This is the true tale of a tiny tree we dug out of a discard pile back in 1994. After 17 years of healthy hibernation, the tree was still under two feet tall. Then, in the summer of 2011, it began to grow. 

Check out my post at the Inkwell for the story and photographs of our favourite tree and how it's played a prominent role at Draper's Acres, our family farm.. 

I'm over at Inkwell Inspirations with a post, All I Want For Christmas is Spending Time With You.

​In these times where generations of a family are spread across the miles, it's more important than ever to put a value on the time you spend together instead of the value of a gift you send.

Whether it's a physical across-the-table conversation, a phone call, or a video call like Skype or FaceTime, spend some time with loved ones because those are the memories you'll both treasure most of all.

Merry Christmas from my house to yours. I hope we get to meet some day.

​Anita.

I'm ending my series on Historic Bandstands with Christmas lights, greenery and wintery snow over on the Heroes, Heroines and History blog.

I've enjoyed the research that went into this series, although it was frustrating when I found wonderful images but couldn't post them due to copyright. Yes, the bane and protection for every author. 

I've especially liked discovering that many historic bandstands are still in use for concerts throughout the summer, and for Christmas festivals at this time of year.

So come over and visit me at HHH for Snow Bandstand Gazebos. Yes, that's actually the title. A bit mouthy, but it covers the images I've chosen for this final Bandstand post.

Yes, it's time for fruitcake! At least, it's time to make fruitcake since it needs time of meld all the mouth-watering flavours together. And that's the topic of my post over at Inkwell Inspirations where I discuss why fruitcake lasts so long and the edible factor of a 106-year-old fruitcake found in Antarctica last year.

If you have trouble commenting over at the Inkwell, you can leave a comment here.

By the way, I made the fruitcake shown in the above image back in Dec 2013. It didn't make it to 2014. Yum.

So what does the 1949 version of the movie Little Women, the 1963 Christmas with the Chipmunks Vol. 2 album, a vintage video game, waffles, beans, children singing, and Christmas lights all have in common?

I'm featuring them on my post, It's A-Wassailing not A-Waffling today as they all contain a version of the Christmas song, Here We Come A-Wassailing.

I'm a bit worried about the Christmas in the desert one though as I'm sure someone will deem it is in poor taste, and although a small part of me agrees, I've raised four kids, 2 of them boys, and I love hearing them laugh, especially over natural and innocent incidents. 

Anyway, if you want to share your thoughts, head on over to Inkwell Inspirations and see for yourself. 

Here We Come A-Wassailing is the title of my latest story which is found in A Cup of Christmas Cheer Volume 4 Heartwarming Tales of Christmas Present, Guideposts Books, Oct 2014.   Check out my story page for more info.

Have you ever been to a huge holiday parade? How about watching the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, or Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on TV?

Today, my Inkwell Inspirations post is about Historic Santa Claus and Thanksgiving Parades and I've included lots of old photos, footage, and facts. 

To get you started, here's a photo of Edmonton's 1929 Santa Claus Parade...

Of course, this is merely another tool I'm using to promote my A Cup of Christmas Cheer story, Riding on A Christmas Wish since it's set in Keswick, York Ontario, within an hour's drive of where the historic Eaton's Santa Claus Parade began. But I've included some real interesting stuff. I hope you enjoy your nostalgic trip back in time. 

At the end of all the Hops there will be a Grand Prize to someone who has visited and commented on every blog stop.  A $70.00 porcelain tea set from Yorktown's Victory Center will be part of the Grand Prize along with other gifts such as a gift cards, special hot cocoa packets, the two-book set of "A Cup of Christmas Cheer" and more!

Here's the complete Blog Hop schedule:
Friday, November 8th, Carla Olson Gade is on Carrie Fancett Pagels' blog 
Saturday, November 9th,   Ashley Clark is on Anita Mae Draper's blog.
Saturday, November 16th, Anita Mae Draper is on Johnnie Alexander Donley's blog.
Sunday Nov 17th  Julie Carobini on Ashley Clark's blog 
Friday, November 22nd,  Carrie Fancett Pagels is on Carla Olson Gade's blog.
Saturday, November 23rd,  Johnnie Alexander Donley is on Julie Carobini's blog 
Friday, November 29th,  Colonial Quills Blog to announce Grand Prize winner. 

