Shownotes
BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS
- Be present. Sometimes we miss opportunities because we look too far ahead and miss the here and now.
- Whatever you dream of doing, don't until 'the time is right.' Make a start now. Otherwise, you’re never going to do it.
- For writers, always end the day knowing what to write the next day. Planning can help you be productive.
- Find someone to bounce ideas off. Talking it out can help you uncover solutions. <-- Lots more tips for writers. Tune in to get them all!
- Don't forget to enjoy life every day. Live in the moment and get the most out of each and every day.
- Do it scared. Don't let fear stop you!
- Listen to the full conversation for more insights about following your dreams!
Resources Mentioned
- Heidi Swain's books on Amazon
- Reminder: the Holiday Vendor Village is open for shopping until 12/31. Some shops are updated with products for the New Year.
Heidi's Contact Links
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TwitterJoin Our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community
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Transcripts
Welcome to a special holiday edition of gift to biz on
Speaker:rapt episode 297.
Speaker:Well, I always wanted to write ever since I was little,
Speaker:I always wanted to be an author Attention.
Speaker:Gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow.
Speaker:Your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Oh, Merry Christmas.
Speaker:Not that I'm Santa of course,
Speaker:but I'm here with a holiday gift for you.
Speaker:This is a light hearted spirited episode inspired by the gentle,
Speaker:joyful and peaceful intent of the season.
Speaker:We're going to hear a snippet from Heidi Swayne's Christmas story,
Speaker:mince, pies,
Speaker:and mistletoe for the Christmas market.
Speaker:It will warm your soul.
Speaker:As you're busy scurrying around with the final preparations for Christmas,
Speaker:the story you'll hear revolves around a small town craft market,
Speaker:which reminds me to tell you that our virtual holiday vendor
Speaker:village is still open.
Speaker:Booths have been updated to include new year's products and even
Speaker:some Valentine's offerings.
Speaker:So if you haven't visited or you want to jump back
Speaker:in to check out what's new,
Speaker:you can get there directly through gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash enter vendor village.
Speaker:The vendor village will close on December 31st in preparation for
Speaker:next year.
Speaker:And I can't wait to share with you what's up,
Speaker:but of course that's all for later.
Speaker:So now it's time to settle into a cozy little spot.
Speaker:If you can break away for a few minutes or just
Speaker:listen while you're wrapping and shipping,
Speaker:you'll hear from Heidi with her beautiful British accent.
Speaker:As she shares the life of a bestselling author and a
Speaker:reading from one of her charming Christmas books.
Speaker:I have a special treat for you today.
Speaker:I'd like to introduce you to author Heidi Swain,
Speaker:although passionate about writing from an early age,
Speaker:Heidi acquired a degree in literature flirted briefly with a newspaper
Speaker:career married and had two children before she plucked up the
Speaker:courage to join a creative writing class and take her literary
Speaker:ambitions. Seriously,
Speaker:a lover of vintage paraphernalia and the odd bottle of fizz.
Speaker:She now writes fuel good fiction with heart for Simon and
Speaker:Schuster. Her debut novel.
Speaker:The cherry tree cafe was published in July two 15.
Speaker:And since then she's had a further 10 books published becoming
Speaker:a Sunday times bestseller in 2017,
Speaker:Heidi is currently celebrating the release of her new 2020 festive
Speaker:title, the winter garden,
Speaker:Heidi, welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.
Speaker:Hello, and thank you so much for inviting me.
Speaker:I'm really excited to be here today.
Speaker:So excited that you're here too,
Speaker:and together let's wish everybody who celebrates Merry Christmas,
Speaker:cause it's this week,
Speaker:Merry Christmas,
Speaker:everybody. I want to start off by asking you about your
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:And I'm really excited to hear this because we chatted a
Speaker:little bit in the pre chat that you thought this was
Speaker:an interesting fun question.
Speaker:So if you were to share with us what type of
Speaker:a candle you would create that really would speak to you,
Speaker:what would your motivational candle look like?
Speaker:I love this question.
Speaker:It's so unusual.
Speaker:I've never been asked anything like this.
Speaker:So I have given it some thought and the color of
Speaker:my candle is green.
Speaker:It's my favorite color.
Speaker:It's so verdant and rich and I've gone for green really
Speaker:because I just love to spend time outdoors,
Speaker:whatever the weather,
Speaker:whatever the season.
Speaker:So I've got a nice green candle,
Speaker:maybe with a pine scent.
Speaker:I think that's perfect for this time of year,
Speaker:but that would please me any time of year.
Speaker:Really. So that's,
Speaker:that's kind of what it would look like.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:Perfect. And do you have any type of a quote or
Speaker:a mantra or a saying that you often go back to
Speaker:that really resonates with you?
Speaker:Scott has changed a bit this year 2020 has been probably
Speaker:the most unusual year any of us have ever lived through.
Speaker:So I'm keeping it very simple.
Speaker:I've just got two words and they are be present.
Speaker:I've already got it on a post-it on my desk.
Speaker:And it's just a little reminder that every day I think
Speaker:because of the industry that I work in and especially because
Speaker:I write two books a year,
Speaker:I've got to be super organized.
Speaker:I've always got to be planning ahead.
Speaker:And today,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:I've had a meeting with my agent and editor about the
Speaker:next book that I'm going to be writing and that won't
Speaker:be published until Christmas 21.
Speaker:So we're working a long way in advance.
Speaker:So my working life has to be a bit of a
Speaker:long-term project and it's full of dates and deadlines.
Speaker:But as I said this year has really brought into focus
Speaker:that sometimes it doesn't pay to always be looking too far
Speaker:ahead because we can miss what's happening in the here and
Speaker:now. So even though professionally,
Speaker:I have to be organized on a personal level.
Speaker:I'm trying to focus on the day that's happening right now,
Speaker:be present in the here and now.
Speaker:And I'm squeezing in lots of extra things and enjoying life,
Speaker:simple pleasures.
Speaker:I'm going for a walk every day,
Speaker:which has benefited my mental health as well as my physical
Speaker:health and I'm reading and baking and knitting and just making
Speaker:sure that I'm getting as much as I can out of
Speaker:each and every day and sort of living in the moment.
Speaker:I love It.
Speaker:And that's clearly how you focus and get so much done.
