A Sigh of Relief
January 2. My favourite day of the year. Why? Because Christmas and New Year are all over and we’re back to some semblance of normality. Quirky this year because it’s a public holiday in England, but even so, Her Indoors will take the decs down today and that’s it for another eleven months.
You may be tempted to ask why, if I’m so against this time of year, have I produced no less than 10 novels focussed on Christmas and New Year.
To begin with, I’m not anti-Christmas. It’s great seeing the family and friends in the dead of winter, and I do enjoy the various parties the missus and I attend.
But it’s the hype I can’t do with and it starts as early as September/October. I’m also anti-winter. How many times have I said the days are too short, the nights too long, and it’s too bloody cold? I’m a spring, summer, and autumn person.
Other people, however, are the exact opposite. They love Christmas, they love the build-up, the parties, the exchange of gifts. And I write my comic mysteries for others, not for me. It’s as simple as that.
For all that, however, the eight Sanford 3rd Age Club Mysteries and the two Capper casebooks set around Christmas don’t actually concentrate on the festivities. They’re murder mysteries, and they focus on the crimes and investigation.
So there you have it. I don’t care for mid-winter, I don’t care for Christmas and as far as I’m concerned, January 1st bears a striking resemblance to December 31st.
Footnote: changes, in the form of guest posts, are coming to this site, if I can ever get around to sorting them out. I’ll keep you posted as and when they’re happening. For now, best wishes for the coming year, and you can check out all my published works HERE