Good and Bad Intertwined

The twelve days of the Christmas season are over, and the story has changed. The joyful welcome to the arrival of Jesus from heavenly beings, ordinary farm workers and “magi” from other countries, has been replaced by the story of an insecure tyrant, the murder of babies and the forced displacement of Jesus and his family to another country. One of the gifts from the wise men is myrrh, a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death.  As in all good stories, good and bad are intertwined. Unlike the secular songs about Christmas, which have thankfully stopped, the traditional Carols are not always joyful throughout. The third verse of “Unto us a boy is born” refers to the massacre of the innocents.

As a new author, the Christmas season had also been a case of euphoria mixed with  trepidation. All the copies of “Ill Conceived” that I bought from Amazon have been sold, mostly to people I know (and thank you so much of you were one of the people who took them!) but now people are telling me they have started to read the book, and I am dreading the feedback and how I may react if they are too honest!

As I look at the spaces I had cleared for cards and the shreds of tinsel and pine on the floors -which I can see I haven’t cleaned away properly- I remind myself of my New Years’ resolution to set aside at least two hours writing time a day. I shall update you in my next blog as to whether I kept it. I have also resolved to learn from the feedback rather than take offence.