allyshields.com

I make what my mum calls ‘builder’s tea’ which just means it’s really strong. That said, Bridget (the heroine in Beyond Dead) is actually named after a (sort-of) ex-boyfriend’s best friend’s ex-girlfriend. Facebook is always a trusty favourite, though, so I’m probably more active on there and that’s because more people use that to talk to me. It’s classed as a walled city because we still have the walls circling the city that were built by the Romans.

When out of the sky with a light pure and bright Came a dragon so bold glowing gold and pure white. Of a beautiful princess who had fallen in love With a handsome dragon from the clouds far above And every Christmas she brought back her joy By sharing her gifts with each girl and boy. The dragon winked boldly, or so the story goes, And spreading her wings, she rose to the sky "Merry Christmas to all, and I bid you Good-Bye! " Ally Shields (2013, updated 2018) ​ Thanks for reading my annual Christmas fantasy post, updated to include Rayne as the third main character of the Guardian Witch and Guardian Witch Legacy series.

I enjoy both writing and editing, but in some senses it's easier for me to fix someone else's work than it is to fix my own. But there's nothing quite like the rush I get after writing one to two thousand words that exactly fit the mood and story I'm working on...they're not exactly the same skill-set, writing and editing, but the skills for one carry over to the skills of the other. And the third was a dream I had after that, where a short young man dressed all in black came to me and said, "It's not like that! " and proceeded to tell me just what Elfy-welfie stuff was (yes, he insisted on the change from -ie to -y) and why he wanted no part of it, thanks. It's about Master's students, both clarinetists, in Nebraska; one is transgender, the other is not, and they are in love.

She’d gone over her designs and schematics and taken it apart and put it back together a dozen times, but it still wouldn’t work. Way warmer than New York City where he’d been working up to last week, and way, way warmer than back home at the Pole. He stood on the busy street corner of the city’s Financial District and swiveled, not just his head, but his whole body. A big sprinkle-top cupcake jauntily capped the sign that stated in broad flourish font, “Kate’s Cupcake Cart.