Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 127

#Furkid Friday: For Those Missing Someone This #Holiday Season

Hi there humans, rodents, and anyone else reading this. This is Joshua the degu.

The human caretakers were messing about with those things they call "holiday decorations" recently, and I heard them say Santa Paws was coming for his yearly visit soon. In fact, my gerbil brother, ratty sisters, chinchilla sisters, and I wrote a letter to Santa Paws, which you may have seen when it got posted on this bloggy thing last week.

I'm really excited about the toys and nibbles Santa Paws will hopefully be bringing, but I'm sad that my degu brothers won't be here to share them with me too, which stops me being quite as excited as I usually would have been.

I'm trying to be happy; trying to just enjoy the rest of my life, like my gerbil brother, Baggins, has been doing. But it's hard, and sometimes I get sad and miss my brothers terribly.

The Mummy human says she understands, and that humans have the same problem when they lose someone they love, especially when the holidays arrive, and especially if it was as close to the holidays as losing the last of my brothers, Jacob, is for me. So I'm hoping at least some of you who read this will understand how I'm feeling.

Although, in some ways I hope you don't, because it hurts to miss someone so much, and makes it hard to be excited about things when you do, especially if the thing you would have been excited about is something they loved as well.

For those who share my pain, and are missing someone so much it makes it hard to completely enjoy the holidays, this post is for you, to let you know that you aren't alone, and someone else is missing someone this holiday season too.

If you need a little help dealing with the holidays this year, you might want to take a look at this post the Jeanie human did. The Jeanie human is a friend of the Mummy human, who often comments on our posts, and I happen to think she gives some great advice in the article. I know the Mummy human thinks so too, and hope you will agree.

Squeak soon,
Joshua

#Writing Wednesday - December 21st 2016

First of all, here's an announcement about PiBoIdMo becoming STORYSTORM. If you're planning to make any new year's resolutions that involve doing more writing, you may want to check it out... Regardless of the genre or age range you write for.

Anyway...

In case you missed my post about it on Saturday: You can now buy Ulrike's Christmas from Smashwords. It's available in formats that work for just about any eReader or tablet, as well as for your average computer. It's also available from some other eBook retailers... Just like all my other books.

Even without the postal strikes currently happening over here, it would be impossible for me to get the paperback version of "Ulrike's Christmas" organized in time for those of you who prefer a physical book to have it in time for Christmas, and I'm not even going to try. One will become availabe in early 2017 though, and I'll post about it on this blog when that happens, which hopefully won't be too far in to the year.

I know this is really short, but I'm going to leave it at this for this week, since I'm sure you're all busy with holiday celebrations, or last minute arrangements for holiday celebrations, or whatever. Today is the Winter Solstice - in fact, this post is being scheduled to go up at the exact time of the astronomical event itself, which is on Wednesday December 21st 2016 at 10:44am UK time - and Sunday is Christmas day, after all. So happy whatever you're celebrating... Stay safe during your festivities!

The #Holidays Are Upon Us (FD)

Today is my Mam's birthday. I don't know if she'll see this, but I'm going to say it anyway... Happy birthday, Mam! Also, my Grandad celebrated his birthday on December 4th. I know for a fact he won't see this, but - again - I'll say it anyway... Belated happy birthday, Grandad!

OK... The Winter Solstice - or Yule, if you prefer - is in two days time, and Christmas is less than a week away... How'd that happen? Pretty soon we'll be starting a whole new year...

It's OK though... We're ready for it. I wasn't when December first arrived. At least, I wasn't ready for the holidays when December first arrived. I've been ready for 2016 to end since around my birthday, along with most other people, I'm sure.

But I am ready for the holidays now! Our holiday decorations are up. The gifts and cards we're sending are brought and sent out, and should be with the people now (or will be in the next day or so, if they haven't yet arrived). Also, our presents to one another, and those people have sent us, are wrapped up under the tree. We also have plenty of good things to eat over this next week. Though I confess I cheated and brought all our cakes and cookies this year, because I just didn't have the time or energy to bake them.

So... Regardless of what you're celebrating... How about you? Are you ready for the festivities to begin? Is all your holiday shopping done, or are you one of those people that always leaves it until the last minut? Are you free to relax and enjoy the holidays, or will you be scrambling around to get everything done at the last possible moment?