Speaker:As you were saying that I'm also thinking specially this year
Speaker:of all years looking and anticipating what could possibly be,
Speaker:can just lead to a whole bunch of anxiety because none
Speaker:of us really knew how this was going to play out
Speaker:through the year.
Speaker:We're hopefully walking into the end of this.
Speaker:Luckily we're doing a countdown to the new year and 2021
Speaker:for sure is going to be different for sure.
Speaker:Yeah. I agree with you and working because I've worked from
Speaker:home and obviously being an author,
Speaker:you work on your own an awful lot.
Speaker:So not being able to get out and about as I
Speaker:usually would.
Speaker:We've had a couple of lockdowns here now in the UK
Speaker:and I've kind of really missed socializing.
Speaker:So my friends and I'm making more of an effort to
Speaker:meet online.
Speaker:We have zoom calls and we have kind of like private
Speaker:messaging things going on just to make sure we're all keeping
Speaker:in touch with each other,
Speaker:looking out for each other.
Speaker:And yeah,
Speaker:just making the most of every opportunity really Go out walking.
Speaker:Are you walking by yourself or are you meeting up with
Speaker:a friend or what are you doing with that?
Speaker:Pretty much walking on my own at the moment I get
Speaker:up quite early and it's dark here in the mornings until
Speaker:nearly seven o'clock,
Speaker:but I kind of go out about 10 to seven in
Speaker:the morning and then I can be back home by about
Speaker:half seven,
Speaker:quarter to eight,
Speaker:and then I start my working day.
Speaker:So it's an early walk,
Speaker:but I'm making sure I'm getting those steps in and it's
Speaker:just nice to get out there and watch the changing season.
Speaker:Yeah, I completely agree with you.
Speaker:So that's another thing that we have in common besides the
Speaker:crafting and the love of snow,
Speaker:which we talked about also I'm walking each day.
Speaker:I'm finding that,
Speaker:that just really sets my mind up.
Speaker:Whether I do it in the morning or the afternoon,
Speaker:I vary it,
Speaker:but I usually get myself at least an hour walk in
Speaker:every day.
Speaker:Same thing.
Speaker:There's such a huge mood lifter getting outside.
Speaker:That's one of the really strong themes in the winter garden.
Speaker:I was desperate to include that.
Speaker:And it just felt like the right time to put that
Speaker:into a book that's been scientifically proven now that if we
Speaker:just spend a few minutes looking at green things growing every
Speaker:day, it triggers off the serotonin in our brains and it
Speaker:gives us a real boost.
Speaker:So I'm all for encouraging people to do that,
Speaker:even though the weather might not be great.
Speaker:I still want people Wellington boots on and get outside for
Speaker:a little while.
Speaker:Yes, absolutely agree.
Speaker:So you gave us a peak already into somewhat how you
Speaker:create some of your information because you were talking about this
Speaker:for the winter garden,
Speaker:which is the most recent book that's been published,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:Came out in October,
Speaker:beginning of October,
Speaker:this one.
Speaker:Wonderful. So gift biz listeners,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:that I always like to do something special on Christmas and
Speaker:we have a treat coming up.
Speaker:You're going to be in suspense.
Speaker:Cause I am going to delay it for a couple of
Speaker:minutes, but Heidi is going to be reading to us from
Speaker:one of her books,
Speaker:just a little clip so we can get a feel for
Speaker:the style because how appropriate and fun and wonderful for the
Speaker:holidays. But before we get into that,
Speaker:Heidi, I have some questions for you.
Speaker:Okay. Talk to me about the life of an author a
Speaker:little bit more in terms how you got here.
Speaker:I know what you were talking about in the intro,
Speaker:but when you actually decided you were going to start writing
Speaker:that first book,
Speaker:how did that happen?
Speaker:Well, I always wanted to write,
Speaker:ever since I was little,
Speaker:I always wanted to be an author.
Speaker:I don't know if you're familiar with the film romancing,
Speaker:the stone with Kathleen Douglas.
Speaker:Oh yes.
Speaker:There's the scene at the beginning where she's in the flat
Speaker:and she's got her headphones on and she's typing away.
Speaker:And I was really young when that film came out,
Speaker:but I always kind of imagined myself being in a flat
Speaker:with a cat and doing that.
Speaker:It was ideal for me.
Speaker:I didn't mind so much that I wouldn't go on the
Speaker:adventure like Kathleen Turner did,
Speaker:but I loved the thought of being able to sit and
Speaker:write my stories and tell my stories all day.
Speaker:So I've always wanted to do it.
Speaker:So is that what it is?
Speaker:It looks like behind the scenes where you write something similar
Speaker:Alert to that,
Speaker:to be honest.
Speaker:Yeah. I have to say I'm in my sweat pants today
Speaker:because you can be the bedroom,
Speaker:but the cat's downstairs.
Speaker:She's not okay with me today,
Speaker:but she's downstairs.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:it does actually look a little bit like that,
Speaker:but, but I didn't do anything about it.
Speaker:I think it was lack of confidence.
Speaker:I didn't actually start writing for myself until I was in
Speaker:my thirties.
Speaker:I'd studied literature,
Speaker:I'd worked on a newspaper.
Speaker:I'd done parish magazines,
Speaker:local blogs about my chickens and my gardening and all that
Speaker:sort of thing.
Speaker:But I haven't ever plucked up the courage to actually sit
Speaker:down and write fiction.
Speaker:And then eventually I decided I'd got a big birthday looming
Speaker:and if I didn't make a start,
Speaker:then I was never going to do it.
Speaker:And I think we're all guilty of saying,
Speaker:Oh, I'll do it when the time's right.
Speaker:Time is never right.
Speaker:We just have to kind of grasp the nettle and get
Speaker:on with it really.
Speaker:So that's what I did eventually.
Speaker:I think that's,
Speaker:It's a really important point for all of us.
Speaker:And I'm going to just interject here for a second,
Speaker:that as we start looking at a new year,
Speaker:this is something for us to reflect on too.
Speaker:Like what is something that we've been thinking we've wanted to
Speaker:do and we've kept putting it off and kept putting it
Speaker:off for maybe it's an excuse the time isn't right yet.
Speaker:Or maybe it's not even an excuse.
Speaker:Maybe that's just what you really think.
Speaker:Yeah. But I love what you're saying.
