Going Digital for Advent

When I wrote the first Advent Story for my children, I did it long hand in multi-coloured pens, literally scrambling through to stay a few days ahead. I never did that again! From then on, it was strictly word processor and printer only. That also meant that when I created this website, I had the stories all ready for sharing.

Since then, my stories have been shared all over the world. I have also taken the next step of using social media, posting a story on Facebook throughout December for the last three years, creating a digital Advent calendar with a new episode each day. This year, I’ll be posting each daily episode via my blog to spread the Advent spirit even further – though thanks to a really busy schedule recently, I will be once again scrambling to stay ahead of the date! I have the first two episodes ready to go, which will get me through to the weekend, when hopefully I can finish it all off. Who knew writing could be so hectic!

It was quite difficult choosing which story to serialise this year. I love all my stories, but some are more suitable for this decidedly adult medium. I’m not sure if any of my adult audience are sharing the story with their children; that would be nice but not strictly necessary. I still maintain that a good children’s story should be just as good for adults, and this one is no exception. I wrote it in 2017, the very same year I launched my website. I was inspired by my children and their love of music, but I think it also owes something to the fact that I sing in a choir myself, as it features one of the songs we were learning for Christmas. It has always been one of my favourite stories – I remember it falling into place perfectly as I was writing it.