Cool Lit Gifts, Great Local Businesses, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree…
My sister, Dolores, is a doyen at finding unique Christmas gifts, especially those that support local small businesses and worthy causes. This year, she gifted me with whimsical wood coasters painted using “punny” book titles, like “Tequila Mockingbird” and “Moby Drink”, from Oliverstuff (https://www.cuttingboredom.com or @oliverstuff). All the fun coasters are made with reclaimed wood in a little San Diego workshop and include a faux San Diego Library book borrowing or circulation card with your order.
She also gave me Novel Teas, tea bags with fun literary quotes on each tag, from Boston-based Bag Ladies Teas
(http://bagladiestea.com/). The retailer added this line of teas after being inspired by her siblings who are deeply involved with education and literacy, including collecting books for children without access to reading materials and participating in the AmericaReads program (https://americareads.as.ucsb.edu/). Besides who doesn’t need a good cup of tea and some literary inspiration after a hard day trying to bang out a good story?
The frosting on the cake was a beautiful scarf from Portland, Oregon-based Storiarts (https://www.storiarts.com) with initial text from The Hound of the Baskervilles, my favorite Sherlock Holmes paranormal mystery. As a kid, I enjoyed reading Sherlock Holmes mysteries and shared my parents’ love for TV mysteries broadcast on the PBS Series: Masterpiece Mystery. I still remember fondly Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes, David Suchet’s Poirot, and Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple in that series.(Although I must admit that Benedict Cumberbatch in the contemporary updating of the Holmes’ mysteries, Sherlock, is a master class in character acting.) These early introductions to mysteries definitely kindled my interest in writing my own mystery novel, Deadly Sacrifices, A Marguerite Montez Mystery, and several short stories with mystery elements published in anthologies.
More importantly, aside from an awesome scarf for future book festivals and readings, Storiarts donates a portion of every purchase to a global nonprofit organization, LitWorld, (https://www.litworld.org/). LitWorld promotes global literacy and supports a love of writing and creativity for children in the U.S. and across the globe. The funds from this partnership have sponsored a wide range of community efforts, including the delivery of food, books, tech resources, and writing supplies, and the sponsorship of in-person and virtual reading programs. So, cool lit gifts, supporting local folks, and some great causes to boot.
BTW–I’m not affiliated nor compensated in any way by these businesses or organizations. For years, I wrote local business profiles for GoLoJax, a neighborhood group that promoted small businesses. I’m all about bolstering local creatives and passing along holiday gift love and good causes that you might want to share with the working authors in your own life. Wishing you a great New Year’s and a happy and healthy writing in 2022!
