I am mulling ideas over in my imagination about my next novel, Wish Upon a Sea Star. Do you love that title? I sure do!

Anyway, what I know so far is that the main character is Leah St. James, a fifty-something social worker from Seahaven Child and Family Services (in fictional Seahaven, Maine). She also facilitates the grief support group, Together Not Alone. If you read my latest in the Seahaven Sunrise Series (Sea Glass Memories), you know that Together Not Alone played a big part in Elena's journey.

I've been in the beginnings of dialoging with Leah (in my imagination and in my journal) and have discovered that she is a huge lover of all things Christmas. In fact, she named her beloved cat Buddy after the main character in the popular movie ELF!

So I'm curious . . . are there any Christmas devotees out there? And if so, what can you tell me about your favorite Christmas traditions, activities, celebrations . . as a child, a teen, and even now as an adult?

Your suggestions could include: special foods, favorite games or activities, movies, books, memories, things that you collect, traditions, funny stories or anything else that comes to mind.

I am also curious about other traditions and celebrations that take place in December. There will be other characters who are not Christmas-celebrators, so if you celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanza or Winter Solstice or anything else, I need those ideas too!

Please respond by replying to this email. I love hearing from you and promise to respond within 24 hours. I'll make a collection of all your ways of celebrating and if I use one or more in the next novel, I'll be sure to mention you in the acknowledgements!

I offer heaps of gratitude in advance for whatever you can send that will stoke the fires of my imagination as I learn more about Leah and her love for this holiday season!

Two years ago, Elana Jeffries lost both loves of her life in Boston. Now she is starting over in beautiful Seahaven, located on the idyllic Maine coast and conveniently close to the home of her brother Carlos.

Leaving Boston is difficult, but Elana-a dedicated high school English teacher-finds sanctuary in a renovated apartment building owned by the mystical Kit Gilmore, a longtime and beloved Seahaven resident, who has also known devastating loss.

Determined to keep her head down and focus solely on her classes, Elena finds herself distracted by an invitation to direct the senior class play-Our Town-with Jonathan, a popular history teacher. Along the way, she forges friendships with Kit, her new neighbors, and members of a local grief support group.

Her illusions of happily-ever-after were shattered in Boston, but a fleeting romance with a high-spirited, talented young actor offers her another distraction and something else entirely-a glimpse of her former self and a flicker of hope that indicates happiness may be on the horizon again.

Grief, she learns from Aunt Kit, is like a piece of sea glass, its sharp edges smoothed by time but never completely erased. As Elena learns to embrace her whole self-from deep sorrow to increasing joy-she slowly finds the courage to make amends with someone from her past while opening the door to a new love who has been right down the hall all along.

You'll find lots of positive reader reviews on this page.

 🏆 November Give-Away Winners 🏆

a paperback copy of Family Tree, by Susan Wiggs.

Barbara from Oregon

Sheri from Connecticut

This is a lovely winter read, by another one of my favorite women's fiction authors! It's a heartwarming and immensely moving love story, and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic . . . and then her bus drives away. Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend, Sarah, giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus!

To enter, just fill out the short form here

and I'll do a random drawing

I will send you an email notice that you've won,

(NOTE: I use the random generator at random.org to choose the winners

Greetings! Thanks for reading my author newsletter! This is me a few weeks ago at Moody Beach in Wells, Maine. You know I'm a fan of sunrises, but this was actually a MOONRISE at sunset!

In between newsletters, I'll be posting more often on Instagram, my blog, and/or my Facebook Author page, so please be sure to visit me there too.

Also, don't forget to enter our December fiction give-away, One Day in December, by Susan Wiggs.