Peg Herring, Mystery Author

Fill in the first word, which will help with the next circle  Answers to yesterday's quiz: 10,8,6,1,9,4,7,2,3,5

By this time in December you've heard all of these songs a thousand times, so match the Christmas song lyric with its title. 1. ...and folks dressed up like Eskimos. 2. You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear... 3. With the angels we will sing, "Hallelujah to the King!" 4. What can I bring Him, poor as I am? 5. "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep." 6. But the very next day, you gave it away. 7. Give him a hammer with lots of tacks... 8. I put a tack on Teacher's chair... 9. For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. 10. Let's hope it's a good one/without any fear ____ "So This Is Christmas" ____"I'm Gettin' Nothin' for Christmas" ____"Last Christmas" ____"The Christmas Song" ____"The Hallelujah Chorus" ____"In the Bleak Midwinter" ____"Up on the Rooftop" ____"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" ____"Silent Night" _

Your Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth (and, by your grace, 'Highness' between us two), I was honored to receive your missive at this Christmastide, and humbled by your care for a mere subject of your great and prosperous realm. That you take interest in my life here on the outskirts of London is a source of pride to me, and I recall each single time we have met over these many year with great joy. You speak of growing old, but if I may respectfully disagree, Gloriana cannot age. You are our nation's shining light, and when light fades, the world grows dark. You spoke of holiday preparations at Greenwich, and though I have not been there, I think I can picture the stonework hung with greenery and the many candles lit for evening festivities. Things are simpler here, but since you asked, I will tell you of our preparations. My son Henry cut some holly to put over the doors, and my wife tied it with red ribbon. Its bright green leaves and red berries add a festive air

My old friend Simon, I have thought of you often in recent days. It has been some years since we last met and I sent you off to Scotland. I am certain you have grown ancient, for I myself am old. It came to my mind to write to you of my days in Christmastide. Perhaps you will in turn tell me of yours. We are keeping Christmas now, since it is December 24th. The next twelve days will be busy ones, with parties each day until the last and largest one on Twelfth Night. Much of it is silliness, with men dressing as women and women as men. There is also gambling, which some abhor, but I believe life must offer good times to balance the bad ones we cannot avoid. I have ordered the cooks to spare no expense in feeding the household, so we shall dine on meats of all kinds, marchpanes, pies, custards, frumenty, plum porridge, and much else. I look forward to the Christmas pie of neat's tongue, eggs, sugar, lemon, orange peel, and spices. As I told you when last we met, s

The Blizzard and Mrs. Beard by Peg Herring I slid the holdup note and a plain cloth bag across the counter toward the teller and watched her professional smile turn to a grimace of fear. “Put $10,000 in the bag or I’ll shoot the place up good.” I was proud of the note: succinct but definitely informative. The woman looked fearfully at me, or rather at the persona I presented. A heavily padded overcoat made me look twenty pounds heavier, cotton balls in my cheeks rounded my face to a moon, smoky-tinted glasses hid my eyes, and a dark wig with a knit cap pulled over it covered my real hair. Her mascara-laden eyes searched the place helplessly. I had all the advantages, and she had none. It was a small credit union with no security on site, and outside there was a blizzard. Even if she rang her supposedly secret buzzer, it would be a long time before help arrived. The sheriff’s officers were all out helping honest citizens involved in fender-benders and worse as the storm rag

Those of you who keep track of me might recall that about a month ago, my cat decided she needed to sleep on the computer desk, between me and the screen. It made her happy, but me not so much, since she'd playfully reach down every once in a while and swipe a claw at my swift-moving fingers.  Someone suggested I bring a second chair to the computer desk and make it hers. At first she wasn't sure (note the look on her face). You want me this far away? Really? Okay, I guess this is good It took a procession of pillows and blankets before I found one that suited her, and I had to block the chair so it doesn't swivel and make her feel insecure. Now she spends most of the day there, even if I get up to do something else. Of course, there's a caveat. I have to lift her onto the chair. If I'm not around, she gets up there just fine, but if I'm working, I have to listen to her cry until I stop typing and settle her in. So today's topic: What

1. Why are some words so hard to type? I invariably type Crhistmas and have to fix it. Also Goerge. 2. Why do we make stupid people famous? 3. Who decided that Christmas (or any holiday, for that matter) means going broke buying presents? 4. Who's Making Love to Your Old Lady (While You Are Out Making Love)?-- Sorry, it just came into my head. 5. What was I thinking when I planned a 30-day blog event? 6. What happened to being able to eat whatever I want and never gaining weight? 7. Where did I set my phone down this time? 8. Where can I find out if the 1998 Lincoln Continental had an escape button inside the trunk? (This is the kind of research question that drives authors crazy.) 9. When will I release my next book? (Only editors & cover artists know the answer!) 10. When will we learn that Peace on Earth is the only gift that matters?