It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Dec 27

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Welcome to the last Monday of 2021. I hope everyone who celebrated Christmas had a nice holiday. We had family over on Christmas Eve and a few friends over on Christmas Day, so I did a lot of cooking--which I love. It would have felt like a normal Christmas if my son and daughter-in-law were here. They are both sick. We hope to see them on New Year's Day. Here are some photos from this weekend.

The girls finally decorated the main tree.

We had a white Christmas thanks to the surprise two inches that fell Christmas Eve.

The Lil' Diva made an amazing pecan pie.

Dwight loved his new toy.

Christmas tuckered out Theo and Travis. 

The other two cats hid while everyone was here. 

I didn't have time for a ton of reading, but I did polish these two off.

Review at my children's book blog.

Review posted here.

My review of 52 Weeks of Writing is scheduled for December 31. 

I am also still reading this one.

Next up are these books, but I might need to sneak in my first book of the year for The 9th Annual First Book Event hosted by Sheila at Book Journey first. Any guesses as to what it will be? It is written by one of my favorite authors. 

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

My physical mailbox only had books for people as gifts, but I grabbed this Kindle freebie over the weekend.

I also found this one in my stocking. There is a longer edition of this book that I would love to see come back into print. 

I hope you'll join me in praying for all those affected by the horrible tornadoes across the country. If you purchase a copy of my book, A Christmas Kindness, from 4RV Publishing through December 31, 2021, my proceeds will be donated to the Midwest and Southern Tornado Outbreak Relief Fund. Please visit http://www.4rvpublishing.com/cheryl-c-malandrinos.html to purchase. 

See you again in the new year. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday. 

Under My Christmas Tree

How was your Christmas? I hope it was nice, despite how different it might have been. It was just the kids and us this year. I didn't feel as much stress to get so much done, which helped. Real estate has been hectic, so not having as much to do around the house made life easier. On Christmas Eve, I quickly put up the last of the decorations, wrapped the remaining gifts, filled the stockings, and crept into bed around 2:30 am. The girls were kind enough not to wake me until around 9:00. 

On Christmas morning, I was blessed to find these book gifts under the tree.

My son surprised me with this one.

My Kindle welcomed this gift.

Receiving 5 of the top 10 books on my wish list was a real treat. What books did you receive for Christmas? Which one do you think you'll read first?

Book Presents from Santa

Well, Christmas is over. Aren't we all glad we spent weeks preparing just so it can be over in the blink of an eye? LOL! I met nearly all of my Christmas goals. The only one I didn't get to was baking for a few friends.

Was Santa good to you, fellow book lovers? I certainly hope so. He brought me this fabulous resource:

Craft an Engaging Plot

How does plot influence story structure? What's the difference between plotting for commercial and literary fiction? How do you revise a plot or structure that's gone off course?

With Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure, you'll discover the answers to these questions and more. Award-winning author James Scott Bell offers clear, concise information that will help you create a believable and memorable plot, including: Techniques for crafting strong beginnings, middles, and endsEasy-to-understand plotting diagrams and chartsBrainstorming techniques for original plot ideasThought-provoking exercises at the end of each chapterStory structure models and methods for all genresTips and tools for correcting common plot problems

Filled with plot examples from popular novels, comprehensive checklists, and practical hands-on guidance, Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure gives you the skills you need to approach plot and structure like an experienced pro.

I'm glad he stuck to a writing craft book this year, because I have fiction coming out of my ears.

I also gifted myself with some recent Kindle freebies.

I also purchased this one with a promotional credit.

What are some books you received this holiday season? Have you chosen one to be your first book of 2019?

Under my Christmas Tree

Is it lame for me to be posting about my gifts the day after Christmas? I'm pretty much the biggest kid in the house when it comes to Christmas, so I get wrapped up--pardon the pun--in all the gift giving and receiving.

I was expecting a new vacuum cleaner, but I got a Kindle Fire! This was a total shock. Just another reason I love my hubby is because he always surprises me at Christmas with something special. It's not always expensive, but it's always something that he knows I'll love.

The Kindle Fire has a lot of nice features: color, ease of use (even for this technology dummy), and a smaller size then my first Kindle. The new screen allowed me to read on the way home from our brother-in-law's house last night in the dark. Love that! Right now I am checking the news from my Kindle, and I was able to post to Facebook and Twitter a story that captured my attention.

The new larger keyboard is a definite plus, as is the touch screen. I'm eager to read a children's picture book on it, so I can see the illustrations in color.

I was a bit nervous when I registered my new Kindle, as to how to get all the Kindle books linked from my old Kindle to the new one, but it synched them automatically when I registered. Now, I just need to figure out how to get the other versions of electronic books onto it that are on my old Kindle. I might be using two devices for a while, as I have several books on the old one that I need to review that aren't Kindle versions. My girls are hoping that doesn't take too long, as they are eager to begin using my old Kindle. The Lil Princess (8) already has a Junie B. Jones book on it that she's reading, and the Lil Diva (10) is in the middle of The Halloween Dino Trip by Lea Schizas.

I also received a new, desperately needed laptop bag. Hubby found a beautiful one from Land's End that he had monogrammed for me. The girls, knowing how much I love candles bought me this scrumptious smelling Dark Chocolate scented candle and some musk-type smelling cologne. I also received a heated massaging seat for my office chair, and an electric griddle.

As always, the Lord blessed us with wonderful moments shared with families and friends. We look forward to the new year and hope it brings all of us much health and happiness.

What did you receive this year? What was your most special gift?