Friday, December 11, 2009

All I Want for Christmas

If I knew how to add music, right now you'd be listening to Mariah Carey singing All I Want for Christmas Is You. Wait! I can put the video here...



Okay. Give it a minute to get going...a little more...go Mariah...okay check out the pretty cover while we're waiting...



Okay! Now I'm dancing in my chair.

Last year my novella All I Want for Christmas came out with Cobblestone Press. This story got some nice reviews:

The Romance Studio gave ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS 4 hearts...
"scorching and well written...the supporting cast and settings made the storyline sizzle...I recommend that you read this book...a good story even after the holidays."

Fallen Angels Reviews gave ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS 4 Angels...
"Ms. Jamieson has a delightful style that shows the funny side of all the dramas this time of year brings. I loved this little read..."

I got the idea for this story from all the things that can go wrong at Christmas and I know we've all experienced some of them: gifts lost in the mail, huge credit card bills, the angst of trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on our list, covering for coworkers while they're out having long boozy Christmas lunches and eating chocolates. How about that awkward moment when someone gives you a gift you weren't expecting and you don't have anything for them? And then...the infamous office party, where stressed out people let loose, drink too much, insult the boss and get it on with a co-worker in the ladies' room, followed by an embarrassed hangover the next day at work!

How's the music? Are you bopping?

What if this all happened to one person, one Christmas and that person was a perfectionist? Add to all that a crush on a sexy coworker that turns her into a stammering idiot whenever he's around and that's Erin's story in All I Want for Christmas.

Many of us push ourselves at this time of year to do so much - shopping for the perfect gifts, decorating the house to look like a Christmas card, entertaining family and friends, going to obligatory parties (and maybe some that are actually fun!), baking cookies and goodies that we really don't need to eat, and more shopping. I'm not admitting to any perfectionist tendencies but my house is using up as much power as a small city with all the Christmas lights. And I do love the lit-up expression on faces when they open a gift that both surprises and delights them.

But let's all remember to take a few moments to slow down and enjoy time with family and friends without the pressure of the perfect Christmas, because that's what it's really all about...love. And that is all I want for Christmas. How about you?

4 comments:

Sherry said...

The only thing I really want for Christmas is for every one in my family to get along and to be healthy.

Meg Benjamin said...

Ah thanks, Kelly. I feel like you gave me permission to put off the dang Christmas letter for yet another day!

Erin Nicholas said...

I love this Mariah song! :)
The most stressful thing for me at Christmas is getting the Christmas cards out! I do it, because I LOVE getting them, but it's hard to find time to do the letter (and make it at least *a little* interesting) and get the kids to sit still for a good picture, and address all the envelopes... especially when there's FUDGE to make-- which is one of my favorite things to do!
What I want for Christmas? Everyone at home and work to appreciate each other and find the positive things in each other!
Erin

kelly said...

Oh yeah, the family Christmas picture and Christmas letter! I had this really creative idea a couple of years ago, where we decorated a huge cardboard box to look like a present and we all got inside it and took a picture. My kids grouched and whined and complained for days about that stupid thing we made them do.