To be honest, with everything that's been going on lately, I'm glad we'd planned a quiet holiday celebration this year. Not that I've done anything big for the past couple of years, but still. So it will just be me, Kelly, and the rodent gang, enjoying our presents, eating treats, and having a nice holiday meal together. I'm pretty sure the rodent gang is already dreaming of the tasty nibbles they've asked Santa Paws to bring them this year.

How about you? What are you celebrating? Also, what are your holiday plans?

Of Real #Christmas Trees, #Reindeer, And 2016 #Holiday Decorating

I usually get an artificial tree, and had planned to get a new one this year, since I accidentally broke the base of the old one last year, and the fibre optic trees are no good without their base. But then I decided I wanted a real tree this year, especially since our friends, Lorna and Andy, are having a wood burning stove installed in their new house, and it can go to them for firewood once the holidays are over.

When I mentioned this to Lorna, she offered the use of her car to go get one. So, on December 7th, we all went to the tree farm (pictured at the top of this post) to get a tree, and while we were there, we said hi to a couple of deer they had at the farm (pictured below).



We were allowed to pet the reindeer, but they wouldn't come close enough. I was a little disappointed about that, but not all that surprised. The frustrating thing is, they came almost close enough for me to touch them, but were just out of my reach. I got to hear them snorting, eating, and drinking, so that was cool anyway.

So... Back to the tree...

The original plan was for Lorna and Andy's car to transport the tree, but the guys at the farm delivered it with their lorry instead. They even carried it up the stairs for us, which I'm sure Kelly and Andy were pleased about, since I'm sure neither of them was looking forward to carrying the tree up all those stairs.

So... A couple of days before, Kelly and I had used our old bucket to collect some stones from the beach, with plans to use the bucket of stones to stand the tree in. We figure we'll take the stones back to the beach after the holidays are over. Our plan worked, though if we get a real tree again next year, it will probably be best to invest in a proper stand for it, since getting both tree and stones to cooperate was a lot of work (not to mention how much fun carrying a bucket of stones up three flights of stairs wasn't for Kelly). Still, as I said, our plan worked, and the tree happily stood among the stones waiting to be decorated...



...Which we started doing the day after we went to the tree farm, and finished doing the following day, since it was being done between other activities.

I'm glad I had Kelly helping me with decorating it, since I'm not sure I'd have reached the top of it even if I climbed on a chair. We got an eight foot tree, since we had the ceiling to allow for it, and I'm only just over five foot tall. Actually, we only just have the ceiling to allow for it, and had to nestle my new snowflake tree topper among the branches, since the tree almost touches the ceiling, so we couldn't really get it on there. Yes, we could have trimmed the top, but I didn't want to.

Anyway, we got our tree decorated between us, so here it is all nicely decorated:



(If you're wondering why I took separate photos of the top and bottom, it's because there's nowhere we could stand and still get the whole tree in the shot, so I had to do it that way).

Some of the tree ornaments are ones I still have that I've made or collected over the years, some - like the snowflake that's meant to be a tree topper - are new ones I brought this year, and some - like most of the baubles - are ones Lorna and Andy gave us that they no longer use.

We don't have lights on the tree (other than the snowflake) because we'd originally planned to just get a small tree, so we only got a small string of lights. When we realized there was no way we'd be able to light up the whole tree with the lights we have, we decided to leave the lights off the tree this year. We strung them up elsewhere instead, since I wanted my star shaped lights to be up, even if they aren't on the tree. So, these are my new star shaped holiday lights:



The tree is in the computer room, because where we're sorting some things out, the computer room is the place with the best space for it. But the lights are in the living room, along with the polar bear and penguin enjoying some fake snow...



...A mini figure of Olaf the snoman who is also enjoying the fake snow...



And the window display I set up...



(Which, again, had to be done in two shots to get it all in the photo).

So, there you go, those are our holiday decorations for this year, with a couple of real live reindeer thrown in for your holiday viewing pleasure. I even made sure my iPhone was charged so I could get decent shots for you.

#Children's #Holiday #Book Release: Ulrike's Christmas

Ulrike knows all about the Winter Solstice celebrations of the giants, being one himself. But what he doesn't know is why the humans cut down whole trees, only to take them home to decorate. Other giants tell him to forget about it, but Ulrike is curious; he needs to know why they do it.

Finally, when he's puzzled over it so much his head is sore from all the thinking, he decides that this is the year he'll figure it out, and risks a return trip to the home of the last family he watched to look for clues, despite almost being spotted last time he was there.

