This is a guest post by Desiree Villena. Desiree is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects self-publishing with the world’s best editors, designers, and marketers. In her spare time, she enjoys reading contemporary fiction and writing short stories. Naturally, she’s a big fan of plot twists (when they’re done right). 5 Crucial Tips […]

5 Crucial Tips For Writing Plot Twists — Nicholas C. Rossis

From the author found on Amazon: “

Carol Gabriel hates Christmas. Not just a little bit, but quite a damn lot.

She can’t even stand having a boyfriend over the Christmas period and habitually dumps them just before the season begins.

Even the restaurant she co-owns, a French bistro called Carol’s, doesn’t do a Christmas menu and doesn’t do Christmas decorations, either.

In short, there is no Christmas at Carol’s.

But then she gets some bad news. The bistro is failing. There’s too much local competition, they don’t have enough customers and there’s a risk that the business may need to be sold.

As it’s early December, her mother and some of her colleagues suggest that she may like to reconsider her attitude to Christmas. Maybe cook up a Christmas menu for once. Maybe even risk putting up some decorations and a few sprigs of mistletoe.

But it’s an uphill struggle. There’s a reason that Carol doesn’t like Christmas and it’s one that she keeps to herself.

Eventually, she reluctantly agrees to give it a go, for the sake of the restaurant, her glamorous, eccentric partner Roksana and all its much-loved employees.

But the minutes are ticking by. Has she left it too late? Can she catch up and compete with her competitors?

Will there be Christmas at Carol’s?

Nicola Yeager was born in Lincoln to Dutch parents and is married with two children. She currently lives in London and Amsterdam. She is the author of two novellas, Picture Imperfect and The Spa Day and three novels, Summer Loving, Miss Match and A Recipe for Love. This book was previously published under the title ‘Christmas at Carol’s’.”

My review: I loved this book! First, this book is almost without errors which is awesome. I loved this story. Honestly, at times I laughed out loud as it is good – GREAT! Kudos to the author for such a dramatic, funny, loving Christmas romance read! Happy New Year with more bubbles and fuzz! PS: This book will make you hungry.

SABA 2020 Book Awards Show was held via Zoom on 05 December 2020. Many attended and they had one set of winners voted on by the Audience and a second set chosen by Judges from each continent. I am proud to say that The Big Cheese Festival took First Place Winner in the judges section for Illustrations! This is a special book to me, dealing with bullies and bullying. The link to the book on my blog is here and at Amazon is here. Some photos taken with my phone are below and they are of poor quality. Sorry about that. I was poorly prepared to take screenshots as I didn’t think I’d win anything.

Pandemic Reality Part Five by Mary L. Schmidt © November 2020

Shortness of breath and dizziness prevailed,

My husband increased my oxygen, I inhaled;

Falling to my knees as I walked, I surely failed;

With my husband at my side, falls curtailed.

Covid-19 zapped all of my strength and muscle,

Baby steps, baby steps, no need to hustle;

With further decline, I truly felt like rubble,

My husband did well to make sense of my puzzle.

© Mary L. Schmidt November 2020

Pandemic Reality By Mary L Schmidt, 20 November 2020

My husband better, he was a false negative,

Yet my rapid test was a huge positive;

Received IV fluids and medicine, left me contemplative,

The doctor said to go home, I had no alternative.

Couldn’t taste food, but found peppered scrambled eggs worked,

My husband scrambled eggs with pepper every day, feeling overworked;

I could feed myself and drink; I could do it I chirped,

With my husband next to me, he simply lurked.

By Mary L Schmidt, 20 November 2020

By Mary L Schmidt, 20 November 2020

He developed lethargy, and didn’t want to eat,

I gave him tasty foods that were sweet;

In an effort to help him eat better, I was upbeat,

Until the day I became viral incomplete.

With the Covid -19, I felt as if thrown,

Lost all scent and taste, desired not a scone;

Aching deep pain in every single bone,

The emergency room doctor said to lay prone.

Copyright Mary L Schmidt November 2020

By Mary L Schmidt, 20 November 2020

One single virus brought me to my knees,

With each new day, my lungs squeeze;

I dread every day and I’m not at ease,

My symptoms worsen with this disease.

To the emergency room, I did go,

Positive for Covid-19, now I know;

My husband had a simple sinus infection, though;

Too late for me, little did we know?

Copyright Mary L Schmidt November 2020

One of the free author tools I’ve discovered lately is RecordCast. RecordCast is an all-in-one tool for screen recording and video editing that helps everyone turn screenshots into professional-looking videos in just a matter of a few minutes. This can be great for creating a book trailer within minutes just by adding images and effects. […]

RecordCast: a Free Tool to Create Your Book Trailer — Nicholas C. Rossis

Pandemic Reality

By Mary L Schmidt, 20 November 2020

Here I am at home, completely alone,

Full of loneliness, in isolation with my phone;

One mutating virus separates us like a cyclone,

Not one safe place to go, only home I bemoan.

Wash, wash, wash, no hands touching,

With family and friends, no longer hugging;

As I try to breathe, my lungs are struggling,

As my heart, chest and alveoli are crushing.

Copyright Mary L Schmidt November 2020

on Writer Unboxed: I have just finished a concision edit on my work-in-progress that I didn’t exactly aim to do. Mainly, because I’d already done one. After my last full read, I’d finally captured the full emotional thrust of the story I’d always been going for. The cause-and-effect trajectory was all there, the turning points […]

5 Random Ways to Trim Your Manuscript – by Kathryn Craft … — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog