Book Nook; Christmas in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft

 

I have been saving this book because I wanted to read it over the festive season. It has been my guilty pleasure in the quiet moments, between family outings, endless gift wrapping, the big food shop and so on.  Christmas is a lot of hard work for a lot of women, up and down the country, so what better way to unwind than with a lovely festive romance?  

I have always loved Scotland and it has been a dream of mine since childhood to spend Christmas in a castle. In my imagination at least, this book has made that dream come true! Curled up on the chaise-lounge, with a cup of Christmas cheer beside me - a Baileys hot chocolate to be precise - I have devoured this romance novel and found it to be both heart-warming and charming.

It is set in a small Highland village, dominated by a large castle which is inhabited by a reclusive widow called Edina, who has a penchant for wearing her tiaras on a daily basis. Love her!  When Edina writes out her Christmas wish list, she has no idea that she is setting in motion a chain of events that will impact the lives of so many of her fellow villagers and family members alike.

This novel is an easy read, the pacing is good and the romance between the two characters develops nicely.  It has just the right balance of drama and optimism. You won't need to work hard to enjoy this book, so sit back, put your feet up and relax with Christmas in the Scottish Highlands. It is one of those books that I will probably bring out each year, creating a new festive downtime tradition. I will look out for more Christmassy books by this author. 

It's not too late to enjoy it over the festive period, as I have done, because it would make a lovely New Years Eve read by the fire! Happy reading and happy new year!

Marie x

AD This novel was sent to me by the publisher for review purposes. It is available now in paperback and download formats. 

WRITER'S DREAM; Boxing Day Secret Project

It is 8pm on Boxing Day night and I have spent the whole day writing. I have been burning Yankee Candle's Peppermint Candy Cane and the whole house smells bright and festive. The fairy-lights are twinkling and my new light-up gingerbread house is creating a warm and cosy glow. It has been a lovely and productive Christmas time.  I took a couple of days off to spend time with family and friends and I had a lovely Christmas day, filled with magical presents, carols, food, love and laughter. I recieved a wonderful reverse incense burner in the shape of a tree man for Christmas, and he is currently billowing fragrant smoke out of his mouth, over a festoon of toadstools around him.  He is so magical, and one of my favourite gifts this year. 

Today, however, I was back at my desk and working away on my laptop.  As a result I have just completed my latest project, which is just as well because the deadline is December 30th!  But I have just written the final words and I am really pleased with how it has all come together.  It has been one of my dream projects to work on and I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity. It's not something that I have ever done before, but it was so enjoyable to write.  Tomorrow I will give it one final read through and then send it up to my editor, ready for when she returns to the office in January. 

I have always loved writing at Christmas time.  It has been a staple of my career as an author, but this year has felt especially magical, because not only was I writing by the tree, I was making one of my own long-held dreams come true too!  It has felt like a very enchanting time and I hope that I have managed to translate some of that magic to the page. 

I already have another new project that I need to start straight away, so I won't be getting much rest this festive season!  I feel fortunate though, because a steady stream of commissions is essential, if somewhat unusual, for freelancers, so to have one project all lined up before I've even finished the last one is fantastic. It's what you dream of as an author, and I can tell you, it feels great to be living that dream! Nevermore so than at Yuletide, when a whole new year of possible projects is just waiting in the wings.

I have new ideas that I need to write up and send out too, so I will be getting on with that in the coming days.  This is the life I used to dream of as a girl - staying at home, all cosy in one of my new velvet night gowns and writing for publishers, keeping Christmas like Jo March and scribbling away. It is a wonderful life indeed! I wouldn't want it any other way.

It feels like the whole world is tucked away inside their own homes and everywhere is so peaceful and quiet.  It is a time that is very conducive to creating content and authorship. Not to mention reading.  I have at least a dozen new titles to read and review for publishers, so when I am not writing, I will be reading and reviewing instead.  It's a fabulous bookish lifestyle and I love it.  It's not for everyone, but it suits me down to the ground and it is the life I have always wished for.  I'll never allow anyone to snatch it away from me in the spirit of envy or jealousy!  If they want to live the same life as me, they will need to work for it, as I have done. 

So tonight, as the moon wanes and the year begins to draw to a close, I am feeling particularly grateful for the life that I have created for myself.  Winter has only begun, so there are many more cosy nights by the fire, or at my desk, working away at my laptop and writing my dreams and goals into being. I wonder what I might create for myself in 2022?

The ghosts of possibility are all around me tonight as I write this post, so we shall see what they bring our way over the next few months. Magic is certainly afoot this festive season, so tap into it and enjoy it. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing this Boxing Day night, I wish you peace and joy.

Blessed Be 

Marie x

 

MUSICAL DOLL; New Age Festive Music

 Yesterday marked the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, with more than twelve hours of darkness to enjoy.  I have been working hard on one of my new projects and I expect to complete it on Boxing Day, before I get on with the next one.  It's a busy time, with tight deadlines to meet for my editors, but I do love working from home, especially at this time of year when the house is so festive. I feel very lucky to be able to spend my days curled up with my laptop, by the twinkling tree and write away for hours. 