The  Christmas Thief 
by Ashley Clark
A CUP OF CHRISTMAS CHEER Volume 2
Tales of Joy and Wonder for the Holidays,
Guideposts Books, October 2013

My Review of Ashley's Book:

What makes a man so desperate that he tries to steal a centuries' old Bible on Christmas Eve? 

Samuel Thompson stood outside his childhood church looking for a handout. Forty, homeless and hopeless, he's not sure if he's hit the bottom, or if there are worse days ahead.  Of course, if people recognized him, that would be worse because then he'd see their pity, but he could live with it if their spare change allows him to buy a meal. 

Within seconds of the church doors opening, Sam drops farther in his despair as he faces the truth - his downward spiral started when he turned his back on the love of one special woman.  Instead of sharing a dream with Evelyn, he'd chosen a selfish life of material wealth ... and now she stood there, staring up at him with full recognition. With empathy, Evelyn looks deep in his eyes and tells him that he's lost his hope and must find it again. Although he'd rather have food in his belly than hope in his heart, he accepts her challenge to go into the church and find his hope once more. 

But hunger and hope don't balance each other out to a person who has nothing left. And there before him in all its worn glory is a Bible worth enough money to buy him meals and shelter for a very long time. Maybe enough to help get his feet back on the ground.


This is a wonderful story of finding hope. It's also a juxtaposition of opposites. It's set in Old Charleston where horses and carriages stop behind cars on lamp lit roads of cobblestones. Where expected pity is met with empathy. And where hope is found in the midst of sin. 

First, Ashley allows us to see how easy it is to choose Sam's path, and then she shows how exceedingly difficult it is to climb out and start again. Many people can't do it. Yet, the miracle of Jesus' birth at Christmas is a source of hope that can't be denied. When you think you've reached your blackest moment, God's light finds a way in, and that's what Ashley uses in this story to touch the center of Sam's heart and let him know that he did indeed hit the bottom and now he must make another choice - to stay in the hole or climb out again. 

Have you ever felt so low that you thought there was no hope? What changed it?

If you'd like a chance to win this Christmas mug donated by Ashley Clark, leave a comment on this post and include a way of contacting you. 

Prize eligibility - please comment within one week of this post. Comment on all stops for a chance at the grand prize.

Today is Day 2 the A CUP OF CHRISTMAS CHEER blog hop schedule. Each blog "hop" or stop will have a giveaway. And at the end of all the hops there will be a Grand Prize to someone who has visited and commented on every blog stop.  A $70.00 porcelain tea set from Yorktown's Victory Center will be part of the Grand Prize along with other gifts such as a $10 Amazon card, special hot cocoa packets, the two-book set of "A Cup of Christmas Cheer" and more!

Here's the complete Blog Hop schedule:
Friday, November 8th, Carla Olson Gade is on Carrie Fancett Pagels' blog 
Saturday, November 9th,   Ashley Clark is on Anita Mae Draper's blog.
Saturday, November 16th, Anita Mae Draper is on Johnnie Alexander Donley's blog.
Sunday Nov 17th  Julie Carobini on Ashley Clark's blog 
Friday, November 22nd,  Carrie Fancett Pagels is on Carla Olson Gade's blog.
Saturday, November 23rd,  Johnnie Alexander Donley is on Julie Carobini's blog 
Friday, November 29th,  Colonial Quills Blog to announce Grand Prize winner. 

The Grand Prize winner must have left a comment on each of the Blog Hop blogs.  
A $70 porcelain tea set from Yorktown Victory Center, a $10 Amazon gift card, special cocoa packets and more will be given away.

This spring on March 11, I was presented an opportunity to create a story for a new two-volume hardcover set containing 16 short stories to be published by Guideposts Books in time for this holiday season. The deadline for the submission of a synopsis was March 26 - a mere two weeks away. 

The two books were to have different themes:
- family, faith, and friendship in one 
- angels, miracles, and other  wonders in the second

Since the initial email said we could contact the editor for a list of story suggestions, I emailed and asked for the list so I'd have an idea of what they were looking for. 