That's how he meets Billy, a friendly little boy who loves stories, and is happy to tell Ulrike all about tree decorating, and Santa Claus, along with a couple of stories he knows about them. Stories which Ulrike loves, and which inspire him to add some of what Billy says are Christmas celebrations to his own this Winter, in the hopes that Santa Claus will visit him too.

Yes, that's right, the official release date is today, and you can now buy Ulrike's Christmas on Smashwords in all formats they offer, as well as from other retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, and Kobo, among others. That means you should be able to find a format that works for you, regardless of your prefered eReader; whether you prefer a Kindle, a Nook, or some other eReader or tablet. In fact, if you can read this post, there's a way you can read the book, since Smashwords also offers an online reader option.

However, having said that, a paperback will become available early next year for those of you who prefer a physical book.

#Furkid Friday: Dear #Santa Paws (FD)

A letter from the rodent gang to Santa Paws:

Dear Santa Paws,

We've been very good rodents this year.

OK, sure, we know Mollie can be a little grumpy sometimes, and Maizie and Star are often a bit stricter than they should be on the human caretakers (especially Maizie, who likes things done her way, and isn't very good at being patient with the human caretakers). But everyone has their faults, and humans need to be properly trained. Besides, technically none of that stuff is bad, so we really have been good... Honest!

So, since we've been so good, can you please make sure you bring us plenty of great nibbles this Christmas? Some wooden toys and things like that we can play with and chew on would be nice too, come to think of it.

Anyway, we don't really mind what kinds of nibbles you bring. Although, Mollie and Maizie are particularly fond of those treats called "chinchilla cookies" the human caretakers sometimes buy, and so is Joshua. Star and Skye just want anything tasty they can get their teeth in to, especially if it's fruit or cheese flavoured. As for Baggins, he wants you to remember that he's allowed sugary treats sometimes, and those are the best kinds.

Squeak soon,
Baggins, Joshua, Maizie, Mollie, Skye, and Star

#Writing Wednesday - December 14th 2016

I made it! Ulrike's Christmas is pre-released. The official release date is set for Saturday December 17th 2016, and clicking on the book's title in this post will take you to the page for it on Smashwords.

I nearly didn't make it, thanks to a lot of stuff going on (holiday related and otherwise). Although, mostly because of JAWS (my screen reader, for those who don't know). JAWS version 18 came out a couple of months ago, and I got my copy last month, so I'm all up to date now, which is great. But what wasn't great was the fact that one of the free update patches you get between upgrades came out during this past week, and installing it did something that stopped JAWS working on my computer. Kelly checked, and everything else was working fine, so I called my brother, Carl, since he also uses JAWS, and also recently got JAWS version 18. But his version was working fine. Regardless, we agreed it was quite likely it was something to do with the update, and decided the best option was to try uninstalling JAWS, reinstalling it, and not allowing it to install the new patch. Apparently that was the right thing to do, since it's been working fine ever since (though I've had to tell it it's not allowed to update, and I don't want to know about updates for the time being). If you're wondering, the reason I called my brother rather than the company we get JAWS from, it's because this happened on a Saturday, and Sight And Sound are only open Monday through Friday. Of course, without JAWS, my computer is useless to me, and working on things like formatting and uploading the final document for an eBook are impossible. So, no JAWS would have been a huge problem. I could check my eMail on my phone... It would be frustrating, but possible... But formatting a word document? No way!

Anyway, despite my JAWS issues, the eBook version of Ulrike's Christmas has now been uploaded to Smashwords for official release this coming Saturday, and will soon be on other sites like Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo, if it isn't already.

I'll deal with the paperback after the holidays are over.

***

Are you an author too? Do you have business cards? I don't yet, though that's something I'm considering changing next year. If you're still undecided about it, here's a post that explains one person's reasons why authors need a business card.

Obviously if you have a book out there you want to market it. Of course you do. You want people to buy your book, because if you didn't you wouldn't have it up for sale, would you? So you need to market it. However, I happen to agree with this post about writing for yourself, and with what Barb said in her post from last Wednesday (where I originally saw the post linked). Like Barb, I write for myself, though I hope to find people who enjoy reading what I write as much as I enjoy writing it.

