This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win all three books of the Of The Dark series (God of the Dark, Bride of the Dark, House of the Dark) in ebook format (.epub or .mobi).
Your Summer Break: Christmas in Australia
Recently we had a very hot day here in Western Australia. My first thought was, “Gee, it feels like summer.” For my daughter, she excitedly announced, “It feels like Christmas!”
I had to think about that for a moment. See, I grew up in the Northern Hemisphere, where the holiday season meant snow and winter. But for my very dinki-di Aussie-born daughter, Christmas was the epitome of summer. Nothing says Christmas to her like sweltering days at the beach and hot summer nights where the solar Christmas lights make every house on the street sparkle. Christmas dinner consists of seafood quickly cooked on the barbie (barbeque) and cool salads.
Kids still get excited on Christmas Eve. Good luck getting them to bed, though. Being only a few days after the Capricorn Summer Solstice, the sun won’t set until well past littlies’ bedtimes. The sun also rises at stupid o’clock in the morning. Good luck Mum and Dad getting a sleep-in as well. Nothing guarantees a sleepless kid like the promise of getting “pressies from the rellies at Chrissie” (presents, relatives, Christmas).
The day after Christmas is Boxing Day. While Christmas is for families, Boxing Day is for friends. The more sporting-minded head out for cricket matches. Those who are sick of the heat retreat to the comforts of the air-conditioned cinemas to catch all the Boxing Day releases. The rest of us head out to mates’ Boxing Day parties, and hope they have a swimming pool.
Although I’ve been here more than twenty years, I still can’t get used to a hot Christmas. One of these fine years I’ll take the multitudinous offspring to my folks’ place where they can experience a winter Christmas. I don’t know if they’ll enjoy it the same. After all, a cold, wet winter reminds them of dull, dreary July.
The End
Note about accompanying photo:
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Adrastea, a simple country healer, is surprised to receive a marriage proposal from the Dark God Mor-Lath. As a devotee of a rival god, of course she turns him down. She was raised on chilling tales of this chthonic being who drags the souls of the unrepentant to Dom-al-gol. Adrastea loves her simple country life of brewing medicines and saving lives. Marriage to Mor-Lath would greatly complicate things. Besides, why would the Dark God propose to her?
Undaunted by her refusal, Mor-Lath insists on courting her. Sometimes he is charming, winning over the other villagers, but other times, she sees him for the dark god he truly is. He refuses to let anyone stand in his way. While he makes it clear he’ll only have her willingly, he’s making it very difficult for her to say no. She wonders, what is he really after?
Adrastea faces a quandary: if she accepts the Dark God’s marriage proposal, she’ll lose her very soul. But if she rejects it, the world itself and everything in it might be at stake. Either way, the price is too high.
About the Author: Heidi Wessman Kneale is an Australian author of moderate repute known for her Fantasy and Romance novels. When not providing escapist fiction to the masses, she can be found composing music and studying the universe.
Buy the book at Amazon.
Wow, I can’t even imagine what a hot Christmas would be like.It would be cool to go swimming at Christmas, though! I think you should take your kids up north sometime so they can experience snow and ice at this time of the year. 🙂
We just moved to Florida and can still wear shorts on some days. It is weird for Christmas.
I grew up in California (Northern), so Christmases weren’t typically white, but they WERE cold. Now I live in the northeast where more often than not we have snow. I find it so hard to wrap my brain around Christmas in the summer!
Like Mnark, I grew up in California (Southern). It was very mild at Christmas, but it certainly wasn’t beach weather!
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