…..and to write. It’s a perfect pairing on this wonderful Christmas Eve and a break from other activities. This year I mismanaged my schedule and our go-to kennel did not have any reservations left for our dog. Oops. This meant I had to search elsewhere for boarding the wild beast, and it just didn’t work out. So, I’m missing the family gathering, and my son and I are home with the dog, a Christmas movie on the horizon.

I promised myself when I woke this morning that I would make it a great day and in addition to the celebration, I would get some work done for the marketing division of Annabelle Lewis Books. Yes, it’s the super fun part of being an author. Not. Let’s see what I’ve accomplished….

I created a giveaway for the kindle version of Charlotte McGee, Book One of the Carrows Family Chronicles due to launch December 27-December 31. A+ Job Annabelle.

I did no research on the best time to launch a campaign. C- Annabelle.

I made holiday cookies A+ Annabelle. I’ve eaten three C- (it’s only noon)

I figured out how to make a short link for the Amazon address for the book. A+ Annabelle

I created an image for the giveaway on Bookbrush. A+ Annabelle

I rolled around on the carpet with the dog while singing Christmas music. That’s a solid B (it was hairy, not terribly aerobic, and you’ve got a bruise on your arm where the dog mauled you)

I ate carrots dipped in Chick-fil-A sauce and put a bottle of wine in the fridge to chill for later. Hmm, B?

I made The Dip for tomorrow. A+ (Ugga Muga’s Dip – a much loved family classic)

I spent five hours on Facebook checking out book lover sites. A+ ?

I applied generous amounts of Ben Gay to my neck because it hurt after the Facebook marathon. B- I now smell terrible….or good…depends on how you look at it. My sinuses feel clear, but my eyes are running. Yeah, let’s move that to C+. Learn to listen to your body signals and get up off your behind and move around more often!

I texted family hellos and well wishes. Wait, that’s a lie, and on Christmas, too. C- Annabelle, shame on you.

I danced a jig while vacuuming to Christmas music. A+

My son yelled at me for waking him up with the vacuum. I’m grading that a solid A, despite the conflict.

This is all prelude to the real story of the day. I talked to my son about StarWars: The Rise of Skywalker. We saw it yesterday. My son takes these movies and the world of Star Wars very seriously. We had a refresher course one year where we watched seven in the series just for prep before taking in the latest installment. It was a whole lot of popcorn to get through that, let me tell you. This time, we only watched The Last Jedi to prepare, but I was glad for the recap. We also had discussions about expectations going in, and the thing was, his were not met.

I thought the movie was great. I cried. Several times. I won’t do spoilers here, so don’t worry, but we all know that Carrie Fisher is no longer with us in the real world, but she was yesterday, and I loved that. My son had expectations which weren’t fulfilled about a character’s story arc, and took to bed when we got home, me and the dog coaxing him out of his room hours later. Today, we discussed the deeper meanings, and he’ll be okay, but let’s take our hats off to the world George Lucas created. Talk about a story writer and world builder! The first movie came out in 1977, over forty years ago. And it’s still breaking box office records.

So I’ll end my blog with this. George Lucas, your writing changed our world. Thank you for your work and your vision. You’ll inspire us all, for generations to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Xoxo, Annabelle