C h e r y l     R E A V I S

December 12, 2012

Hi, Everyone.

It's been some time since I cranked out my newsletter, but I think I still remember how. I hope you are all ready for Christmas--more ready than I am, at least. I tend to buy gifts all year long--and then, more likely than not, I can't find them when it's time to wrap them and put them under the tree. Apparently, it's all part of my "process," because I keep doing it.

My family is small, but our holiday gathering will be even smaller this year. My sister and her husband will be spending Christmas abroad--visiting my nephew who has been participating in the Fulbright Scholars Program and who has chosen to stay in the country where he was assigned for a while. He's been teaching over there, and I think, falling in love. There is much unrest in the region, so naturally my mother--who is 92--and I worry. I understand we're very good at that, Olympic caliber even, if they had worrying as a competitive event.

The older I get, the more I remember Christmases past--like the brown paper Christmas bag with your name on it they used to give out at church the night of the Christmas pageant. I loved those brown paper bags with all the goodies inside--a orange, an apple, a tangerine, assorted unshelled nuts, chewing gum, a tiny box of raisins, several chocolate candy bars (I didn't get chocolate all that often, so this was great), and best of all, a pencil. (Writers love writing instruments, and we start out really young. When I was in the first grade, I got a Christmas pencil that looked as if it was covered in blue-green snake skin. LOVED that pencil.) Remembering it still makes me smile. I hope you'll take the time to dust off some of your own holiday memories--the ones that make you smile, too, that is.

If you've never read my true, Almost Christmas Stranger story, it's still available on my blog at this link: http://cherylreavis.blogspot.com/2011/12/re-remembering-christmas-past.html

I hope you'll visit the blog "Writing Life" all through the year: http://cherylreavis.blogspot.com

Writing news? I thought you'd never ask. I've had two releases this year, one a Love Inspired Historical titled THE SOLDIER'S WIFE, which came out in August. This is a new venture for me, "inspirational" fiction, and I'm enjoying writing it very much. The book is available at most all of the online booksellers (amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, eHarlequin, etc.) both as an eBook and in the print version.

BelleBridgeBooks, a very fine independent publishing house, has released an updated version of my single title novel, PROMISE ME A RAINBOW. It's available at the online booksellers' websites and at Belle Books/Belle Bridge Books: http://www.bellebooks.com

Belle Books will also be publishing my "orphan" book, THE FIRST BOY I LOVED, which is one of two books left high and dry when Harlequin's NEXT line folded. I'm still looking for a home for the other one, but THE FIRST BOY I LOVED will be out a year from now in January 2014.

I'll have a second Love Inspired Historical, titled AN UNEXPECTED WIFE, out in July 2013. And, while I'm resting, I'll be working on some proposals for subsequent historical novels and trying to decide what to do to revamp my SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE/"Cinda Richards" backlist.

And speaking of backlists, the eBook version of many of my older books are now available on amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and the various independent eBook sellers like Books On Board, Fictionwise, Sony eBooks, and of course, eHarlequin.

I've just made a small anthology of three of my short stories available on amazon, Kindle format only for right now. All three of these stories were published previously in "little magazines" and all three won first prize in various short story contests. They aren't romances per se, but they are about love, about three women who are trying to understand what love is--and what it isn't. "The Last Entry," is the title of one of the stories and is also the title of the anthology. It's about a young woman who must bring devastating news to the Amish man she has loved all her life. I'm told by critics that it is "haunting." I think they mean that in a good way. You can read a sample of the beginning for free at:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Entry-ebook/dp/B00ALYU5OQ

We can't talk about Christmas without talking about food, so I'd like to share with you one of my favorite easy recipes for holiday meals:

CHERRY SALAD

1 large can sour pitted cherries
2 small cans crushed pineapple
1 cup chopped nuts
1 orange, grated rind plus the juice
1 lemon, grated rind plus the juice
2 regular sized packages of cherry Jello
3/4 cup of sugar

Mix juice from the cherries and sugar together in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add all other ingredients and stir until Jello is melted. Pour into a pretty glass bowl. Refrigerate until set.

This salad is pretty to look at and quite refreshing.

Now. Let me close by wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season.

All my best,

Cheryl

P. S. Please feel free to share the newsletter with anyone who might be interested.