As cosy as it is though, I still want to feel like I am enjoying the festive season, so I like to have instrumental Christmassy music playing in the background as I write. I like the Downton Abbey Christmas album, but an old favourite of mine is Medwyn Goodall's A Christmas Tapestry, which I've had for years and it comes out every Yuletide. It's lovely blend of new age soundscapes and well-known Christmas carols.  I like the album so much that I was on the hunt for something similar this year, to change the background vibes a bit and I came across a couple of new releases from New World Music.

I have collaborated with New World in the past on the Fairy Nights album and it is a label that I love. They produce some spectacular albums and I was not disappointed with my new festive purchases. My favourite is Mulled Wine and Mistletoe.  I absolutely adore this album and I have been listening to it virtually non-stop! 

The best way I can describe it would be to say that it is like stepping back in time, to a great hall in a beautiful castle, which is all decked out for Christmas, with the Yule log burning in a huge fireplace.  If you have ever seen the TV show The Tudors, this album is very much like the kind played in the Christmas scenes in King Henry's court when he is wooing Anne Boleyn. The music is very traditional and it has a medieval quality that carries you away to another time. It includes classics such as Silent Night and I Saw Three Ships, but it also has beautiful old fashioned tunes such as The Boar's Head Carol, Coventry Carol, Sans Day Carol and also Gaudete, which is a personal favourite of mine. 

Mulled Wine and Mistletoe is a continuous play album, so there are no long silences between tracks; one track blends easily into the next. It is a charming album and I'm so glad I got it. I know that I will play it every year from now on and that I will miss it during the rest of the year. I just love the medieval, old fashioned atmosphere this CD provides, and curled up in one of my Victorian velvet nightgowns, I can imagine myself far away in a castle in the Highlands. I really hope these artists release a similar album of medieval music that can be played all year round, because I would certainly buy it. 

The second album I purchased was The Christmas Album, which features lots of well-known New Age artists such as Medwyn Goodall, Tim Rock and Wychazel. This is classic New Age music, with none of the medieval vibes of Mulled Wine and Mistletoe. It is still a very beautiful album though, with tinkling sounds, flutes, pipes and piano. It's a nice album to relax to, perhaps while having a festive Snow Fairy bath. It should also help to calm the mind amid a frenzy of last minute present wrapping too!  This album is certainly one that you can keep on standby over the festive season for when you need to de-stress. It is lovely background music for Christmas dinner or if you're driving home for Christmas. 

While both these albums are lovely and I do like them a lot, for me Mulled Wine and Mistletoe wins the contest, because of it's power to transport me back in time, so if you are only looking to purchase one new festive album this year, I would go with that one. New World Music festive albums are available on CD and to download.  Enjoy!

BB Marie x

BOOK NOOK; The Good Bear by Sarah Lean

 

"I'd never forget this moment. How lucky I was to have been cared for by a bear, one that had never been cared for by anyone else."

I received this book for my birthday last month. It was one of my gifts from my Mum and I have been saving it until I could read it by the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree.  Today I have devoured the book whole, in one sitting and I consider it to have been an afternoon well spent!

The Good Bear is a very heart-warming story. It is set in snowy Norway, during Christmas week so it is the perfect book to curl up with at this time of year.  It is a story that explores the connections we make, both with close and distant family members, and with our own talents and gifts.  It also explores the special and magical connections some of us have with animals - the trust that is given and recieved, and sadly, sometimes betrayed.

This is a love story between a young girl and a bear that has escaped from cruelty and who has been held in captivity for so long, he doesn't know how to survive a winter alone. So the little girl, Thea, helps him and in doing so, a beautiful relationship of trust develops and grows. But the bear is being hunted and the girl must protect him and keep him safe.

In some ways it reminded me of films such as Born Free or Free Willy - it has that same kind of effect on the reader.  It highlights how privileged we are when an animal, any animal, puts its trust in us, especially when a wild creature chooses to interact with us in a very gentle way. It is something I have experienced myself with the wild stags in the Highlands and I can only describe these encounters as being truly magical and enchanting.  And yes, it does make one feel very, very lucky to make a connection with a wild animal who could so easily harm us, but who chooses to moderate its strength and be gentle with us instead.  Animals are the best friends you will ever make and their loyalty is unshakable.

The Good Bear offers companionship to a girl who feels lost, alone and isolated and in return, she offers food for his survival.  It is a book which perfectly illustrates the strong bonds animals make with their chosen humans and how they will often put themselves in harms way in order to defend that human. 

It is a beautiful story, one that explores the true meaning of Christmas and the coming together of different traditions and festivities across cultures.  It would be a great book to curl up with and read on Christmas Eve, or at any point over the festive period when you have some free time on your hands.  It's a page turner though, so you won't want to put it down until you've finished it, but as it is a fairly short book at just 300 pages, you can read it in a day.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and now a part of me wishes I had a wild bear to keep Christmas with too!  Happy reading!

