Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays!

I wanted to send a very short message to one and all, to wish you a wonderful holiday season, and peace and happiness in the year to come.

Many of us are fortunate to be with friends and family at this special time of year, so it's important to give thought to those who aren't so blessed—those who have lost loved ones in the past year, those who are homeless or without family, people who are working during the holidays, and those who serve their country, far from home.

A couple of months ago I bought a lovely little book to put out on the mantelpiece over the holiday, and now it sits nestled on top of a conifer garland bedecked with lights. It's a poem, The Christmas Truce by Carol Ann Duffy, Britain's Poet Laureate. In simple verse Duffy tells the story of the Christmas truce 1914, when German and British soldiers serenaded each other with carols and then laid down their weapons and walked to No Man's Land where they met and shared drink and food rations, looked at photographs of each other's families and played football. And they helped each other to bury their dead. It was a brief time of peace in the midst of battle. Here are a few lines from Duffy's poem:

May your heart be filled full with the gift of love from home, and may the affection shared between family and friends—even friends you have yet to meet—be that which brings you joy in the year ahead.

With many blessings,

Jacqueline

PS: In the new year I'll be sending out a newsletter telling you more about my new novel, to be published in March 2012: Elegy For Eddie