10 Valentine's Day Gifts for Writers

by Enisa Haines

Ⓒ Enisa Haines

It's Valentine's Day today, the day we can tell the people most important to us they are loved. What to gift them? We all love a dazzling bouquet of fragrant red roses, chocolates temptingly displayed in a heart-shaped box, a teddy bear or a sparkling piece of jewelry, but gifting our loved ones something unique, something more personal, shows how much they mean to us. And if our loved ones are writers here's a list of gifts that will let them know how very special they are.

1. Paper roses

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If your writer loves flowers then a rose made to order from the hand-cut pages of a preloved copy of their favourite novel, each petal shaped by hand, will be sure to inspire.

2. Journal

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For writers who love to write by hand, whether to jot down ideas for characters, settings, conflicts or plots, or to write the complete story, journals with inspiring cover illustrations like the one above are gifts they'll treasure.

3. Feather Quill or Fountain Pen

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What better way to inspire writing by hand than to hold a feather quill like those used by beloved authors of long ago.

4. Week/Month/Year Planner

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Organising a week or month or year is a great way for writers to then focus on writing and keep track of their progress and other goals such as manuscript submission and book publication dates.

5. Online Writing Course/Writing-Editing Software/Creative Tools Subscription

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Whether a beginning writer or a successful author with multiple books published, mastering storytelling is the common goal. Ways to achieve that include enrolling in online writing courses, enlisting the aid of writing or editing software or subscribing to online sites such as One Stop for Writers that provide creative tools.

6. Noise-Cancelling Headphones

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If background noise is distracting then noise-cancelling headphones are just what a creative muse needs.

7. Kindle-Unlimited Subscription

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Every writer loves to read so the gift of a digital subscription to accessing millions of books is one they'll be grateful for.

8. Writer's Clock

Writer's clock - Ⓒ Enisa Haines

When immersed in writing, writers often lose track of time. With a special writer's clock, they'll always know the time for the next task.

9. Ergonomic Chair or Coccyx Seat Cushion and Lumbar Support Pillow

coccyx and lumber support - Ⓒ Enisa Haines

Writers can spend hours seated at their computers, often with bad posture that leads to sciatica, lower back or tailbone pain. Sitting in an ergonomic chair will alleviate pressure on the coccyx/tailbone, relieve sciatic nerve pain, support the back's curve and provide healthy posture. If the budget doesn't allow for a chair, then a coccyx seat cushion and lumbar support pillow giving the same benefits can turn a bad chair into a good chair.

10. Writer's Retreat

Getting away from the responsibilities of daily life to a place where focus is solely on writing is every writer's dream. Time away at a writing retreat surrounded by other writers inspires motivation and lets creativity flow. 

Writer's retreat - Ⓒ Enisa Haines

Would the writer in your life like one of these gifts? Or is there something else they'd love to receive? 

Love to love: writing by hand. My creativity loves it too!

Love to laugh: romantic comedies are always fun.

Love to learn: for all things writing, One Stop for Writers is the subscription to have!

MIRANDA'S CHRISTMAS MUSINGS!

 Well, hello my darlings, long time no see! I'm delighted to be back with you and chatting about my absolute favourite thing: CHRISTMAS BOOKS! Christmas is tremendously special for me, and combining the love of the season with romance is a complete winner. I've got ten special books to share, so I'm going to dive straight in.

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DEAR SANTA by Debbie Macomber is a lovely way to kick off your festive reading; I always enjoy her Christmas books. How many of you remember writing letters to Santa when you were little, with a wish list? How many wishes came true? Lindy Carmichael's just had her heart broken - then her mother gives her all her old Santa letters, and Lindy realises sometimes Christmas wishes do come true, with a little help from you-know-who. No, not Voldemort, of course I mean Santa!

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Fancy a cowboy for Christmas? Don't we all! Vicki Lewis Thompson gifts us the scorching novella It's Christmas, Cowboy, and we do need to pop this in our Christmas stocking. With the always-poignant trope of second-chance-at-love, old school friends Tucker and Lacey reconnect. And boy howdy, do they ever! This is fast and furious, so if you've only got a short break, choose this.

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And speaking of cowboys - ranchers - ranch builders - Kelly Hunter's Must Love Christmas is totally fabulous, one of my 5 star reads this year. Seth Casey is such a dream hero, strong and rugged and sexy and capable and, well, also nice. Madeline is the rich girl who owns the ranch he wants to own, and she says no to his offer to buy it. I thought this might degenerate into a fight (sorry Kelly, I should've known better), but they're both so heroic it turns out to be a heart-grabbing romance. The scene on Christmas Day here is enough to move even the stoniest of Christmas scrooges (sniff). 

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Rebecca Raisin is a new-to-me author this year, and I read the two books loosely linked to Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop and loved them: Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop and Aria's Travelling Book Shop. Both were terrific, especially the latter (it's about books!). I couldn't resist the third one, set in the most fairytale of all places at Christmas: Lapland! I'm not kidding. With reindeer and snow and hot chocolate and omigosh the food, and Christmas trees and, cough, Connor, a bit of a Christmas grinch. Flora's about the sort that out, quick smart. This is a gentle romance, and it's sparkly with tinsel and glitter and everything Christmassy.

