A Thanksgiving Challenge

This morning, I’m waking up to another snowy day in Seattle. It’s beautiful outside, but the white flakes don’t obscure my literal view of a homeless man sleeping in the doorway across from my building.

In the midst of our thankfulness, people are hurting. And the hurt is palpable on a day like today.

The snow continues to drift down, reminding me that while it’s important to be thankful for the goodness in our lives, counting our blessings is also a call to action. A call to reach out to those in need in physical and emotional ways. We shouldn’t be blind to the world around us. To that man sleeping in the snowy doorway. But I don't know what I should do for him.

Later in the morning, I look out the window, toward where I had first noticed the sleeping man. Someone kinder and braver than me has left a fast-food bag near him. I hope it has something hot inside, something to get him started on this hard, hard day in the snow.

This simple gesture gets me thinking again about all the things I could have and should have done to help. But in a bigger sense, I’m thinking about what, besides my stories, I can give to the world to ease suffering. It’s a challenge all of us should consider.

It’s almost time to leave to see my family now and my apartment smells like my grandparents’ house, the corn pudding casserole getting all golden in the oven, overtaking the last remnants of morning coffee's perfume.

I’m ready to bundle up and venture into the snowy streets, counting my blessings with each step. I have much to be thankful for and a new challenge on my heart.

*****************************

Giveaway: In comments, please list a way you could help homeless or hurting people in your community this winter. One lucky commenter will win signed copies of *both* The Clearing and Never Cry Werewolf. Good luck! Winners announced on Sunday.


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone...


Heather
www.heatherdavisbooks.com
The Clearing - PNBA short-list 2011 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Never Cry Werewolf - Harperteen 2009
Wherever You Go - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Fall 2011

There is Thankfulness...and a Contest!

As I write this from the passenger seat of my RV, we are about two hours east of Santa Monica which will conclude our coast-to-coast trip that began in Baltimore on November 5th. We're pulling into SoCal just in time to be included in a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and celebration with our friends The Wilsons.



Having just come cross-country, over 3,000 miles, there is much thankfulness. I'm thankful for the love and support of my sweetheart, Patrick, who not only did his share of driving us out here, he also took care of pumping the gas, dumping the water tanks (don't make me go into too much detail! LOL!), and taking care of any needed repairs here and there.



I'm also very thankful to the many friends and family we stayed with (called "boondocking" in RV vernacular) along the way from Baltimore to Chicago to St. Louis to Joplin, across Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, to Arizona and finally to California.

And I'm thankful for this beautiful country that we live in. I am truly in awe of her beauty...literally, from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans. We watched the leaves turn colors on the east coast and then saw the flat plains of the midwest change into the deserts of the southwest and into the mountains. I'm a writer, yet I have no words to describe the things we've seen except...wow.


The beautiful mountains of western Arizona along Old Route 66


The Petrified Forest in eastern Arizona


The Painted Desert in eastern Arizona


The world's largest rocking chair in Cuba, MO

I will be most thankful on Thursday when I sit down to a wonderful dinner with friends who were kind enough to bring us into their fold for the holiday. And, I will be most thankful on Saturday if my beloved Crimson Tide and completely mess up the Auburn Tigers' "perfect" record with a win in the Iron Bowl. LOL! What...I can't be grateful for my football team?



Shout out and thanks to the wonderful people at RTBookReview.com for their amazing support of the Buzz Blog Girls and featuring us to give advice to aspiring writers of young adult fiction. If you haven't already done it, check out the article here.

And in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday and the upcoming Christmas holiday season, I am giving away a copy of my book, CHRISTMAS MIRACLES. To be eligible to win, please post in the comment trail what you're most grateful and thankful for...from the most sincere and heartfelt...to the most quirky. One (1) winner* will receive an autographed copy fo CHRISTMAS MIRACLES.



Happy Thanksgiving and Roll Tide!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Ghosts don't hang up their sheets after Halloween!
GHOST HUNTRESS series - The Awakening, The Guidance,
The Reason, The Counseling - available now!

*Contest is open to US and Canadian residents.

What I'm Thankful For (and a Contest)

My family has never been one of those that goes around the Thanksgiving table and has everyone say what they're thankful for. It always seemed a little cheesy to me. But since I'm now a cheese-free vegan I think I can go for it with feeling dorky.

Tasty ginger cookies.