By the way, if you need some tips on naming your characters, you may want to check out this how to survive naming your characters. A couple of the points matter more if you write romance, but some of them are actually pretty good tips regardless of what you write. At least, I think so. If you'd prefer some tips that are more generalized, you can check out these seven tips for naming your characters.

Also, if you're using your Thesaurus to find fancy sounding words so you can sound really smart... Stop! A Thesaurus can be your friend at times, but it can also be your worst enemy. Find out how by reading this post.

***

Ever wondered what goes on inside a writer's brain? Then check out this article on how creativity effects the brain. Also, regardless of whether your chosen way to be creative is with writing, drawing and painting, or something else entirely, this article written by Jeanie on finding your creative soul during the busy holiday season is worth reading, and will potentially keep your muse happy this holiday season.

Frost Fair 2016

The anual Frost Fair to welcome Winter in, and kick off the holiday celebrations for our area, was on Saturday November 26th 2016. The day was a little chilly, but otherwise really nice.

I meant for us to go down to watch the Frost Fair this year. I also meant to make sure my phone had a full battery so I could get some better shots, since my iPhone takes pretty good photos, but our ordinary camera isn't that great. Unfortunately, neither thing happened. I only remembered at the last moment that it was the day of the Frost Fair, and my phone's battery died just as I went to try and use it. So you'll have to put up with the slightly blurry photos we got from our living room window with the ordinary camera. I hope you enjoy them regardless of the poor photo quality. I need to get a new camera... *sigh*

Anyway... Here are the photos:

#Book Release: The Spirit Well (Legends of Windemere) by @cyallowitz

Return to Windemere in THE SPIRIT WELL![caption id="attachment_17867" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]

Born from the light and darkness, Dariana can no longer avoid her fate.

The final corrupted temple stands between the champions and Baron Kernaghan having their great battle. Only one problem: the Compass Key refuses to work with Dariana, who long ago wiped all memories of the Spirit Well from her mind. Now, they are forced to follow a trail of clues that Dariana’s former self left behind centuries ago. It is a path that will lead the champions into a part of their friend’s past that could tear them all apart.

Will the bonds of friendship be stronger than the call of blood?

Grab it on Amazon!Add it to your Goodreads 'To Read' List!

Excerpt: I'm Sorry . . . Again

“I’m sorry, but I told you that my powers make the Compass Key argumentative when it comes to the Spirit Well,” Dariana sheepishly explains while rubbing her clear ring. She smiles when Fizzle lands on her head, the drite’s cool tail running down her spine. “This is very scary for me. None of the champions have made it to this temple, much less the final battle with my father. It’s hard to take in after this destiny being my entire life for so long. I used to always dream of how I would handle my temple, but things are different now that it’s no longer a distant dream. What if I make a mistake and get someone killed?”

“We trust you, my friend, and know that you will not fail,” Timoran whispers as he slides the Compass Key across the table. He is confused when the relic sparks at her touch and gets pushed back into his hand. “That is fairly disheartening. If you cannot use the Compass Key then there is no way to find this Spirit Well. Perhaps it does not like your physical touch and will respond to your telepathy. I wonder why the gods would create this obstacle.”

“It’s possible that we did this,” Delvin suggests while using one of his enchanted rings to create a delicious cup of coffee. He gestures for the barbarian to throw the relic over to him, but the red-haired barbarian refuses. “You’re right, Timoran. Probably not a good idea to toss something like that around. Anyway, we had the Compass Key warded against agents of the Baron. They aren’t able to see it, which means they can’t find or use it. The decision made sense at the time, but things are different now. Maybe our spell has a small effect on Dariana. Not saying you’re working with the Baron, but there could be enough of an aural touch to cause this problem. Do you think we should cancel the spells, Nyx?”

The channeler heats up a cup of tea, which she sips at while considering the possibility of her magic being the issue. “They should stay because I don’t think they’re the problem. Dariana said this has happened before, which means the gods made a mistake. Sorry for how that came out. Gabriel, who better not get angry at this conversation, created the Compass Key first and then turned Dariana into a champion. He couldn’t fix the problem thanks to the Law of Influence, so it’s remained all this time. Though he had to have created something to help us move on.”

“Maybe we have to find Isaiah and he’ll lead the way,” Sari says from the couch. Flipping to her feet, she joins her friends and immediately takes a strawberry off Luke’s plate. “He hasn’t been much help since the first temple, so one has to wonder what his purpose is. I doubt we need his protection any more, which means he has to have another role to play. What do you think, Dari?”

