Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmas and a new "review" of Back To Normal

It's not an official review or anything, but I got this in an email from my sister and it made me feel really good, so I thought I'd share:

Your book [Back To Normal] was great!  Instead of doing my Christmas cards, I was plastered to the chair to read.  I couldn’t put it down.  I never thought I could read this genre but I find it fascinating and interesting.  I’m still in awe over you being able to write so explicitly about it.  I kept putting it down to walk away and get other things done, but I kept coming back to it with ‘just one more chapter’.  Then it was over………….You really did a fabulous job on it.  I read a lot, at least 3 or 4 books a week (because I do nothing else and have no life) and I truly enjoyed reading this.  Congratulations, sis!

Tam  has asked people to share pix of their Christmas trees (or symbols of whatever holiday you celebrate), so here is this year's tree:

And here is the North Pole Village that Boy put up, with Buffy acting the Godzilla role:

26 comments:

  1. That is a lovely note from your sis!

    Your tree is beautiful and that fireplace, I'm jealous.

    OMG - the village is awesome but home many times to you have to set things to rights after Buffy tromps through. LOL.

    Thanks so much for sharing.

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  2. Awww. Your sis should add that review to Goodreads! :)

    I LOVE your poor, doomed village... :D

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  3. Hi Miranda! Thanks.

    Oddly, we have to reset very little after the monster walks through the streets. She's very dainty and has found two spots that fit her curled-up body. When Spike walks through, however, he usually leaves some upended elves and trees in his wake.

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  4. Hey Chris! I'm pretty sure my sister has no idea what Goodreads is LOL

    The village is pretty darn cool. Boy has a knack for setting it up, that's for sure. It takes him about 5 hours, where it would take me two days!

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  5. Wonderful feedback from your sister! How nice of her to share that with you. Great photos, and what a sweet little cat there in the North Pole village. Can't picture her as Godzilla at all. :)

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  6. Wow, that's great. Must have made you feel all mushy inside.

    Love your tree, it's so wide. The lady claimed ours would get bigger but it didn't really. LOL which is okay I suppose, just means the needles are in a smaller space to sweep up.

    The cat in the village is too cute. LOL That's something mine would try. They don't care about the treet but if there is something on a table they have to check it out.

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  7. Val: I love that my sister read and enjoyed the book.

    The cat resembles Godzilla more as she's walking through the village - she seems so huge compared to the little elves.

    Tam: It did make my mushy. I read it a bunch of times.

    Our trees are usually wide - because they're too big for the room. You'll notice that the top is flat - we always think we're getting a tree that will fit, then find we have to lob some off the top when we get it home.

    DH wants to move to a new house with higher ceilings!

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  8. Trees always look much smaller out in the lot than in your living room. I've learned that the hard way. Now I say "6 feet" and hope the lot guy's not lying to me.

    My daughter's friend has 25 foot cathedral cielings or something outrageous so they always get a gigantic tree. No idea how they decorate it.

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  9. Aww, your sister is sweet.

    The tree is lovely, and so is the village. My cats would demolish it. :)

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  10. So true about the size, Tam!

    I think if you have a tree that fits a 25' ceiling, you'd have to have scaffolding to decorate it!

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  11. Hi Eyre!
    Thank you!

    We've been lucky with the cats so far. Keep your fingers crossed!

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  12. That's an awesome note from your sister! :)

    Godzilla in the village. LMAO! ....and the elves run screaming for their lives.

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  13. What a wonderful note from your sister. I bet it made your day to read that. :)

    Your tree is beautiful, love the fireplace and the village too. My Kitty would love to prowl around it.

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  14. Ava: Thanks! Sometimes I imagine the little elves trying to capture the cat, like in Gulliver's Travels.

    Lily: Her comments made me very happy. Thanks for the compliments. We do love Christmas around here!

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  15. WOW! Perfect tree, Wren -- I love it! Is that a Dept. 56 village?

    What a lovely sister you have. Wish I could trade mine for somebody else's. She's like the Wicked Witch of the (Mid)West.

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  16. KZ: Thanks. That is the Dept. 56 "North Pole Village". It belongs to Boy. For many years, he got pieces as Christmas gifts.

    My sister is pretty sweet. But she also lives two states away!

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  17. Ahh, I thought it might've been. One of my relatives *WWMcough* had the Dickens village.

    I've always been enchanted by miniature worlds. But how unusual for a male child to start collecting pieces like that. Even though Boy's grown up now, he must be an interesting kid!

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  18. He is interesting. When he was little, my sister described him as having "an old soul" and I think she was right.

    His village skillz, I'm sure, come from the same place as the spend-two-days-setting-up-for-the-battle-royale-with-StarWars-action-figures skillz.

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  19. That's awesome that your sister loved your book, Wren. :)

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  20. Kris: It is! Makes me feel good that she's been open-minded about my writing!

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  21. I see that my cat isn't the only one who tries to destroy the village!

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  22. :) They're bred to prey on little ceramic figures!

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  23. And they love to munch on the fake snow.

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  24. I haven't seen that happen yet! They are, however, quite enamored of the bows on Christmas presents!

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  25. Loving the letter as well Wren... it is nice when family especially apprecite what we do...

    I love the village of the damned as well - I hope it's still in tact after the animals have visits...

    LOL

    :)

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  26. Hello E.H.!! You're right - I do like it when family members give me good feedback.

    The village is still standing, unharmed. The cats have discovered how much fun it is to chase each other under the tree, though! :)

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