Speaker:You just have to decide like it's almost now,
Speaker:we're never,
Speaker:and I hate the idea of getting farther along in life
Speaker:where maybe you wish you would have started earlier because now
Speaker:you don't have as much time to enjoy and do what
Speaker:you'd been wanting to do for so long.
Speaker:And most of the time we are the ones who are
Speaker:putting the wall up in front of ourselves.
Speaker:You're totally right.
Speaker:So many people say to me,
Speaker:Oh, I'd love to write a book,
Speaker:but I haven't got the time.
Speaker:Well, you never gain more hours in the day when I
Speaker:started out writing books,
Speaker:when I decided that I wanted to have a go at
Speaker:writing a novel,
Speaker:I was working as a teaching assistant for children with special
Speaker:educational needs.
Speaker:My own children were quite young.
Speaker:So I used to get up at five o'clock in the
Speaker:morning and do an hour before everybody else got up.
Speaker:And then I would sit in my car for my lunch
Speaker:break, carry on writing then.
Speaker:And then I would carry on in the evening when I
Speaker:got home.
Speaker:And I was doing that right up until about book fourth.
Speaker:That was the routine.
Speaker:And I didn't have any more hours in the day.
Speaker:I just had snapped these little brief bits of time that
Speaker:I could.
Speaker:And then it sounds like it's changed now and you're doing
Speaker:it differently today.
Speaker:Yes. Now I'm writing full time.
Speaker:So when I wrote that first book,
Speaker:I became a member of the romantic novelists association and they
Speaker:have a new writers scheme,
Speaker:which means that you can submit a manuscript to them every
Speaker:year to be critiqued.
Speaker:I put the cherry tree cafe in and it had a
Speaker:very, very good appraisal.
Speaker:I was so excited about it.
Speaker:And I decided that that was the book that I wanted
Speaker:to launch my career.
Speaker:And then Simon and Schuster had a one day call for
Speaker:unsolicited manuscripts.
Speaker:So you didn't need an agent.
Speaker:You didn't need the manuscript to have been professionally edited.
Speaker:And if they liked it,
Speaker:they would all you and hopefully offer you a deal.
Speaker:And that's exactly what happened or within the space of about
Speaker:a year.
Speaker:It happened very quickly.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:That is so exciting.
Speaker:I have like the goosebumps over here.
Speaker:Cause that would be like the perfect story,
Speaker:right. That it would happen that way.
Speaker:It's hard work,
Speaker:but it was like a fairy tale.
Speaker:It was amazing.
Speaker:The best feeling in the world.
Speaker:Yeah. But so were you anxious before you submitted it?
Speaker:You had gotten confirmation that it was good,
Speaker:but then when you were going to submit it to Simon
Speaker:and Schuster,
Speaker:were you like hesitant to push the submit button or like,
Speaker:how did you feel at that time?
Speaker:I was terrified.
Speaker:I was absolutely terrified because it was a case of it.
Speaker:Wasn't just me who was going to be reading those words.
Speaker:It wasn't just the lady or Jen at the RNA who
Speaker:would be reading those words.
Speaker:This was going to a really,
Speaker:really big publisher in the end.
Speaker:It was just a case of it is now.
Speaker:We'll never,
Speaker:and this was such a fantastic opportunity.
Speaker:I just press send,
Speaker:I think it was something like the 18th or the 16th
Speaker:of July.
Speaker:It went.
Speaker:And then I got an email back from them in,
Speaker:I think it was September invited me to go down to
Speaker:London to have a talk with an editor and the marketing
Speaker:lady. And even then I still couldn't believe it.
Speaker:And even then I was thinking,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:Oh, well,
Speaker:if I didn't want to go,
Speaker:I'm sure I could talk myself out of it.
Speaker:I always used to be very good at talking myself out
Speaker:of things.
Speaker:But thank goodness I did go to that meeting and I
Speaker:had an offer of jail.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Have you heard the saying,
Speaker:just do it scared.
Speaker:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker:That and that horrible feeling that you get in your tummy
Speaker:is just your body's way of preparing you to do something
Speaker:thrilling, like bang.
Speaker:Right. And what if you wouldn't have done it?
Speaker:Oh, it doesn't bear thinking about it.
Speaker:Really. Part of makes me feel really quite ill to think
Speaker:that all these books that I've got sitting on my bookshelf
Speaker:behind me,
Speaker:they wouldn't exist because all because I just didn't dare try.
Speaker:Right. Did you ever have a time when you had a
Speaker:manuscript that was kicked back for one reason or another?
Speaker:I wrote a book,
Speaker:an effort of a book to see if could write that
Speaker:many words.
Speaker:I think that's all you need to do with your first
Speaker:novel. Just see if you've actually got those,
Speaker:that many words in a hundred thousand words is a lot.
Speaker:So I wrote that book and post it to one side
Speaker:and then I wrote the charity cafe.
Speaker:So the territory was the second book that I wrote and
Speaker:that was accepted.
Speaker:And then the second book in that deal is summer at
Speaker:Skylark farm.
Speaker:And that was kind of,
Speaker:there were elements of that very,
Speaker:very first book that I pulled out to include in that
Speaker:one. So I know I've been really lucky.
Speaker:Everything's gone really,
Speaker:really well.
Speaker:And I haven't got anything languishing in a box anywhere,
Speaker:but that's quite unusual.
Speaker:I think I've just been really blessed For sure.
Speaker:And I am so excited to hear more about it,
Speaker:but I still have some questions for you as the author
Speaker:and the questions that I'm asking,
Speaker:I think relate also to people who make something,
Speaker:because we have similar challenges,
Speaker:especially initially when you weren't writing all day or a big
Speaker:chunks of time,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when you had to fit it into your schedule,
Speaker:like you were talking about in the morning or in the
Speaker:car or wherever you were finding time,
Speaker:that meant your time was so precious because it was so
Speaker:limited at that point,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you always hear about writer's block.
Speaker:I'm sure all of us have experienced it.
Speaker:Sometimes we just feel more creative than other times.
Speaker:Did you have any tricks so that when you were set
Speaker:at the time,
Speaker:when you could actually start writing,
Speaker:you could actually dig in and do it versus staring at
Speaker:a piece of paper?
Speaker:Yeah, I think for me I'm a definite planner and that
Speaker:has kind of really helped.
