Scarlet Letters

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families, or at least you resisted the urge to strangle your families. If not, please let us know how to raise your bail. In the meantime, the holiday sales are spectacular this year, and who are we to be any different? From now through Jan. 3, LiteraryUnderworld.com is offering FREE SHIPPING* on all orders! If you got a grand-opening code as well, you could really score some great books to offset those argyle socks you got from your aunt. Use the code HANUKWANYULEMAS to get your free shipping. Drop by LiteraryUnderworld.com and pick yourself up something good! And a happy new year to you all. * Offer good only in the U.S. Minimum $10 purchase required.

My son is right on the verge about Santa Claus. His faith has been severely shaken this year, because people tend to forget that despite his ridiculous height, he's only ten years old. I think he likes the idea of Santa and doesn't want to give it up, given his fondness for magic and mystery in the things he likes to read. When he asks me, I tell him the same thing for Santa as for the Tooth Fairy and ghosts and fairies and things that go chomp in the night: Just because I haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Grammatically incorrect, but true. I've never seen a ghost, but plenty of people I know say they have, and who am I to tell them they're wrong? Last night as we drove home from the movies, he wanted to talk about Santa again. I told him that we put too much emphasis on the particulars of magic, and we leave aside the power of faith. I got a big "huh?" and so I tried again. I believe in magic. I believe in the power of things u...

Okay, I'm an idiot. My poor friend Sarah has already once extended my time for the Creative Memories online "party" I intended to hold. She is long-suffering and patient. So! Do you like scrapbooking? Sarah is a Creative Memories consultant, and I used to be a regular consumer of said stuff. I am about five years behind - wow, that corresponds almost exactly with the point where my writing career took off. Funny. Anyway, CM stuff is the highest quality and it is designed not to rot your pictures like those magnetic albums we all thought were so great in the 1990s. Like scrapbooks but lack the patience/time? They have template albums, predesigned pages, etc. Not interested in albums but looking for a creative way to display photos? Click on "Inspired Surroundings" for framed displays that would make a personal gift or memento. Also, they now have an extended digital component. You can assemble your digital photos into scrapbooks online and they print them for you...