christmas

Finally, it’s December.

It’s been a seemingly interminable year that can best be described by an amalgamation of negative adjectives: surreal, awful, restrictive, shattering, frightening, worrying, and humbling. Personally for me, like for many around the world, 2020 has been really hard. But it has also been strangely and wondrously miraculous. In hindsight, I’m amazed by how much got accomplished and was overcome, and I really feel grateful for all that we still have. I also hope that you, dear reader, have found some silver linings in the adversity, as I have. For one, amidst the chaos of this entire year, I managed to churn out the third volume of The Ellanor Chronicles, Ellanor and the Land of the Midnight Sun. Yes, it has been a long time coming – and it’s finally, blessedly here!

The third book has just been released and can be purchased online from the official publisher’s website, and in the days leading up to Christmas the book (along with the first two volumes) will be available at various bookstores in Hong Kong such as Bookazine, Commercial Press, Joint Publishing, etc. Also, in aligning with the social-distancing rules, Hedgehog Publishing is organizing a virtual book launch to be aired on December 29th which will be hosted by me and my friend Aaron Presley, an American who has lived in Hong Kong for seventeen years and loves a good story, and I’m flattered that he deems The Ellanor Chronicles one of them.

Those who have been following my blog, my apologies for the silence – my last blog post being in September. For the past several months have been exciting but intense and harrowing: polishing the manuscript with my lovely editor based in Sydney; working feverishly with my excellent illustrator, who is herself based in Sweden, on the gorgeous cover art and the black and white illustrations which grace the book; and final revisions and proof-readings which took up many frustrating, sleepless nights. As the author, I take it upon myself to personally revise and finalize everything from every misplaced comma, every misspelling, to every seemingly teensy plot hole or inconsistency. Birthing a novel of this scope takes an incredible amount of work, and I am so thankful to everyone who has been involved in this time-consuming, meticulous, and ultimately rewarding process.

As I write this, a plethora of random and relevant thoughts swirl around my head, and I am tempted to write more, because there is always some thought or inkling to share. But let’s keep it relatively short and sweet; for as we count down to Christmas, play those favourite vibe-buzzing songs and put up those twinkling lights and shining orbs and gleaming angels, we collectively breathe a sigh of relief that 2020 is finally coming to an end. Amidst such turbulent times, we all crave something light and up-lifting; so I shall reserve the more cerebral musings to my next blog, which hopefully will be posted in the New Year.

Meanwhile, I wish you all a wonderful and blessed Christmas season with loved ones even as we continue to social-distance and stay home. If you’re looking for a good read over Christmas, perhaps you can try venturing into Ellanor’s world if you haven’t already done so.

May 2021 see better and brighter (hopefully COVID-free) days, and much love to you all. Huzzah!

Kathryn Tse-Durham
Author of The Ellanor Chronicles
7th December 2020

This blog post is also posted on Kathryn’s Facebook Page. Visit here.