Speaker:And I still use the same strategy even now that I'm
Speaker:writing full-time.
Speaker:So in the early days I would write quite a lot
Speaker:long hand and that kind of gives your brain time to
Speaker:think as you're writing,
Speaker:whereas tight is much more instantaneous,
Speaker:but I never end the day without knowing what I'm going
Speaker:to be writing the next day.
Speaker:So say if I was writing a chapter a day,
Speaker:Oh, it was always then make notes on what the next
Speaker:chapter was going to be.
Speaker:I might even write the opening paragraph to that child.
Speaker:I would never sort of stop not knowing where I was
Speaker:going. And then I would use the rest of the day
Speaker:to kind of mellow over how the next bit is going
Speaker:to look.
Speaker:So definitely planning helps me with that.
Speaker:But also I think that if you do get a bit
Speaker:of a block and you do this,
Speaker:don't beat yourself up over it because I think the harder
Speaker:you try for something,
Speaker:the more difficult it becomes.
Speaker:And I know we've talked about this already,
Speaker:but I find that if I'm kind of having a bit
Speaker:of a day where the words aren't coming,
Speaker:if I just leave it and go for a walk,
Speaker:get outside,
Speaker:just pound the pavements for half an hour or so it
Speaker:kind of frees up a different part of your brain and
Speaker:you get back and you just feel calmer and then you
Speaker:can carry on.
Speaker:So I think taking a break is really good for keeping
Speaker:the flow going.
Speaker:If you like Fight it just release and more than likely
Speaker:the ideas and thoughts will come to you.
Speaker:Exactly. Just accept it.
Speaker:We used to find that if I did get stuck,
Speaker:I would tackle the ironing pile.
Speaker:And that kind of,
Speaker:I think because it was monotonous that would really help.
Speaker:But this year I've realized because of COVID life is too
Speaker:short to iron.
Speaker:So we've kind of abandoned That that's so funny.
Speaker:We do nice things denying that I'm walking.
Speaker:I'm sure ideas get created and generated and expand than when
Speaker:you're walking into.
Speaker:Yeah. So if you've got somebody,
Speaker:you can bounce ideas off.
Speaker:If you've got people you can talk to.
Speaker:I had a zoom meeting with my editor,
Speaker:my agent this morning talking about this new book and we
Speaker:were trying to solve one particular problem that I've got with
Speaker:the planning.
Speaker:And I started talking to them about it.
Speaker:And as I was saying,
Speaker:the words I knew what the solution was going to be.
Speaker:So talking to people or talking at them sometimes can be
Speaker:just as productive as going for a walk and doing the
Speaker:planning. I think.
Speaker:Well, that's a great idea.
Speaker:Okay. So there's something that really makes me sad when I
Speaker:read a book that I love.
Speaker:And that is when it comes to the end.
Speaker:I feel like I'm losing my friends because I've gotten so
Speaker:entrenched in the characters and of course I'll have my favorites
Speaker:and their journey.
Speaker:And I don't want their journey to end.
Speaker:I want to stay friends with them past the book time.
Speaker:Yeah. This is a sign of a really good book.
Speaker:Yeah. So how do you develop your characters?
Speaker:Well, whenever the cherry tree cafe,
Speaker:I wrote about a crafting cafe and one of the friends
Speaker:was the Baker and the other was the Proctor.
Speaker:So that kind of felt like a very natural amalgamation for
Speaker:me. And it was fairly easy to kind of imagine these
Speaker:two women pooling their resources,
Speaker:joining forces to set up this business.
Speaker:But when I came to write the second book,
Speaker:which I wanted to be in the similar area to when
Speaker:bridge, which is the town where a lot of the books
Speaker:are set,
Speaker:so then we had another female lead.
Speaker:But what I found was I didn't want to write that
Speaker:book in isolation.
Speaker:I wanted to be going back into the pan and I
Speaker:wanted to be going back into the cafe.
Speaker:So in all of my books,
Speaker:there are threads that run through all of them.
Speaker:So that feeling that you get when you leave those characters
Speaker:behind, at the end of the book,
Speaker:you kind of know with my books that it's not the
Speaker:end, because at some point in a subsequent title,
Speaker:they're going to pop back up again and you're going to
Speaker:get to him a little bit more about them.
Speaker:And it just sort of happens organically.
Speaker:Rarely. They just become fixed in your head.
Speaker:Now, quite Lizzie Dickson,
Speaker:who is the main character in the first book is a
Speaker:huge fan of vintage clothes.
Speaker:And whenever I'm out shopping and if I see something venture
Speaker:to always think,
Speaker:Oh, Lizzie would like that.
Speaker:I can't tell her because she's not real.
Speaker:But I kind of think about that.
Speaker:There is real to me as my friends are.
Speaker:So do you think when you were putting together the characters,
Speaker:do you think that okay,
Speaker:the Baker is going to be a little bit stingy or
Speaker:very general?
Speaker:Like, do you start giving attributes to your characters before you
Speaker:start writing?
Speaker:Or how do the personalities build up?
Speaker:Stay tuned for Heidi's answer on how she develops her characters.
Speaker:Plus don't forget,
Speaker:she's going to be reading from her Christmas story in just
Speaker:a few minutes.
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Speaker:I such a difficult question to answer because when you've got
Speaker:the idea of who you want to be the star of
Speaker:the book,
Speaker:if you like quite often,
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:they'll walk in and just present their personality.
Speaker:They were ready quite fully formed.
Speaker:But if I do get stuck,
Speaker:I have like a character questionnaire.
Speaker:So I will ask all these questions,
Speaker:which will give me a much more rounded character that hasn't
Speaker:got things on there.
Speaker:Like what color hair have they got?
Speaker:And what color eyes?
Speaker:It's things like,
Speaker:what would they be doing on a Saturday morning?
Speaker:What food have they got in their fridge?
Speaker:What book have they got on their nightstand?
Speaker:And it's all these kinds of little questions helped you create
Speaker:somebody who's three dimensional instead of two.
Speaker:I guess I love that so much.
Speaker:And I have to break here and say this to everybody
Speaker:who's listening because often in the business world we're talking about,
Speaker:well, who's your ideal customer.
Speaker:And many times we just go very surface level.
Speaker:Like there are certain age group women,
Speaker:men, like all of that,
Speaker:but what you just described,
Speaker:what types of magazines do they read?
