Merry Christmas readers!

Sands and Storms, it really has been a whole year, hasn’t it? It almost doesn’t feel like it, but another one has passed. Somewhere between the hours poking away at a keyboard, it all added up, and once more we’ve arrived at the finale of the year.

Christmas.

Okay, some might count New Years, but dang it, that’s next year. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. The last holiday of the year, the one that matters most to me, is Christmas.

A lot of reflection goes into this season. Which it should, don’t get me wrong. This is a holiday dedicated to remembering the birth of the Savior and all that comes with it. Ideally, self-reflection should be involved. It’s a holiday where we can sit back and think about things for a little while. Look at where our lives have been. And where they’re headed.

This, by the way, isn’t at all what I expected to post when I started writing this, but then again that’s sometimes how these things go. I’m just rolling with it.

Anyway, wherever you are out there, I hope you’ve got a bit of the Christmas spirit in your life. Whether its from listening to Christmas songs, thinking back on older times, or looking ahead … I hope each and every one of you, in some way, finds a way for Christmas to come to you. Even with all the busyness, from the raging commercialism to the relentless hours many will end up working, I hope you all find a moment to yourselves, to your families, to your loved ones. To reflect, to think, and to have a little Christmas cheer and joy in your life. Whether it’s watching A Christmas Carol, listening to Handel’s Messiah … Whatever it is in your life that brings that small feeling of Christmas into your life, may you find the time for it.

With that, I’ve got one last thing to share.

Thank you.

Early this week, someone I trust challenged me to find some time in my schedule to write a letter to someone we were very grateful for, and tell them thank you. It didn’t take me long at all to figure out who I needed to write that letter for.

You guys.

All you readers. Of my books. Of my site. Of my fanfiction. You that have left reviews and ratings. You that have bought my books. You that have left me comments. That have shared my work with others.

Writing is … hard. Not just as an act of creation, but as a job. Making a living at it is not easy. And I’m not there yet. But thanks to readers who’ve supported me, by buying books, by reading my posts, by sharing them, and by letting me know how much they’re excited for the next one, things have gone up. Slowly but surely, they go up.

So thank you. All of you. Thank you for the comments, the interaction, the reviews, the ratings, the enjoyment, the feedback, and everything else. All of it.

An author is nothing without readers. They can’t live without them. Thank you for being my readers.

And may you all have a wonderful Christmas. I wish you well.

Merry Christmas