BB Marie x

BOOK NOOK; A Scandinavian Christmas

 

    

This pretty little book has been on my bedside table for a couple of weeks now and I finished reading it last night.  It is a book of festive short stories, all of which hail from the Nordic regions.  When I am busy writing and working on my own projects, I much prefer to read short stories or poetry, as I can pick up an anthology in a spare moment without losing too much time away from my own writing, so books like this one are perfect for that purpose. 

A Scandinavian Christmas is a lovely collection of both modern and traditional stories for the festive season.  As you might imagine from the title, these tales carry you away to the snowy Nordic realms, with reindeer, northern lights and icy igloos all playing a part.  It's not all fluffy festive stories though - some deal with darker topics such as hallucinogenic drug use and addiction, so this is not a book for children.  That said, there are lots of tales here that children might enjoy having read to them as bedtime stories, so it's really down to parental discretion. 

Many of the authors were unknown to me, being Scandinavian, but there are also classic authors such as Hans Christian Anderson represented too.  Some of my favourite tales in this collection include The Fir Tree, The Fur Coat, The Forest Witch and The Legend of the Christmas Rose.  The book also includes classics such as The Little Match Girl and The Brave Tin Soldier.  Here you will find trolls and talking trees, cosy tales told by a blazing fire, snowy adventures and unfaithful wives.  As a collection it is both surprising and very familiar. It is a fantastic introduction to Scandinavian folklore and tradition.

The cover art is stunning and this would make a lovely stocking filler for a bookworm.  It would look very pretty underneath the tree this Yuletide.  I have enjoyed reading one of the tales each night before I go to sleep. It really puts you into the festive mood, so if you want a seasonal bedtime read in the run up to Christmas, then this book is ideal.  

It looks great with my collection of festive books on my Yuletide bookshelf and is a nice addition to that collection.  It's a quick read, perfect to dip in and out of during the busy Christmas period, when you want to steal a few moments to yourself and escape to a snowy setting. 

A Scandinavian Christmas is a book best enjoyed by candlelight, tucked up into bed with a warm glass of Norwegian glogg beside you, to keep out the chill of a winter's night.  Good Yule!

BB Marie x

AD: This book was sent to me by the publisher for review purposes.  It is available to buy and download now.  

SLIPPERS AND SKATES; Let It Go - Ice Dancing

I recently got back home from a wonderful Christmas show at the local ice rink. It is the second time I have been to one of their festive shows and I have enjoyed it so much. Tonight's performance of  Let It Go took Disney as its main inspiration, with Elsa, Anna and their princess friends skating beautifully.  

The costumes were stunning! I don't think I've ever seen so many sequins, sparkles and glitter in one place before - not even at Disney on Ice!  The whole rink shimmered with glistening icy colours as the skaters danced in a shimmer of diamante starlight.  It was very effective under the lights.

My favourite part of the whole performance was Show Yourself, when the skaters wore ethereal 'wings' that lit up and Elsa was in her white dress - and that lit up too! It was simply stunning and so beautiful to watch I had tears in my eyes. 

There were some big lifts and roll ups, crazy backwards bending maneuvers that looked impossible but were danced so smoothly they made me gasp, some very pretty solos with Snow White and Belle, and there was some beautiful pas de deux too, showing off the other characters such as Cinderella and Rapunzel, each with their respective princes. 

I enjoyed the disco set, especially Girl on Fire - she was amazing! Plus there was the usual Christmas set to end the performance and I liked Baby Its Cold Outside the best, as those two skaters really seemed well matched as they danced together.  All in all it was a lovely ice-dance show and a great way to get into the festive spirit.  To say they don't have the kind of budget that Disney on Ice are working with, I do think the local rink can give Disney a run for their money! It was quite spectacular and I would certainly go again next year. 

It made me feel nostalgic for my own skating too. I love how the smell of the ice hits you as soon as you head down to the pads to take your seats and the shhhh-ing sound of dozens of skaters all gliding out together. It has really made me want to go skating again, so maybe I'll finally be able to get back on the ice myself next year, once I've had my Covid booster. 

But for now, all I can say is that the show was fantastic! I had so much fun tonight.  The skaters and choreographers must have been rehearsing for months and everyone has clearly worked so hard. It has certainly paid off and tonight I was lucky enough to watch a show that was magical, ethereal and so wintry in nature, it was like a living Christmas card. I loved every minute of it and now I feel ready for Yuletide - not to mention Dancing on Ice!

If your local ice rink is putting on a show this Christmas, I encourage you to go.  The rinks have been through a horrendous time of late because of the pandemic, so buying a ticket gives them a helping hand as we move forward and shows your support.  You'll probably have a great time too.  I know I did. It's lovely to see such dedication, creativity and artistry in my home town. I'm already looking forward to next year's show!

Blessed Be

Marie x