Speaker:What do they do on the weekends?
Speaker:All of that to the point that we can get deeper
Speaker:to that level,
Speaker:we can then speak to that person so much better.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:So it sounds like sometimes your characters just create themselves to
Speaker:you as you're going.
Speaker:Yeah, they definitely do to start the book.
Speaker:So you start writing and you're kind of getting to know
Speaker:them and then there's a point you don't even realize it's
Speaker:happening, but there's a point where they just kind of take
Speaker:over and you might want them to do one thing.
Speaker:And it's like,
Speaker:you really think I would do that.
Speaker:You really think I would react in that way or talk
Speaker:in that way or whatever.
Speaker:And quite often they will end up running the show if
Speaker:you like,
Speaker:they can't,
Speaker:I'm guided by them.
Speaker:That sounds really weird.
Speaker:Doesn't it?
Speaker:No, it sounds fascinating.
Speaker:It sounds like so much fun.
Speaker:It is fun.
Speaker:Yeah, it is.
Speaker:Are you ever stressed by deadlines this year?
Speaker:I have found it difficult,
Speaker:not so much at the beginning.
Speaker:I think at the beginning of the year we were all
Speaker:right. We're to beat this.
Speaker:We're all very optimistic and we're focused and we're driven and
Speaker:we're going to get through it.
Speaker:But kind of as the year's gone,
Speaker:I found it harder.
Speaker:I had a deadline for next summer's book and I also
Speaker:had a family bereavement at the same time as the deadline.
Speaker:And I had to ask for a week's extension,
Speaker:which is quite unusual.
Speaker:I don't usually ask for an extension,
Speaker:but I kind of needed that.
Speaker:Sure. Because you have to be in the zone and in
Speaker:the mood to write properly Writing.
Speaker:The first draft is fine.
Speaker:I can breeze through that generally,
Speaker:but this was writing the second draft.
Speaker:So you'll find tuning at which takes a lot more concentration.
Speaker:I needed that the extension,
Speaker:but I've kind of got used to having a lot of
Speaker:deadlines because I write two books a year.
Speaker:You've always got two books on the go in effect.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:like at the moment I'm promoting the winter garden,
Speaker:I am about to start the copy editor of a taste
Speaker:of home,
Speaker:which comes out next April.
Speaker:But I am also planning and beginning to think about writing
Speaker:the first draft of the book,
Speaker:which comes out next Christmas.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:you're juggling all these things and I think I've got used
Speaker:to it,
Speaker:but I have to be organized.
Speaker:I have my schedule and I have my planner.
Speaker:And if I know I've got X amount to do by
Speaker:a certain day,
Speaker:I kind of,
Speaker:I feel comforted by that because I break it down into
Speaker:chunks that I know I can manage.
Speaker:It makes sense.
Speaker:The only reason I was asking you,
Speaker:if you were feeling stressed about it is because your character
Speaker:sounded like they come and the writing comes so naturally that
Speaker:you almost wouldn't have any pressure for a deadline,
Speaker:but you're also human.
Speaker:You're like all of us and Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I can't even imagine working on three books at once.
Speaker:Your mind has to flip back and forth to whose part
Speaker:of that book,
Speaker:where am I in the story?
Speaker:And especially because as if your characters evolve and they jump
Speaker:from book to book,
Speaker:you might present something with a character in a book that
Speaker:like coming up in the future.
Speaker:So you definitely can't say anything about it.
Speaker:If you're working on a book that's before that,
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:the strange thing is this book in the winter garden,
Speaker:there's quite a lot of Christmas in there.
Speaker:It's not a Christmas book or say like the others,
Speaker:but it's definitely got Christmas in there.
Speaker:And there's a lot of talk about,
Speaker:I'll say what it is,
Speaker:but there's a lot of talk about one particular thing.
Speaker:And when I was talking to my agent and editor this
Speaker:morning, we kind of realized that actually this thing that we're
Speaker:talking about in the winter garden is going to be able
Speaker:to come out and play a really important part in the
Speaker:book that comes out next Christmas.
Speaker:So it's almost like my brain is doing it automatically and
Speaker:thinking X number of books ahead,
Speaker:because they've all sat in similar area,
Speaker:you've got all this,
Speaker:just like one massive,
Speaker:big community,
Speaker:really? So we've got the setting of wind bridge,
Speaker:which is a town in the fence.
Speaker:We've got Nightingale square,
Speaker:which is set in the city of Norridge.
Speaker:And then we've got the new setting of women myth,
Speaker:which is at the seaside,
Speaker:but all of these places have characters that link them together.
Speaker:So you've got to gotta be as familiar with it all
Speaker:as you are with your own family.
Speaker:Really? Yeah.
Speaker:I can imagine.
Speaker:I am so excited to dive into these.
Speaker:I can barely even stand it.
Speaker:They sound marvelous.
Speaker:Okay. One more question.
Speaker:Before we have you read a little bit from your book.
Speaker:Okay? Yeah.
Speaker:Do you have a favorite character?
Speaker:Oh, that's a rotten question.
Speaker:I have to push you a little bit.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Okay. No,
Speaker:you'll love them all.
Speaker:I do love them all,
Speaker:but actually I think my favorite character is probably Gemma who
Speaker:owns the cherry tree cafe.
Speaker:Now she is never been a main character.
Speaker:She is always a supporting lady,
Speaker:but I just love how she runs the cafe.
Speaker:She has kids.
Speaker:She has a marriage.
Speaker:As you read through the books,
Speaker:there are other side businesses that she launches to be running,
Speaker:as well as the cafe.
Speaker:She's very strong and she's very supportive and she is kind
Speaker:of like the hub of the community.
Speaker:Yeah. She's an amazing character.
Speaker:I felt going to have a t-shirt with be more Gemma
Speaker:printed on it.
Speaker:I love her.
Speaker:She's amazing.
Speaker:I'm going to say to him.
Speaker:Okay. And are you feeling like a little guilty about all
Speaker:your other characters right now?
Speaker:So I can see them all kind of lining up behind
Speaker:me with a bit of a scale on that.
Speaker:It's not trying to get you to choose your favorite child.
Speaker:That's just impossible.
Speaker:People often ask me,
Speaker:which is my favorite male character.
Speaker:And my standard answer to that is that I'm always in
Speaker:love with the leading man that I've just written about.
