Christmas Greetings

[Jobev]

Christmastide Greetings!

We've danced into the twelve days of Christmas, which happily
coincides
in the northern hemisphere with the days slowly lengthening. This is
why the
northern parts of Europe, the one's with the shortest days, have
winter festivals of
light such as Yule, particularly associated with fire, and Saint
Lucy's day, when a
young woman portrays Lucy or Lucia wearing a crown of candles.

Light is so central to our lives and yet we take it for granted until
something like a
power cut reminds us of the reality. In the world of my novels people
had to be ingenious with winter light. They carried candles shielded
by glass covers and used reflectors to direct candlelight onto their
reading or work.

In the past, moonlight was important for it is possible to see well by
moonlight on
a clear night. The famous Lunar Society of the 18th century was not
particularly
concerned with the moon; it was a group of scientists and philosophers
in the
northern part of England who met when the moon was full and travel
easier.

Country events might be timed close to a full moon for ease of
traveling.
However, the problem of returning home in the dark, with the increased
hazard of highwayman added, meant that most balls ended at dawn. They
would break at
about midnight for a supper, then dance on until dawn when a breakfast
might be
offered before they staggered out to their coaches to return home. One
thing
about those aristocratic revelers of the past -- they had stamina!

You'll see this sort of situation in A Scandalous Countess, where Lady
Maybury
makes her return to the beau monde at a ball hosted by her sister at
Hammersmith. Now, Hammersmith is part of London, but in 1765 it was a
village
on the Thames which was far too far from the heart of the world for
Georgia
Maybury's taste. Unfortunately her being unjustly the center of a
scandal makes
discretion wise.

At least the tantalizing scarred ex-naval officer, Lord Dracy, is
there to challenge
and amuse her. And to help her when scandal explodes yet again.

A Scandalous Countess will be out in early February. It's not listed
as an e-book yet, but it will be out for all e-readers.

You can read a short excerpt here. http://www.jobev.com/ascancexc.html

Do you share my problem -- a tendency to get slow and depressed as
darkness
sets in early?

In case you do, I'm sharing my solution -- SAD lights.

SAD is seasonal affected disorder and a lot of people of all ages have
it.
Sometimes we think it's normal to get depressed and slow as winter
creeps in, but
it's not. It's possible that in the past it was less common because
most of us
spent more time outside, working on the land and walking to and fro.
Today
some people drive into an office block in the dark in the morning and
out again in
the evening and hardly get any exposure to sunlight at all.

Add to that, winter sunlight is weak, and even an hour or two out in
it, with a
reasonable amount of skin exposed -- shiver! -- is probably not
enough, but it
certainly wouldn't hurt to go for a walk in the middle of the day. Of
course, if you're lucky enough to live in a more tropical place,
enjoy!

There are all kinds of SAD lights -- mine's a little portable one
called the Litebook
(which sounds like an e-reader, doesn't it?) -- but unless you're
bouncy and full of
joy in the shorter days, you might want to look into getting one with
any money
left over from Christmas.

May your stocking be full of wonderful books, and your season merry
and bright!

Jo