicer way to end such a productive and magical day of writing!
Whatever you're doing on this frozen, snowy night, stay warm and safe and enjoy the winter magic!
BB Marie x
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