Speaker:I guess it's because he's all shown in new and fresh
Speaker:out of the box.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:It's always the most recent male character.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Well, virtual hugs to all your characters because they're all important
Speaker:and they're all special.
Speaker:I get that.
Speaker:Well, you've classified them now.
Speaker:They'll kind of recede into the background again.
Speaker:That's grant.
Speaker:Okay. All right.
Speaker:Perfect. All right.
Speaker:Well, I am going to hand it over to you and
Speaker:this is our special treat to everyone.
Speaker:Who's listening a little bit of a Christmas gift to them
Speaker:from you.
Speaker:Mostly. I'd love for you to read a little bit and
Speaker:I gave you free reign,
Speaker:whichever book,
Speaker:whatever you wanted to do.
Speaker:So Heidi,
Speaker:take it away.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I'm really excited about this.
Speaker:I spent ages this morning trying to decide what to read.
Speaker:And I have gone for a scene from my first Christmas
Speaker:book called mince pies and mistletoe at the Christmas market.
Speaker:Now this is book three in the wind breech series.
Speaker:So we've already got the cherry tree cafe set up.
Speaker:And the main character in this book is called Ruby.
Speaker:Now, when the cherry tree opened,
Speaker:Ruby was doing her a levels.
Speaker:So she was kind of 17,
Speaker:18, and getting ready to go to university.
Speaker:And by the time mince,
Speaker:pies and mistletoe was written,
Speaker:she had been to university.
Speaker:She had finished her degree and she had moved back to
Speaker:the town to live with her parents for a while.
Speaker:She was just taking a bit of a break and Gemara
Speaker:and Lizzie.
Speaker:They encouraged her to set up a market store on the
Speaker:wind bridge market.
Speaker:The market was flagging a little bit and it needed revitalizing.
Speaker:So Ruby took on the challenge of setting up the store,
Speaker:but she helped out with lots of other things.
Speaker:Well, and because I know lots of you craft,
Speaker:as I thought it would be nice to read a scene
Speaker:today that actually takes place in the cafe at one of
Speaker:the crafting mornings.
Speaker:So here we go.
Speaker:I took a deep breath and pushed open the door to
Speaker:the cafe,
Speaker:hoping that my day indoors would warm my heart as well
Speaker:as my hands.
Speaker:And set me back on track.
Speaker:Hey, you are being Lizzy throwing me my apron.
Speaker:The second she heard the little bell announcing my rival.
Speaker:You all sat there.
Speaker:You have no idea how ready I am for this.
Speaker:I told her I quickly tied.
Speaker:My eight print in place,
Speaker:looked up again and then stood open mouth.
Speaker:All thoughts of what I had been going to say next
Speaker:quickly, forgotten.
Speaker:I spend around on the spot trying to take in the
Speaker:magical transformation that had somehow happened overnight.
Speaker:Wow. I grieved,
Speaker:Oh wow.
Speaker:The entire cafe had been decorated for Christmas in keeping with
Speaker:the vintage style that Lizzie loved so much.
Speaker:But with such finesse that it looked more like a cat
Speaker:kits than inspired set for a photo shoot than a real
Speaker:business paper chains in pretty pastoral shades.
Speaker:Get the ceilings and doorframes along with pictures and napkins featuring
Speaker:the little Rudolph that Lizzie had scaled down from the one
Speaker:she painted with this Christmas swept on the crown and glory.
Speaker:However, was her collection of vintage snow Globes,
Speaker:which you had arranged along the shelves in the crafting area
Speaker:and festooned with old-fashioned cotton balls,
Speaker:snow looser,
Speaker:and fairy lights.
Speaker:The entire cafe looked like a very grownup grotto.
Speaker:And I couldn't wait to welcome the customers and listen to
Speaker:what they have to say about it.
Speaker:It's cute.
Speaker:Isn't it said Lizzie,
Speaker:her own outfit,
Speaker:cleverly matching the decor every year.
Speaker:I say it,
Speaker:but I don't think this place can get any prettier.
Speaker:It's gorgeous.
Speaker:I've been absolutely beautiful.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:She blushed.
Speaker:And in about half an hour,
Speaker:it's going to be evening.
Speaker:So let's get everything ready rather than just waiting on tables.
Speaker:I was going to be helping out with the first festive
Speaker:crafting session of the season.
Speaker:A dozen keen crafters had signed up almost as soon as
Speaker:the details of the event have been made available and they
Speaker:were going to be making bespoke Christmas crackers in the crafting
Speaker:area. Lizzie already had everything organized and arranged neatly in boxes,
Speaker:much as I'd expected and beyond setting everything out.
Speaker:There was actually very little left for me to do.
Speaker:We're only going to have three tables that aren't set up
Speaker:for craft is today said jammer as she rushed through the
Speaker:basket of cutlery and I can easily manage to wait on
Speaker:those myself.
Speaker:So don't worry about spreading yourself.
Speaker:Thin Ruby.
Speaker:You just helped with the crafting what's on the menu.
Speaker:I asked my mouth already watering in anticipation.
Speaker:Simple said Gemma,
Speaker:let's see.
Speaker:Well, we've got Kesha's.
Speaker:The triple cheese is to die for cutting Liberty,
Speaker:a avocado and Walnut salad.
Speaker:Gamma continued spiced,
Speaker:butternut and sweet potato soup,
Speaker:fresh hot buttered rolls.
Speaker:Oh, Jemez stop.
Speaker:I said stop.
Speaker:I've been looking forward to today all week.
Speaker:I don't want to wish the morning away just to get
Speaker:on with lunch.
Speaker:Gemma was delighted by my reaction.
Speaker:There was no time to hear what she was going to
Speaker:say though,
Speaker:as the little bells sang out and the first of the
Speaker:crafters arrived,
Speaker:the noses were pinched and red and their fingers blue they're
Speaker:spread for a steaming mug to warm them up and return
Speaker:them to a healthier,
Speaker:whew. Oh,
Speaker:girls cried one.
Speaker:As she took in the pretty theme before her,
Speaker:this all looks adorable.
Speaker:Lizzie, you are so clever.
Speaker:I wish you'd come and decorate my house.
Speaker:Now there's a thought said another eyeing Lizzie in an evidently
Speaker:new light thought about offering combined services beyond the cafe.
