It certainly is and something else wonderful is the free Christmas anthology being offered by RJ Scott and Love Lane Books.
Christmas Delights comprises of 21 short stories based around Christmas and the winter season written by a mix of new and established authors.
My story is Spiced Apple and Cinnamon, a brief snapshot set on Christmas Day morning. Blurb: It's Christmas morning but Keegan can't bring himself to enjoy the day. Not just yet. Not until Alex is home and safe and in his arms and they can celebrate the day together.
The story was inspired by a scene from a commercial I saw on TV. I don't remember what it was selling, but was of a woman sitting on a window seat and she is wrapped in a large woollen jumpy, the sleeves over her hands. I just thought it was sweet and from there Keegan was born, sitting in the window waiting for his lover to return home.
For a while, I had been put off by the length of the movie, 3 hours is a long time to just sit and focus on something, (I hadn't done that since the Lord of the Ring movies) and like many people, I have so much other stuff I should be doing. But last night I decided, sod it, and settled down for the movie. I knew very little about the film, I've never read the book so was coming to it from trailers and advertising.
For the first hour, I confess I was a little bored, well, not bored as such, but with 6 stories, 6 sets of characters, an hour only gives me a possible 10 minutes to connect with each story (each could easily have been expanded into a film in their own right) and this hour was designed to allow you to meet the various characters so it was quite slow as each story was set up and we moved back and forth between each one. After the first hour, however, the pace picked up, the dramatic music kicked in and it started to become clear how the stories entwined and impacted on one another.
I loved the idea of lives being connected across time and the possibility of rebirth and the soul, some people destined to repeat mistakes and behaviour, better themselves or fall in love again and again, how actions in the past mirrored those in the future, and how threads worked their way through time from one lifetime to the next. For example, the journal written in the 1800s is read by the main guy in the 1930s, whose music and love notes end up in the hands of the 1970s protagonist. Or Doona Bae who first plays the wife of Jim Sturgess' character in the 1800s. She is a minor character at her husband's side as he makes a decision to join the fight to abolish slavery. Yet in the future, the character she plays has an important role in the fight for freedom (yet again alongside Jim Sturgess). She is inspired by a movie of 2012 events and her words go on to inspire in a god-like way the tribes people in the future and final part of the timeline. *head explodes*
There was so much stuff that just wove the stories together and I could ramble on but I'll leave it for you to discover and make your own mind up and if you think you miss anything, with a quick Google you can find lists of other connections and also ideas about how the stories/characters/lives/souls are connected and comparison to the book - but be careful, seriously, I had a look and my head started hurting with all the thinking it brought on lol
Whatever you take away from the movie, it is a journey starting in the 1800s all the way to the 2300s and it's all very clever. I have no idea about the book, but the visual representation is incredibly intricate in its storytelling and I think I was happier seeing it (like with Game of Thrones) than perhaps reading it because it certainly helped me to keep track of characters and all the links across time and places.
Despite my initial reaction, by the end I was well and truly smitten with the movie. The paralleling emotions in each story and how they were edited together was very moving. The sadness, intensity, humour, romance and everything in between played out wonderfully and the dialogue overlapped between stories showing how similar the threads were. And yep, I cried as certain stories drew to their conclusions. I'm a sucker for a dramatic song and the build up it accompanies so got rather emotional, invested in characters and involved in it all :)
Anyway, I would say the film is either a love or hate kind of film, visually it was stunning and the storyteller in me was fascinated at how plot points, small and large, were carried throughout the film to its conclusion. I actually cared about the characters and their individual tales. It was pure escapism, just as a movie should be :)
More Christmas fun can be had over at www.keiraandrews.com who is hosting a series of promos and giveaways for Christmas themed books. The event has been running all month and runs through to December 22nd with a different book being given away each day. Today's book is Christmas in the Sun so head over there now for a chance to win.
Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. I love wrapping gifts and sending out cards and decorating the house. It's always a time to catch up with friends with Christmas get-togethers and most importantly, it's a time for family. I enjoy getting to sit down and just spend time with people even if it's just lazing around in front of the TV after one too many roast potatoes. Family is very important to me and in recent years I've come to realise you have to enjoy these kinds of moments and make each year more special than the last. Christmas is about love and being able to share that with those dearest to you.
My favourite Christmas Cookies.
I'm not much for baking though I wish I was as I love the smell of warm cakes or cookies in the oven. At this time of year, something that makes me think of Christmas is a Terry's Chocolate Orange. Every year my nan used to get me, my brother and my dad a chocolate orange for Christmas when we went round on Boxing Day. The best bit had to be the idea of opening a Chocolate Orange by 'Tap and Unwrap'. Tap? Yeah right. We used to throw it at the floor a few times to manage to separate the chocolate segments lol
So, for me, I'm going to say that chocolate and orange cookies is the way to go at Christmas. Partly for the memories and partly because it tastes bloody gorgeous :)
Enter the QTA Giveaway.
My question is: To open a Chocolate Orange you are told to 'Tap and ...' what?
Go to http://queertownabbey.com/qtas-christmas-blog-hop/ and use the answer to enter the giveaway on the main post. You can also find a list of prizes and other blogs taking part to have a chance of further entries.
Saving Mr Fox is released today for early download over at Totally Bound. It will go on general release at the start of next month. I'm really excited about the release, my first with the publisher and can't wait for you to meet the guys. I hope you enjoy the story.
Blurb How can you hope to find love if you cannot love yourself?
Eric Fox is an actor faced with his most difficult role yet—being himself. Seven years ago, on the way to his high school prom, an accident drove him from the arms of his young love, CJ. Eric ran away to LA, and CJ was left to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and broken life.
Guilt and regret has eaten away at Eric since that day, leading him to turn to the darker side of celebrity—to sex and alcohol. On a downward spiral and after a series of bad choices, Eric makes the difficult decision to return home. But returning home and having to spend two weeks with the man he left behind could be an obstacle Eric is nowhere near ready to face.
Can Eric find the strength to ask for CJ's forgiveness? And more importantly, can he find the courage to forgive himself?
Christmas Delights comprises of 21 short stories based around Christmas and the winter season written by a mix of new and established authors.
