19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe 'too often', trope you can’t get enough of?)

Christmas! Especially Christmas trees. I've written several Christmas stories down the years; and, if a tree is relevant, it definitely gets into the story. In fact, the seasonal episode of FK4 actually describes no fewer than three different trees.

My mother's family always managed a tree, even at the worst of the Depression; and Christmas was very important to her family. My Dad (whose mother died when he was just shy of fourteen) considered the holiday to be mainly for children; but no one else agreed with him. It's a family holiday for us: the tree, the turkey, and presents.

We had our first family tree when I was four. Or so I've been told. It was a tiny live tree (which my Dad planted in the garden afterwards, and dug up the following Christmas) with decorations that my grandmother had sent from Canada. According to my mother, I was astounded; and, the last night before it was taken down, I sat for ages just staring at it. The following year, I saw The Nutcracker for the first time. I do remember that: when the Christmas tree grew at the end of the first act, it was utter magic. Christmas trees have been special ever since.

Although my father always insisted on a "real" tree, I have one that is artificial: this is best for the glass ornaments, since there won't be any droop from drying out. It's only a six-footer; but that means I can reach the top without having to stand on anything. I've had it since 1986. As for the ornaments, I bought my first ones in the late seventies, and still pick up a few each year. Nowadays, I store them in carefully organized boxes in a cupboard off the living room.

This is my tree from 2020:



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Well, it has been a while since I last posted, hasn't it? In the interim, I've written several stories for Yuletide, enjoyed a family Christmas (my sister having come over from England to join us for the holiday), and played in the latest Forever Knight War on FKFIC-L.

Yes, indeed. I have been busy. I'm not sure that counts as an excuse; but it is an explanation.

First off, let me say that Yuletide was as satisfying this year as last. I received a delightful story by Tolakasa, "Rondeau", in which Captain Cohen reluctantly attends the office Christmas party. Reluctantly, because her husband is there—and he has a wicked sense of humour. We never met him in canon (and only know that his initial is "D" because it's on the Missing poster in "Black Buddha" under Next of Kin). Tolakasa has invented him from scratch; and he's quite delightful. Strongly recommended!

My own assignment was to write a story for Juliandarling based on Mary Renault's The Charioteer. This proved to be such a very plump plot bunny that I started to wonder if I'd get it finished by the deadline. Indeed, since my beta (my sister, fawatson) declared that, if I was going to introduce packages then readers would definitely want to see them opened, I wound up adding another 2K between the upload deadline and the reveal, for a total of 12K. (Agggh!!!) As the title, "Exit Stage Left, a Wounded Warrior: The Lost Chapters of The Charioteer" suggests, the story represents itself as the next two chapters of the novel, bringing Laurie's story up to Christmas 1940.

I managed to squeeze out enough time, between duties on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, to write a few treats, as well as ficlets for fkcommentfic and maryrenaultfics. All but the last have now been HTMLed and added to my website. (The latest of my appleficlets is only No. 4, with two more parts to go; so I'm waiting until I finish the entire series.)

I figure the best thing to do is just try to get caught up. So I'm going to comment here on all these stories.

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