Speaker:Right? I said,
Speaker:stepping forward in an attempt to get the session started,
Speaker:why don't you all find a seat and I'll help Gemma
Speaker:with the drinks half an hour later.
Speaker:And almost every seat in the cafe was filled.
Speaker:The chatter had risen above the level of the Christmas CD,
Speaker:which was playing in the background and all thoughts of expanding.
Speaker:The cherry tree empire had been forgotten for the time being
Speaker:at least looking through the supplies and equipment.
Speaker:I could see that Lizzie had cleverly chosen a huge variety
Speaker:of papers in all sorts of colors and patterns for the
Speaker:main body of the crackers.
Speaker:My personal favorites with a pretty pastoral floral and polka dot
Speaker:sheets, which matched cafe decor,
Speaker:along with the more traditional roles which were patterned with Holly
Speaker:IBM mistletoe,
Speaker:there were ribbons and bows to match all options.
Speaker:Along with the obligatory snap,
Speaker:paper, hats and cardboard innards.
Speaker:Some of the group I noticed had decided not to use
Speaker:the novelties and jokes applied and came prepared with their trinkets
Speaker:and treats of their own,
Speaker:which they spread out on the table for everyone to admire.
Speaker:These bespoke crackers were going to be given to their owners
Speaker:with matching labels,
Speaker:with a recipient's name in Lizzie's neatest handwriting written on them.
Speaker:So the gift was guaranteed to get to the right person.
Speaker:Once everyone has had a trial run and refined their technique,
Speaker:they settled down and the chatter gradually quietened as they focused
Speaker:on their work.
Speaker:The crackers didn't take all that long to put together a
Speaker:once practice inside the beautiful matching boxes.
Speaker:Lizzie had sourced and tied up with ribbon.
Speaker:They looked extremely smart.
Speaker:I particularly liked the sets which had the ends of the
Speaker:paper shaped by dextrous use of some clever scholar.
Speaker:Bladed scissors.
Speaker:Lizzie had presented with a flourishing,
Speaker:started the session.
Speaker:Most of the boxes held six crackers together,
Speaker:but practically everyone was making more.
Speaker:And I guess that a lot were going to be given
Speaker:away as gifts just as I had hoped the hours spent
Speaker:in the soothing embrace of the cozy cherry tree cafe that
Speaker:proved a calming balm for my storyboard mind and watching Gemma's
Speaker:zipper about with her competent skillset and efficient organization made me
Speaker:realize that with her at the helm in the town hall
Speaker:kitchen, the bake sale next week was bound to be a
Speaker:success. In fact,
Speaker:by the time I helped clear away the empty plates and
Speaker:bowls, I was really Beginning to look forward To it.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:And that was a little taste of life for the cherry
Speaker:tree cafe.
Speaker:I want to go.
Speaker:What's the address?
Speaker:Isn't it gorgeous.
Speaker:And it has a flowering cherry tree out the front with
Speaker:tables and chairs that you can sit outside.
Speaker:So if you've got your dog,
Speaker:you can sit there with the dog and Oh,
Speaker:it's just,
Speaker:it's lovely.
Speaker:Oh, I can see it.
Speaker:Thank you so,
Speaker:So much for reading that it was marvelous.
Speaker:I love your style.
Speaker:I was here Just with my eyes closed,
Speaker:totally drawn into the story 100%.
Speaker:Oh, I love that.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:It was beautiful.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:You have an amazing,
Speaker:Easy writing style and you read wonderfully as well.
Speaker:Do you also transition things into audio books?
Speaker:No, I don't.
Speaker:I have a lovely reader called Karen Cass and she reads
Speaker:the audio books for me.
Speaker:And do you know what I have to admit that when
Speaker:the paperbacks arrive,
Speaker:I opened the box and I read the dedication and I
Speaker:read the acknowledgements in the back and I very,
Speaker:very rarely dive back into the book.
Speaker:Yeah. Once it's out there,
Speaker:I kind of,
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:I know I'm going to be happy with it,
Speaker:but yeah,
Speaker:I never read them,
Speaker:but actually,
Speaker:because it's a long time since I wrote mince pies and
Speaker:mistletoe, I really enjoyed it.
Speaker:And I realized now why everybody's still in love with the
Speaker:cherry tree cafe.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Yeah. And we all are going to be too,
Speaker:because I know they're going to be a lot of people
Speaker:who are going to want to grab all these books and
Speaker:read them.
Speaker:So where would people go to find your books?
Speaker:I think where you are in the U S I think
Speaker:your best bet is to go to Amazon.
Speaker:I had a look on amazon.com
Speaker:this morning and they are all listed on there.
Speaker:They're all on ebook and paperback and audio too.
Speaker:So I think you should be able to get them just
Speaker:as easily as I can here in the UK.
Speaker:Beautiful. Okay.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:not even kidding you when we are done recording,
Speaker:I'm going onto Amazon.
Speaker:Wonderful. I'm really serious about that.
Speaker:I am.
Speaker:And I'm glad you're not going back and reading because I
Speaker:want you writing more.
Speaker:I want more already.
Speaker:Well, I can't remember if it was this year or last
Speaker:year. I think it was the end of last year.
Speaker:I signed a full book deal.
Speaker:I usually sign a two or three,
Speaker:but this time we went for a full book deals.
Speaker:There were three more to write in that deal.
Speaker:So there are loads to come and every time I kind
Speaker:of get to the end of a book,
Speaker:the idea for the next couple of already starting to come
Speaker:in, which is great.
Speaker:Are they all the type of thing where they merge characters,
Speaker:one character transcends or appears?
Speaker:Yeah, they are.
Speaker:So I wrote the first few set in when bridge and
Speaker:then I moved to Norridge in Nightingale square.
Speaker:And there was the main character who moved there,
Speaker:had relatives back in when bridge,
Speaker:there was kind of like crossover.
Speaker:And it's the same with the seaside setting in wind methods.
Speaker:Well, there are characters there who are linked to other places
Speaker:and in the winter garden,
Speaker:a couple of the characters take a day trip to the
Speaker:seaside. So you briefly cap that with people in the pub
Speaker:and on the beach and yeah.
Speaker:So they're all kind of,
Speaker:they're all interlinked.
Speaker:Okay. Oh my gosh.
Speaker:So excited.
Speaker:Thank you so much for sharing.
