Wednesday Whatever: Christmas Treats, Crafts, and so on . . .

Hello, Posse!

Are you ready for Christmas? I think I might be close! I still have to make our calendar for the next year, I make us one with all the important family dates and holidays on it so I do not forget. I even put things in there like "order Christmas cards now" and "mail Christmas cards by today" so I do not lose track of time when the holidays hit. It is incredibly helpful. You can even print the person's photo on birthdays so it makes it easier to remember everyone birthday. I'd be lost without it.

Other than making our family calendar, finishing up the Into the West Saga Serial Family Fun Book (which I should get finished today), and finish the Into the Saga Serial Christmas Companion Story, I think I am ready for Christmas. All the gifts have been sent or are sitting around my office to be wrapped, but most are already under the tree. I am resisting the urge to buy anything else between now and Christmas. That is always my major problem when I finish shopping too early, I tend to keep shopping and end up blowing my budget.

All the major baking has been done and I really only still have to make a pumpkin cheesecake for Christmas dinner, thought I might end up making more stollen instead. It turned out so amazingly good! I was shocked seeing as how this was my first attempt at making it. It was so good, we ate half the loaf I made for us the night I baked it. If you want to give it a try you can find the recipe I used on The Daring Gourmet, Best German Christmas Stollen. This is the photo of the loaf I made. I did make my own candied lemon and orange peels I think it really did make a difference in the flavor. I cheated a bit thought. Instead of letting them sit out a few days to dry, I stuck them in my airfryer on the dehydrate setting, worked fantastic. Also, I mixed the fruit and nuts like the recipe says and poured the rum over it all, but then my migraine got a lot worse and I didn't finish the recipe until the next day. I think letting the fruit sit overnight really brought out the flavors. Next time, I want to try even making the marzipan from scratch. It doesn't seem that hard just reading the recipe for it. We will find out.

I think I can be finished up with everything on my holiday "to do" list by this Sunday and next week I just plan to relax and enjoy time with Pedro and Shaggy. I might even read a few books that I did not write. I do not plan to get back to writing part seven, Into the West: Family Ties until after Christmas. I have been going constantly on these books either doing marketing or writing every single day for the last few years and honestly, I need a vacation. I love writing and I love my characters and Sharon Springs, but sometimes it's good to get away from even a fictional "home" of your own creation.

We are continuing to do research into how best to set up our sound booth so I can get to work on the audiobooks for the serial as soon as we publish part seven. I have been dying to get these done and I hope to have it all figured out by the time the last book is in print. In the meantime, you can check out the audio sample I made when I was testing out recording programs. The sound is decent, but I think with a little practice I can do it even better. If you would like to check out a sample, just CLICK HERE or on the cover image. I'd love to hear what you think and if you have any suggestions as to how I can make it better.

The Serial plug . . .

If you are looking for wholesome entertainment this holiday, why not give my Into the West Saga Serial Collection (<---click to view books) a try. Parts one through six are available now on Amazon.com and BN.com. Part seven, Into the West: Family Ties is currently set for a Spring 2022 release.

Don't forget to join my mailing list and never miss out on news or upcoming release dates. Just go to our subscribers page (<--- click here) and give us your name and email address. When you join up, you get to read the first chapter of Into the West: The Orphan Train for free. If you haven't read my books this is a great way to try them out with no risk to you or if you have Kindle Unlimited the entire Into the West Saga Serial is available to read free with your subscription.

If you sign up before midnight CST on Dec 22, 2021 you will get a free Into the West saga Serial Christmas Companion book and a Free Family Fun book as well. It's filled with great puzzles, trivia, and more.

The mailing list is free to join, quit anytime, no strings attached . . . ever!

What have you got to lose? Join us today and start reading!

Enough business for now. I hope you all have a wonderful week, Posse! Be sure to make time for self-care during the hustle and bustle this holiday season. If you need some ideas for some last minute gifts, check out the video below for a few great DIY gift baskets you can make on a budget in very little time.

Happy Holidays, Joyous Yule, and a very Merry Christmas!