Unrelated Stuff and SBD

1. Last History bushwa. Doug and Lovelysalome were right. Blue-eyed, blonde Ma was from the tribe--a long line of Jews. Her parents came from two different shtetls in one of those areas that is sometimes Poland and sometimes Hungary.

She apparently looked echte Deutsche and rather Third Reich which caused her some trouble. Right after WWII, she was in Germany (she and Dad spent most of the war in Russia, working for the US of A--which later got them blacklisted, of course). She was constantly and rudely asked for her ID papers by occupying soldiers. She said she startled a fair number of American soldiers by responding in unaccented English. And no, I don't think any of her European relatives survived.

2. You know how people are always kvetching about other writers' behavior? Well, occasionally complaining?

How about "an author behaving graciously to another author" story?

Last month Sandy Blair gave away one of my books in a contest--to introduce people to my writing. She didn't even tell me about it. I found out this morning and I panicked because I thought I was supposed to send out a copy and had (as usual) forgotten. Nope, she took care of sending it, too. That Sandy is just a nice person.


3. SBD
Every time I try to write a Christmas story (and I keep trying) the story turns perverse. Not horrible, just not quite sweetness and light like a Balogh story. I can't seem to keep the cynical note out.

Regency-era Christmas stories are like over-spiced gingerbread. Just a few nibbles are perfect. Eat too many of them and you will get thoroughly sick. Heartburn City. Just like one viewing of A Christmas Carol (the Alistair Sims one. Or maybe the one with Muppets) every couple of years is about enough. **

A single Mary Balogh Christmas story has been almost more than enough for me. (If Diane Farr or Layton or Metzger writes a story, hey, I'm there anyway. They tend to be more story and less purely Christmas.)

In the past I've grumbled because they pack Yuletide stories in. Novels and novella collections filled with Joy and the coming Together of families and Rediscovery of Love and Life's True Meaning and beauty yada, yada.

But I'm an addict, so I went looking for the stories already. Early November and I haven't started any other kind of holiday activity-- first things first--and that means a dose of Regency Christmas.

Bring on some of Metzger's cute talking animals! A reformed sinner leading his former companions to a white Christmas in his country house! A jaded, rich lord who sees Christmas through a hired poor woman's eyes and falls in love (Balogh's specialty)! Prattling lisping children who transform the hardened rake into mush! The shy preacher who falls in love with the lady! The wounded withdrawn war hero who finds love with the shy governess! And lots and lots of snow in parts of England that rarely get more than a flake or two! Ending, one hopes, with the h/h standing by a window and seeing the Christmas Star.

You get the idea.

I crave at least one reformed Christmas rake. Just a single fix of well-written saccharine... And now I CAN'T FIND NEW ONES.

Ack! If I promise not to sneer at them any more, will someone please publish some heartwarming Regency Christmas tales? Please?

If you don't know what kind of story I'm talking about and you want a good one, try Diane Farr's Once Upon a Christmas. It gives me the sighing snuffles thinking about it. Great hero, too--does a wonderful job pretending to be insane.
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** In fact we watch a version of A Christmas Carol every year, but don't worry, we're tough around here. We have even added in It's a Wonderful Life occasionally. We're into excess and we're show-offs--and we survive. (Barely.)

There's been a suggestion that we watch Christmas in Connecticut, because, after all, we live in Connecticut...but so far it's just a lot of big, swaggering talk.