This is two days behind schedule, but I’m not beating myself up about that. November has been an incredibly difficult month for my entire family.
Although this is late, I’m actually really proud of myself for putting myself ahead of my publishing schedule. I’m pretty bad at recognising when I need to take a break, but there were a couple of times this month when I could have worked on writing or editing, but instead I realised that I needed to care for myself—and I did! And honestly, I think that is the reason I am able to bring you The Christmas Party today. If I’d pressed ahead and pushed myself, I might be in even worse shape than I am right now.
So yes, breaking news—taking care of yourself is important, at this time of year more than any other! We might be heading into summer here in the Southern Hemisphere, but for most of you reading this, temperatures are cold, and it’s really easy to get run down at this time of year. I hope that you’re able to balance the inevitable end of year busy with the need to be kind to yourself and make time for what is most important to you.
To help you with that, a Read by Candlelight story that, unlike my last release, is not going to make you cry (not unless things have gone terribly wrong)—The Christmas Party!
The Christmas Party.
Tidings of comfort and—ghosts?
As the solitary inhabitant of a notoriously haunted house, Micah Evanovitch is braced for another miserable Christmas. He passes his days playing the piano, brooding on his failure to produce a sonata worthy of the woman he loved, and hiding from the world. When a wilful heiress decides his house is the perfect location for her spooky Christmas soiree, Micah’s very existence is threatened. Will the party provide Micah with the chance to put his past behind him—or further cement his failures?
Pippa Goodfellow has five thousand pounds a year and a simple wish: to scare the socks off her infuriatingly superior cousin Julian and his odious friend Bryant. But when her revenge threatens the professional reputation of her beloved Uncle, Pippa needs Micah’s help to ward off disaster. Can an eternal pessimist and hopeless optimist ever find common ground? Or will Pippa’s Christmas Party end in Christmas tragedy for all?
The Christmas Party is the fourteenth in the Read by Candlelight series of standalone novellas featuring an LGBTQIA+ cast. Pairs nicely with Christmas mince pies and ginger beer. Read now to help revive the tradition of ghost stories on Christmas Eve.
The Christmas Party went out to my Patreon supporters already, and is available to purchase as an epub on my store until November 28th NZT. Amazon customers, you can preorder it here.
Empowering gaslamp fantasy that confounds expectations
Gillian St. Kevern
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