An Unusual Christmas

Merry Chrismukkah! I must say I’ve always loved that word and theologically speaking, I believe it makes a lot of sense. After all, Jesus—whose birth we celebrate every year on the 25th of December—was born Jewish. It also reminds me of The OC, a television program we became ridiculously obsessed with in the days when you had to wait a whole week for the next episode

… and the Life of Brian. Don’t you just love Monty Python? So hilarious and really very wise. One of the most memorable quotes throughout my childhood happened to be; ‘Brian? He’s not Jesus. He’s just a naughty little boy.’

Oh, and this is a photo of a very adorable retriever.

Have I lost you already? I do apologise, but I’m afraid my mind works in many tangential ways. You see, although I’ve been raised a Catholic—attending Sunday Mass every single week—Christmas brings to mind all kinds of pop culture. Home Alone, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day; no Christmas is complete without them. Then of course, there are Agatha Christie’s Christmas murder-mysteries. I am very fond of them and always think of Poirot when I open a box of Christmas chocolates.

Why would I think of murder at Christmas? You may ask, but agathachristie.com postulates there are two reasons we are drawn to the crime genre at Christmas. ‘Firstly, because the darkness of a good murder mystery makes for a pleasing contrast with the somewhat saccharine nature of a lot of other traditional pop culture fare… And then secondly, the ordered world of a good whodunnit, in which logic always prevails and good triumphs over evil, is reassuring.’

For me, I must say, it’s also a little reminiscence of Christmas past. Not in a scrooge sense, although I am very fond of Dickens, but in a warm and fuzzy way. Embarrassingly, I’ve watched the BBC Poirot Christmas episodes so many times, I’m convinced I was there. I’ve spent Christmas with Pilar Estravados, Lucy Eyelesbarrow, the Lacey family, and of course Poirot and Miss Marple countless times.

According to Agatha’s great grandson; we ‘look forward to doing the same things, year in and year out,’ and nostalgia is certainly a huge part of Christmas for me. There’s something special about a bite of pudding, the sound and smell of popping crackers, and getting together around a meal with my family. It makes me feel lucky, and reminds me that although the year might not have been easy, or what I hoped, I have so much to be thankful for.

This year we’ve had a COVID Christmas, but fortunately I have enough happy memories to draw upon. Therefore, in the spirit of Christmastime (and the words of Bing Crosby) ‘I’ve decided to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and don’t mess with Mr In Between'. Instead of anxiously counting the remaining days to achieve my 2022, and berating myself for those that I’m going to miss; I’m determined to focus upon what I have achieved.

Firsty, I have written upwards of 300,000 words in my first draft manuscripts. When I added that up, I was a little surprised! Even more so, when I realised it didn’t include all of the revisions, editing, planning and pulling it all together. What have I been writing? Well, thank you for asking. I completed two half finished murder-mystery manuscripts, two new murder-mysteries, the third book in a middle-grade series and worked on a book of musical musings. They are very much unpolished, but as I have been taught, one cannot edit a blank page.

In my other creative endeavours, I’ve completed a second album of 21 tracks, illustrated 35 images, and a music book of 8 arrangements. I’ve played in 12 concerts, taught around 500 lessons, and worked more than 1000 hours in a pharmacy. I know that doesn’t sound especially imaginative, but I like to think I’m following in Agatha’s footsteps. Just think of all the stories she conjured in her mind whilst slaving over a cash register!

Then, at least 500 hours have been spent practising, many more hours recording and rehearsing; and I discovered I’ve read 30 books! Admittedly, quite a few were re-reads of Agatha, but is there such a thing as too much Agatha? A little effort—some may call it wasted time—has finally gone into producing 47 YouTube videos, 26 Instagram posts, 165 TikTox, 21 blogs, 6 masks and a hand-stitched costume.

I tell myself it is marketing and even if it is largely ineffectual, at least it is fun.

Well, as you can see, it’s a random assortment. No wonder I’m a bit tuckered out and yet I can't help focusing on what I haven't done. Unfortunately, my second middle-grade novel has not quite made the publication date. I really hoped and planned to have it done within a year, but I discovered the final stages require an enormous amount of ‘finishing energy’ as Joanna Penn calls it. Particularly when it’s not just a book, but an album and music arrangements too.

This has also been considerably harder the second time around, and the first took seven years! Many writers talk about the second book's challenges, but I always thought that came with success, fame and living up to the expectations of the first. What I’ve discovered, however, is that it has more to do with learning. The more you learn—and practise—the more you see what’s wrong. Duh! I know. After more than thirty years of violin playing, you’d think I’d have been prepared for that.

Still, I think there is a reason things evolve in the way they do. If I knew what I know now, I’d have been too afraid to try. So, I’m feeling lucky. I’m blessed to be alive and to have so many lovely friends and family who support me, and in the spirit of Agatha Christie’s Grandson, I’m also determined to do the same next year. After all, it wasn’t a bad creative effort, and in seven years time after I’ve spent 10,000 hours writing, I might have a bit of a clue what I’m doing.

Then again, if it’s anything like playing the violin… I never will. Even better, I say! Who wouldn’t want each day at the keyboard to be filled with adventure and mystery? I’m sure Agatha, despite her eminent and extremely excellent qualifications, would whole-heartedly agree.