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From Lapland to Edinburgh! I discovered Jenny Colgan last year, and she combines warm humour and romance with festive fun and food: a complete reader seduction. When you add in the booky setting for The Christmas Bookshop, it's winning all the way. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Carmen: she was aimless and a bit thoughtless. When her mother and sister foist her into a pretty hopeless destined-to-fail job at the bookstore, it takes a while for Carmen to shine. But, happily, shine she does, and just in time for Christmas. The romance is a little bit different, and the quirky characters totally capture your heart. 

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Sweet Christmas Secrets is a stunning anthology with ten festive Regency stories written by ten Aussie authors. Kudos to them all! I had a fabulous time reading my way through the lushly romantic stories. Every one is just long enough to sit and enjoy as a mini break in-between all your Christmas busyness. They each feature a letter and/or a secret, and there are many misunderstandings and broken hearts before we get our happy ending. What a Christmas bliss bomb.

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While we're in Regency mode, treat yourself to the charming novella A Christmas Love Redeemed, by fan favourite Alison Stuart. It's a second-chance-at-love story, and it's simply lovely. Another one to enjoy with a quick hot chocolate and a fruit mince pie. Our hero is French (swoon) and the heroine English, so that leads to high tension when the hero is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such a special treat.

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Who can resist the two sweet cherubs on the cover of Their Yuletide Healing? Not I! This is another new-to-me author, Mindy Obenhaus, who writes for Harlequin Love Inspired, a series where faith is a main element in the books. Have to say, faith and Christmas sort of go together, and also reconciliation and forgiveness and healing. Here the town Scrooge suddenly finds his guarded, lonely heart invaded by these two little foster kids and their foster mom. Just. Beautiful. 

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It truly is a pleasure to read another Christmas story from Sarah Morgan, and The Christmas Escape is marvellous. And, again, shock, off we go to Lapland! Is the Universe telling me something? Do I need to book an escape to Lapland? (Yes. The answer is obviously yes.) It's not just snow and the cold and festivities, however. This is a deeply moving story of a little family in crisis, of reconciliation, and a zinger do-I-hate-you-or-love-you? romance. (Spoiler: love. The answer is obviously love.) 

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I've been told the cover of Trisha Ashley's book One More Christmas at the Castle is all glittery and gorgeous, so it almost seemed sacrilegious to read it on my Kindle. I wanted all that razzle dazzle in my hands, sigh. But any which way you read this book you'll love it. You'll also put on weight just reading about the lavish food, oh my. I have no idea how these characters stayed trim. All that walking in the snow? An elderly widow invites a few key people from her family and friends - and the Heavenly Houseparty catering company - to mastermind her last Christmas at the castle (bit sad). The burning question is who will inherit, but I kept getting distracted by the Christmas cake and cheese straws and...never mind. Not one but two romances here, so terrific, and a fabulous cast of characters. And I'm not going to mention decorations or the food any more. Although there was the mulled wine and the mistletoe...no. A wonderful book that happily wallowed in Christmas from beginning to end, and it made me happy. I now want to live in a castle and have Heavenly Houseparties cater for me, forever. Enjoy.

So that's my little list. Happily I have many, many more also ready to go, including my annual reread of the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. If you click on the link you'll see I've indulged in a very special new edition. 

Merry Christmas, dear readers. May your festive time be merry and bright, and I hope Santa brings you some wonderful reading.

Do stay safe and well, and hug your precious ones tight.

Loads of love from Miranda xxx

Love to love: Christmas! Everything and all things Christmassy!

Love to laugh: I'm a bit like Cassandra Samuels, I love funny Christmas movies.

Love to learn: What are you reading? And some last minute hot tips for the Christmas stockings? Please tell? Pop it all in the comments. below. 

There was a time Christmas was banned - Was it all Cromwell's Fault?

By Cassandra Samuels

Believe it or not, back in 1647, Christmas celebrations were forbidden by law. No festivities were allowed and there were big consequences for disobedience, but how did it happen?

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The parliament won the Civil War in England, and Oliver Cromwell and his mates decided to incarcerate King Charles at Hampton Court. The Church of England was abolished and replaced with the Presbyterian Church. They had strict ideas about how the people should behave. The Presbyterian Church believed the religious holiday was for prayer, not parties.

"Oliver Cromwell statue outside Parliament" by UK Parliament is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

 

They brought in new restrictions that did not go down well with the populace. These new restrictions included no more than 12 days of Christmas celebrations. All the shops had to stay open on Christmas Day, and no decorations were allowed.

by Sister72 is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

 

 

The people were not happy and all throughout England, Scotland and Ireland they refused to conform. Armed forces had to be brought in to control the people and stop festivities. Even the church wardens at Westminster Abbey were arrested for not stopping the celebrations. The Mayor of London was verbally abused for trying to take down decorations of holly and ivy that adorned the shops. The Mayor of Norwich turned a blind eye and was summoned to explain himself. It all ended in a riot that culminated in an explosion, and the death of forty people.

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 In the following years, there were more riots that ultimately led to the second civil war after King Charles was executed. Revolution followed. 

Christmas was reinstated and the people were happy. So, although it wasn't solely Oliver Cromwell's fault, he was part of the parliament that brought in the Puritan restrictions and caused such drama.

Love to Love: Christmas movies and books including our own Breathless Anthology.

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Love to Laugh: at the joy of my grandsons when decorating the Christmas tree.

Love to Learn: That when things are bad, I have so much love and support from friends and family.