Besides, it's always a good idea to keep perspective on the good things that are happening, because sometimes it's too easy to dwell on the bad. Here goes. My list of things that I'm thankful for in 2010.

• my parents (for being here and healthy and always supportive)
• my friends (for same and for letting me whine and keeping me going)
• my agent (for always being ready with a hooray)
• my editor (for helping make those hoorays possible)
• my dog (for always wiggling when I get home)
• the opportunities life has given me
• the opportunities I've made in life
• the infinite resource the internet
• warm blankets on a cold night
• the beautiful blue sky outside my window

Wow, pretty amazing list when I look at it all lined up.

As a bonus item for today, I'm thankful for the fabulous RT Book Reviews because they asked us Buzz girls for some advice on how to write YA books and they're posting it on their blog today. (FYI, they have a really great collection of YA news, interviews, and guest posts.)

Now, for the contest. I'm giving away a signed copy of Forgive My Fins.* To enter, comment with your favorite meat-free Thanksgiving dish. (Double points if you include a recipe or a link to one.) I'm going to give this one a try.

Hugs,
TLC

teralynnchilds.com
@teralynnchilds

* US/Canada only, winners to be announced Monday

Traditional Thanksgiving

I like to hear about all the different Thanksgiving Day traditions out there. And if you get married it's interesting to see how the traditions from two different families merge.

There's the food--cornbread or white bread dressing? Whole wheat or white butter rolls? Pumpkin, pecan, or buttermilk pie (or all 3)? Deep fried or roasted turkey? We have a neighbor from Pennsylvania who enjoys pickled eggs with his Thanksgiving meal, and some friends who have Italian or Chinese for theirs. Some people eat out, some invite everyone they know over to their house. Some put all the cooking on one person's shoulders, while others treat Thanksgiving as a huge potluck.

Here are some of my personal traditions:

As a family, we go on a community charity run/walk to get food for the poor and then I go home and strap on my famous turkey apron. Why? Because it's ridiculous. Then I go about making finishing touches to the house (everybody -- about 14 this year--comes to our house) and make the food I'm responsible for, including potatoes, pies, turkey (Matt does the birds), gravy, cranberry salad, etc. Then we watch football or play it outside if the weather is decent. I'm afraid there's not quite enough snow to hit the slopes after our big meal this time.

This year I'm so excited because my dad and his new wife (they got hitched in June) are coming to our house! It will be interesting to see how her traditions differ from the ones I've adopted since having become married myself. Maybe she will bring something new and exciting into the mix.

No matter what the traditions, the main thing is to be together with people you love and take time to be truly thankful for your blessings. Happy Turkey Day, Everybody!

Giving Thanks!

Well...tomorrow is Turkey Day! Gobble, gobble! It's a great time to come together with friends and family and be grateful for all we have in our lives. Of course, stuffing ourselves to the gills like glutinous animals doesn't hurt either! LOL!!



My hubby and I are being very low-keyed this year because we both have to work on Friday (and I'm working on the final revision tweaks of GHOST HUNTRESS Book 2), but I am going to be putting on a spread, courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa's recipes. We're having...

Herb-roasted turkey breast
Sausage and apple dressing
Apple and celery root puree
Homemade gravy
Roasted Brussels sprouts and bacon
Cranberry sauce

Mmmm...are you drooling? I certainly am!

I'm also taking this time to list some things I'm thankful for. So often, we get so involved in the stress and strife, hustle and bustle of our daily lives that we don't really stop to realize how many wonderful things we might take for granted. Well, I'm gonna list some! = )



I'm grateful for...

1. My hubby, my family, my friends, and my new kitties.
2. A good job at a nice company with nice people.
3. A fabulous literary agent who has changed my life and believes in me.
4. An equally fabulous editor who loves my books.
5. A new editor who is giving me a non-fiction writing career.
6. My writing partners who I'm working on said non-fiction career with.
7. My writer support group for all they've done for me - especially the Buzz Girls!!!
8. My new friends in the paranormal community for welcoming with open arms.
9. My health and wealth and well-being (not that I have wealth, but I mean like being able to pay the mortgage and the light bill and stuff like that!)
10. My new president and all the (hopefully) wonderful things ahead for our great country.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? What are your plans and how will you celebrate? Share your traditions with us!

Holiday hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE (Coming October 2009, Houghton Mifflin)
SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available from Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available from Puffin Books)