Giving Thanks

Naughty Words's picture

We are in the midst of the holiday season. COVID put a monkey wrench into my live book promotion plans, but I was able to do quite a bit online. I participated in two blog tours for two of my books. I took out ads in online romance web sites. I did a newsletter booster, and I did some live chats on Facebook. 

I'm grateful for what I've been able to accomplish this year despite the pandemic ruining in person appearances. I published nine short stories, a collection of erotic fairy tales (Happily Ever After: Twisted Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales), and one paranormal erotic romance with werewolves (Full Moon Fever). Interviewed two horror authors. I'm working on some flash fiction since I haven't felt much like writing with the holidays looming. 

I'm grateful for my health. No one in the household is sick with anything let alone COVID. We have our usual aches and pains but nothing to complain about.

I'm grateful I have a place to live although we're looking for a new home. Rent went up and we're looking for a better bargain in housing. We don't want to leave town since we're right on the ocean. So, we'll keep looking until the right home comes along – preferably one where I may plant a garden, and one that is a short distance from the beach. New England beaches are rustic and the water is cold, but we love it.

I'm grateful our car runs well. Our last car was a bit of a lemon. Needed constant repair. Our current car is a 2014 VW Beetle with a sunroof! Perfect car for a joy ride around town and by the beaches.

I'm grateful for my family. My husband and son are very supportive of my writing. I'm aware some writers don't have that kind of support. It's sad that some writers experience disapproval of their art from their own family members. My husband has helped me with promotion, and he keeps me sane when I'm ready to throw in the towel and quit every other day. My son has told his friends his mom writes "naughty words". LOL

I'm grateful for the feline members of the family. We just lost Mister, who died at age 15 of old age. I still miss him. He was a moody Maine Coon. Meriwether is now a year and a half old, and he's into EVERYTHING. We bought a Halloween strobe light and it turns out Meri loves it! It's better than a cat's laser pointer toy. I turn it on and he meows and chases the light images across the room. Easy entertainment. Our blind cat Breena loves to eat and sit by the living room window listening to the birds. Cats and writing go very well together, by the way.

I'm grateful for my friends. My best friend and I have been besties for 56 years. We met when we were four years old in Miss Ella's dance class. We've been inseparable ever since. She has always been a good friend I can rely on in good times and bad.

I'm grateful for my holiday decorations and the baking I do this time of year. I’m able to do both. I've already made butter cookies. I made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner. I grow my own herbs, which are indoors now, and we use them often in cooking. I have sage, rosemary and thyme (cue up Simon and Garfunkel), marjoram, tarragon, and oregano. I also have a three foot tall bay plant and a foot tall lemon tree I grew from a seed from a lemon from the supermarket. That was an experiment that succeeded. It's fun to garden.

I hope everyone reading has a happy holiday season. Take a breather and hope for the best for 2021.

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Elizabeth Black writes in a wide variety of genres including erotica, erotic romance, horror, and dark fiction. She lives on the Massachusetts coast with her husband, son, and her two cats. Her LGBTQ paranormal erotic shifter romance novel "Full Moon Fever" is now available for purchase at Amazon and other book distributors. Her collection of erotic fairy tales, "Happily Ever After: Twisted Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales", is also available at Amazon.

Web site: http://elizabethablack.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethablack

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ElizabethABlack

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/elizabethblack

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/b76GWD