This will be my last blog post for 2020. I will be off-grid. Mainly, due to no Internet where I will be hanging out. But, it’s not a bad idea overall. This Christmas, like no other, should be a time to slow down. Take some time off from a few things. As you sit by the Christmas tree with that cup of hot chocolate or cider, reflect. Take time to read or watch Christmas movies with your children. Enjoy watching them play with their new toys or your pets with the discarded gift wrap. Just slow down and be.
As for my husband and I, we will be celebrating Christmas alone this year. No visits from or to see the grandkids. No family get-togethers. Many of us are experiencing what I call the fallout from the pandemic which all of us are facing. This is definitely a Christmas like no other. I know that we all hope to return to a “normal” Christmas in 2021. Perhaps, this year, a video call is in order to help those of us huggers see loving faces.
As I take time off, I will be considering new ways to promote my current book and complete my next book. I had planned on rewriting Book No. 2 entirely. However, I have decided what I have written is valuable to my readers. So, Book No. 2 will have two parts. It will make for more pages and may allow for spine art. Book No. 1 did not have enough pages for spine art, which saddened me at the time.
While taking time off from blog posts, I will spend some time trying to get my newsletter up and running to stay in touch with my readers better. I will also reach out and connect with the members of a writer’s group that I am a part of. And, last but not least, I will look at getting Book No. 1 published with other retailers in addition to Amazon. I am considering Barnes & Noble/Nook and BAM (Books A Million).
During this time, I will continue to get my fitness in. I do an upper body workout, lower body workout, and try to get in at least 8,000-10,000 steps each day. It is an effort in my busy life but important enough to me to make time for it. Amazingly, I can tell the difference in agility and strength when I skip a day or two. It isn’t long before I am eagerly getting back on track.
And, finally, during this Christmas like no other, my goal is to decompress from my current day job, where I am training three replacements,…and contemplate my next day job. I would love to write full time; but until my current book can sell enough copies to provide for my health insurance, my next job will need to be at least 30 hours. Either way, I am excited for what the future has in store for me.
Until I blog again, I wish everyone a wonderful and meaningful Christmas in whatever way you can connect with family and friends. There are so many options today from phone calls to Christmas cards to Skype and Zoom. Let’s make this a Christmas to be treasured in unique ways like no other. Enjoy the moments and may the coming year be better for all of us!
If you haven’t had a chance to get a copy of my book for yourself or a loved one, there is still time to send it direct. Check it out at Amazon by typing my full name, Virginia Alice Crawford, in the search bar, visit my author page or my site’s Books page. Be sure to click on “All Formats” for both e-book and soft cover options.
Virginia Alice Crawford 