In the days that followed, two stories came to mind - a contemporary story and a historical one, both fitting the faith, family, and friendship theme. I wrote and rewrote and after each synopsis was done to my satisfaction, I sent it out to my Inkwell Inspiration blog mates (Inkies) for critiquing. 

On Mar 25, I emailed both synopses and a writing sample to the Guideposts editor. And then I tried to concentrate on my current writing project while I waited - not an easy thing to do.

On April 8th, I went into town for awhile and although I had my iPhone with me, I didn't have the volume turned up and didn't feel it vibrate. As soon as I returned home and entered the dining room though, I saw the light flashing on the Answering Machine. It was my agent, Mary Keeley, announcing that Guideposts wanted to buy my short story, Riding on a Christmas Wish.  

Wahoo!!!

Before I became too excited however, Mary advised that the Guideposts Books editor had some conditions before the contract would be offered. She gave me his number, and after a few hours when I'd settled down a bit, I made the call. 

The editor said the main condition was that they wanted the story to be written in the father's point-of-view (POV) only. (He gave me the reason, but I won't say it here because that would ruin the story for you.) Would I be able to do that? I answered yes because several people had told me that I write guys well, and if that's what it took I was up for the challenge. The editor was also concerned that a big action scene would be lost because it was in the mother's POV, but I assured him that I could work around it and keep the action. (It gave me confidence that he liked the action scene.) With that verbal agreement, I got down to the business of writing. My new deadline to submit the complete 5,500-7,000 word short story (22-28 manuscript pages) was May 6. 

And I did, again with help from my Inky blog mates. What would I do without them?

On May 10th, I received the Guideposts contract in the mail - all 3 copies. It was right there on paper that they wanted Riding on a Christmas Wish for A Cup of Christmas Cheer. Upon reading the contract, though, my joy was tempered by a sobering fact - that if the manuscript wasn't acceptable, the editor would ask for revisions once only. If the editor did not like my revisions, Guideposts would terminate the contract and I would receive a kill fee for my trouble versus the full payment. Gulp.

But it wasn't enough to stop the joy from bubbling up again. In order not to give away the contract details, I whitened out much of this xeroxed copy prior to taking this self-portrait. Yes, that means I aimed the camera at my chair and set the timer . . . ran to my chair . . . held up the contract . . . and smiled. 

I shared the image on Facebook, etc, and got back to writing.

On May 31st I received my first ever revision letter. The Guideposts editor spared nothing in giving me his thoughts on my story and it looked bad at first, but it actually came down to one character problem and the tone of the story. The editor wanted the revised copy back by 9 am on June 10th, and after deep-thinking for a couple days, I started the revisions. 

On June 9th, I sent in my revised copy, and then sat on tenterhooks while waiting to see if the editor liked it. Was it good enough? Had I understood his revision requests? Had I conveyed on paper the tone I knew he wanted? Would it be rejected because of something I could have easily changed? The doubts lingered...

Thankfully, he answered the next day - on June 10 - with a thank you note saying no further revisions were needed and the book would be out in October. 

That was it. Or was it? Although I'd signed the contract, I didn't have the final version with the whole contingent of signatures. 

You know, it's funny how your faith can flag when you allow doubt to set in. It's also the reason I didn't write this post sooner - the fear of rejection was very strong. It seemed better to wait and be sure my story had been accepted before making a big hoopla. So far, the only thing I had done was post the above photo on Facebook, and that was all I was going to do until I was very sure of publication. The thing is... the publishing world is changing so fast, an author can never be sure of publication until the book hits the stores. 

On July 15 however, I received an email from the Books & Such head office that the Cup of Christmas Cheer contract had arrived and was attached. You can bet I ran that attachment off pretty quick. :)

And now I finally believe that I am going to be published - and soon too, because at this point, Oct is only 3 months away. Sure, things can happen between now and then, but faith in my writing ability has taken an upswing. I've been blessed beyond measure with this opportunity and so grateful to my agent, Mary, and my Guideposts editor, for giving me this chance. 

October you say? Yikes, I have to start planning how I can help promote this project starting with the Genre Dinner at the upcoming ACFW conference.... but that's another post. :)