Patricia’s Occasional Newsletter (distributed only by request)

from author Patricia Crossley, www.patriciacrossley.com Please stop by for a visit, read some of my extracts and reviews & pick up some free downloads.
email patricia@patriciacrossley.com,


Hello again. I want to thank everyone who has given me such positive feedback on the newsletter. I’m glad you enjoy it. I have writers listed into the new year, but if you are an author and would like to see your name in here, or if you have a short story to contribute, please let me know. My subscription list grows daily and I'm thrilled to be in contact with so many friends.

Here’s what I have for you this month:

* contest news (mine and others)
* The Lousy Dinner by Eva Kende
* Meet some authors
* The Christmas Mistake
* stocking stuffers
* how to make a labyrinth or an English fruit cake

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Contest news:
My gift of a Christmas ornament for the November draw is on its way to Allison Beck; Susan Lathen and Louis Keith will each receive a pair of handcrafted African earrings. Congratulations to all three and thanks to everyone who entered.
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My November contest was linked to some other writers each of whom is offering a gift at their web site. The gift ring will continue until December 24, when all prizes will be drawn. If you entered my contest in November you are automatically entered for my December draw. My December prize is a lovely piece of signed Haida art which is unframed and will be carefully rolled to ship to the lucky winner after Christmas. Check out the picture on my contest page. Plus I will send two more pairs of African earrings. Go to my website at www.patriciacrossley.com to find the contest link and the ring to continue to other fabulous gifts.
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My prize winning short story “The Fireworks Display” is available at TrebleHeart Books. The TrebleHeart authors are offering a draw for a fabulous basket of goodies. My full length romance “A Suitable Father” is one of the prizes in the basket. And by the way! I just heard from the British publisher that this story has a publication date of July 2003 in a large print edition. To enter the draw for the TrebleHeart prize basket go to www.trebleheartbooks.com and click on the red “Gift Basket Contest” button.
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The Lousy Dinner by Eva Kende

As I walk leisurely around the grocery store, my heart goes out to the young mothers, as they try to juggle groceries and inquisitive kids. I do remember clearly the days over thirty years ago, when I was in their shoes.
We lived in Edmonton. Life seemed to be a blur of getting my son, Leslie ready to go to the sitter, fall into the car, fight traffic, work, get Leslie, slap dinner together and collapse in an armchair until his time for a bath and bed time story. Money was short, even with two salaries, so take-out or restaurant meals were reserved as treats. Add to this my husband’s food restrictions and Leslie's poor appetite, creating cheap, quick, but nutritious meals were important. On top of this, my husband a junior executive, trying to climb the corporate ladder, loved to bring visiting out-of-town executives home for dinner on short notice. I loved to rise to the challenge and most of the time pulled it off graciously to my husband's great admiration, although at times it was not easy. This is when I got into the habit of planning the meals in my head while driving home.
The one spectacular failure of my system haunts me to this day. It was the end of the week; the narrow little apartment sized fridge was nearly empty. I was particularly tired after a grueling week, so I opted for a dinner of patties made from canned salmon and frozen French fries baked in the oven. The only enhancement was my own quick and easy tartar sauce and the meal was ready. I heard the key in the door and went to greet my husband. To my consternation, there stood behind him his CEO from Vancouver. My face fell as I was riffling through my brain for a solution, but before I found one, the words: "Oh Ron! Nice to see you, but I have such a lousy dinner!" slipped out. Ron smiled and graciously replied: "Don't worry. I always enjoy being here."
I went back to the kitchen, opened another can of salmon, to make some more patties. My husband opened a bottle of wine and I fussed a bit with my presentation. We all had a companionable evening over my "lousy dinner."
I asked Ron a couple of years ago if he remembers the incident, but he swears he never had a "lousy dinner" in my place.

Eva Kende
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ekende
Eva is a non-fiction writer. Her electronic cookbook Eva's Kitchen Confidence clarifies techniques, attitude, ingredients and much more in an attempt to impart some of her cooking experience and confidence in others battling the daily chore of getting a meal on the table.
Visit Eva’s web site for information on ebooks and how to read them.

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Meet some new authors:
"You crave mystery and suspense? Visit Betty Sullivan La Pierre's website at: http://www.geocities.com/e_pub_2000 and buy a book. She'll take care of you!!"
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Read Shrouded Hearts by Cass Andre at no charge! Bestselling, award-winning author, Cass Andre, has just released Shrouded Hearts, the sequel to Veiled Hearts.If you thought Luke had woman troubles, wait until you see what Reed has put up with!Download Shrouded Hearts at www.booksbycass.com/shrouded.html (formats available: doc, rtf, lit, html, kml, rb, pdf and a printable file)"

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Here is a story to touch the heart of those of us who celebrate Christmas as a religious festival.

Christmas Mistake - author unknown

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.

Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise. So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down.

Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.

So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row- center stage - held up large
letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.

As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love." The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W".

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".

Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.

A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood - the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: "CHRIST WAS LOVE"

And, I believe, He still is.

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Did you ever think of ebooks as great stocking stuffers? E book publishers offer romance, children’s books, mysteries, thrillers, westerns and inspirational stories. You can download a book for the fraction of the price of a paperback, or even for free. Copy it onto a disk and wrap it nicely–a gift that will continue to give long after the turkey is all gone. If you would like to surf some publishers’ sites try starting at http://ebookdirectory.homestead.com/index.html You will find individual books and a list of publishers. Anyone who already owns a PDA will love a book to read on it.
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I have made my Christmas page at my web site to wish you all blessings and joy at this season... Maybe your family would like to make a labyrinth this holiday season out of sand or snow or stones? All the instructions for designing a labyrinth can be reached through my Christmas page. Or maybe you would like a recipe for a traditional English fruit cake? I have also included The Perfect Gift: a child’s memories of Christmas during the London blitz.
Please take a moment to visit www.patriciacrossley.com/winter02.htm

Thank you for allowing me time in your busy lives once again. I’m interested in receiving your feedback on anything in this newsletter or on my website (www.patriciacrossley.com) . I’ve kept the format of the newsletter simple, so that it doesn’t cause a problem in your system. Please email me at patricia@patriciacrossley.com if you have any comments or suggestions. If you know anyone who would like to receive the newsletter, they only need to send me an email with ‘newsletter’ in the subject line. If you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, let me know by email and I will remove your name from the list. Happy reading!