The telepath rubs her temples while scanning the city for a sign of the fireskin, part of her praying he is not nearby. Dariana finds evidence that Isaiah has been spying on them until recently, but the caster is long gone. She considers tracking the faint trail and goes as far as the outer wall, which is where the psychic tracks make an odd leap into the sky. The strain of following Isaiah any further makes Dariana pull back and return to find that everyone is staring at her again. Realizing that she can no longer delay the inevitable, she gets out of her chair and kneels to her friends. Fizzle is still clinging to her head, which makes the apologetic bow both amusing and awkward.

“I know I say this a lot, but I really am sorry, my friends,” Dariana states while keeping her forehead pressed to the stone floor. She looks up at the sound of rustling feet and is surprised to see that everyone is approaching her. “Long ago, I managed to avoid being put back to sleep long enough to track down the Spirit Well. My curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to know where my path would meet its end. I was still forced to wipe my memory of the location, but I do know that I left a map behind. There are a few clues that I buried in my subconscious where even I could not dislodge them after erasing the original discovery. More may come to me as we get closer, but all I know now is that we should go to Rodillen. I was hoping the Compass Key would work and we could avoid this extra journey.”

“Like our luck would be that good,” Nyx mutters while she helps Dariana stand.
Need to catch Legends of Windemere from the beginning? Then click on the covers below!You can start for FREE . . .[caption id="attachment_12472" align="aligncenter" width="202"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]
Or grab the $4.99 '3 in 1' bundles![caption id="attachment_12491" align="alignleft" width="216"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
3D Conversion by Bestt_graphics[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_15141" align="alignright" width="234"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]

.
......Also Available in Single eBooks:[caption id="attachment_12342" align="alignleft" width="200"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_12662" align="alignright" width="200"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_13983" align="alignleft" width="200"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16229" align="alignright" width="200"] Cover art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16755" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Cover Art by Jason Pedersen[/caption]
Interested in a new adventure? Then grab your Kindle & dive back into the world of Windemere! Don't forget an apple for Fizzle.
About the Author:Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you, and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.

Blog: www.legendsofwindemere.com
Twitter: @cyallowitz
Facebook: Charles Yallowitz
Website: www.charleseyallowitz.com


***

*NOTE: Formatting for this post was done with a Wordpress blog in mind, not the Blogger blog I have, and the two don't always work well together, so please excuse any formatting issues in this post.

#Furkid Friday: #Rodents Are In Charge (FD)

Hi everyone! This is Maizie the chinchilla.

I've been doing some training - or, more to the point, retraining - with my human caretakers. They were under this mistaken impression that they were in charge around here. I soon put them right. They need to learn that we only keep them around as our personal slaves to do things we can't manage ourselves, and sometimes for entertainment value. They need to remember that things should be done when we say so, not when they feel like getting around to doing them. I thought these human caretakers already knew that; I thought these human caretakers knew that we rodents are in charge around here.

I guess I thought wrong.

The stupid human caretakers thought they could sleep late and bring me and my rodent siblings our breakfast when it suited them. Um.. No! I'm already flexible enough to give them a three hour window in which to provide breakfast; the rule is that breakfast should be provided between 6:00am and 9:00am. You'd think that would be enough to make sure they could manage it, right? You'd also think they'd know the rules by now, since they've been my servants for more than six months. Plus, it's not like Mollie and I are their first furry masters. First chinchillas... Yes. But they've had other furry masters, some of which they still have. So you'd think they'd know the rules, right?

Apparently not!

Do you know what time they showed up to give us breakfast the other day? Noon! That's 12:00pm, which is three hours after the deadline for the latest breakfast should be served... THREE WHOLE HOURS!

OK, so it was a really good breakfast... It was an oatmeal day, which we love. My chinchilla sister, Mollie, and I are especially fond of oatmeal. But that's not the point. In fact, in some ways that makes it worse, because we had to wait all those extra hours before getting the oatmeal we love so much.

The Mummy human gave me some speach about how she was sorry, and she'd slept later than she planned. But I wasn't having it, and let her know I was cross with her, and that I expect better service in future. Breakfast hasn't been late since, so I think she got the message. I hope so, anyway, because I'd hate to have to waste my precious playing time and energy to train her yet again... I have better things to do, you know!

Squeak soon,
Maizie