Speaker:And as we wind down here,
Speaker:will you talk with us a little bit about what Christmas
Speaker:looks like for you over in the UK,
Speaker:how you traditionally celebrate,
Speaker:we're going to skip this year,
Speaker:but as a traditional Christmas,
Speaker:how would you be celebrating over there?
Speaker:To be honest,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's not going to be all that different for me.
Speaker:I am going to miss going into the city.
Speaker:I love going up to the city.
Speaker:I love Christmas shopping as you might've guessed.
Speaker:I'm a bit of a list-maker.
Speaker:So my Christmas shopping is spread out along a good few
Speaker:weeks and I will just shop for one person at a
Speaker:time. Everything else is the same.
Speaker:I love Christmas.
Speaker:Christmas is my favorite time of the year.
Speaker:And for me,
Speaker:it always centers around home and family and food and films.
Speaker:It's just such a wonderful opportunity to all come together.
Speaker:And I'm a pagan lady as well.
Speaker:So I celebrate the solstice on the 21st.
Speaker:So we've got lots of greenery in the house,
Speaker:lots of Holly and Ivy and mistletoe and candles,
Speaker:but my one tradition that I won't break for anything.
Speaker:And I'm hoping it's going to happen this year is that
Speaker:I always listen to perils from Kings,
Speaker:which happens here,
Speaker:issue to screen here on Christmas Eve,
Speaker:I guess about five o'clock in the evening,
Speaker:perhaps a bit earlier than that.
Speaker:And I always have to be sitting down with a glass
Speaker:of mowed wine and a mince pie,
Speaker:and I have to watch that.
Speaker:That's one thing that I like to do exactly the same
Speaker:time every year,
Speaker:but everything else is kind of fairly flexible.
Speaker:Yeah. I do a lot of baking and I love it.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:And what is your Christmas tree look like?
Speaker:Christmas tree is we don't have a real tree.
Speaker:We have an artificial tree and we've had it forever.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it probably needs replacing,
Speaker:but it's tradition and our tree is mostly gold and burgundy.
Speaker:And I like to collect little form,
Speaker:little deers,
Speaker:and I've got so much,
Speaker:you've got glitter row and they're all quite Ketch and some
Speaker:which have velvet.
Speaker:So we've got lots of those on there.
Speaker:And lots of hand made decorations.
Speaker:My mom's a great sower and she made some gorgeous decorations
Speaker:recipe years ago and always on the top,
Speaker:we have two angels and they're made from a kitchen roll
Speaker:cut in half,
Speaker:and they've got paper doily around them.
Speaker:And I think one's got a crown,
Speaker:which is made out of a yellow pipe cleaner.
Speaker:And these are made by my kids when they were kind
Speaker:of in their first year at school.
Speaker:So like they were four and five.
Speaker:And if I tell you that my children are now 20
Speaker:and 25,
Speaker:you kind of get an idea of how batter these angels
Speaker:are, but they're always on top of the tree.
Speaker:Beautiful. I can envision all of that now.
Speaker:So wonderful.
Speaker:Well, thank you so much,
Speaker:Heidi, for coming on this special holiday week and sharing with
Speaker:us a little bit within the book I said to you,
Speaker:I'm so excited and gift biz listeners,
Speaker:just jump over to Amazon and look for Heidi Swain,
Speaker:just put in her name as the author,
Speaker:and I'll also have links in the show notes page,
Speaker:I'll link your first book and then the cherry tree cafe.
Speaker:And then the one you just read from,
Speaker:and then all your other books,
Speaker:I'm sure will pop up there as well.
Speaker:We'll show up and I'm on social media a lot as
Speaker:well. And I love chatting to people on social media.
Speaker:So if you search for me online,
Speaker:I'm more than happy to chat with people and Connect beautiful.
Speaker:So all traditional places,
Speaker:Facebook, Instagram,
Speaker:Pinterest. Yeah.
Speaker:Wonderful. Well,
Speaker:Heidi, a very,
Speaker:very Merry Christmas to you.
Speaker:And we're all going to look forward to the books that
Speaker:are coming out in the future.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:I'll just quickly take the opportunity to wish you all a
Speaker:very, very Merry Christmas and a safe,
Speaker:happy, and healthy new year.
Speaker:So I have to tell you if I lived in the
Speaker:UK, Heidi and I would be fast friends,
Speaker:as we talked before and after recording the podcast,
Speaker:we found more and more that we have in common,
Speaker:but since I'm here and she's there,
Speaker:I'll have to do with her books,
Speaker:make no mistake.
Speaker:The small clip,
Speaker:it of the story she read is full of fancy and
Speaker:Christmas fun,
Speaker:but there's drama and emotion threaded throughout too.
Speaker:I've been in chanted.
Speaker:It will do your heart.
Speaker:Good to experience Heidi story for yourself.
Speaker:And then we could compare our favorite characters next week is
Speaker:the final countdown of the year.
Speaker:And I'm going out on a limb here,
Speaker:but I'm thinking we're all looking forward to the calendar.
Speaker:Rolling over.
Speaker:And 2020 being history,
Speaker:a new year brings motivation and a revitalized sense of opportunity.
Speaker:And that's the vibe I went for with our next guest.
Speaker:We're freshening things up for the new year.
Speaker:Thanks so much for spending time with me today.
Speaker:If you'd like to show support for the podcast,
Speaker:please leave a rating and review.
Speaker:That means so much and helps the show get seen by
Speaker:other makers.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward.
Speaker:Have a beautiful,
Speaker:peaceful and memorable Christmas,
Speaker:even though it looks different this year,
Speaker:we can still find beauty in the season.
Speaker:Even if you celebrate a different holiday appreciating time with those
Speaker:we can be with being in the moment and experiencing the
Speaker:flicker of the fire.
Speaker:Truly listening to the words of your favorite carols.
Speaker:So many wonderful things to take in,
Speaker:be safe and well.
Speaker:And I'll see you next week on the gift biz unwrapped
Speaker:podcast, Merry Christmas.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:Got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing to show pictures of your,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week to get
Speaker:reactions from other people and just for fun,
Speaker:because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody
Speaker:in the community is making my favorite posts every single week,
Speaker:without doubt.
Speaker:Wait, what,
Speaker:aren't you part of the group already,
Speaker:if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search
Speaker:for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.
