Epiphany — 6th January — marks the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, and the day when the Three Kings brought gifts to the infant Jesus. The tryptich above is by Hieronymus Bosch, dated to around the end of the 15th century. But, with apologies to those who prefer the religious meaning of Epiphany, that’s not what I’m writing about in this blog.

In the UK, Epiphany can be a bit of a downer, an end to things. It’s when we take down our Christmas decorations, put the cards in the recycling bin, and chop up the tree ready for the bonfire. We go back to work, if we haven’t done so already. The fun and games are over. Once we’ve hoovered up all the pine needles and the glitter that gets absolutely everywhere, the house looks a bit drab, doesn’t it? (And, next year, glitter is definitely banned in the Maitland house!)

So what to do to liven things up in these dark winter days?

Perhaps the idea of Epiphany might help? And more gift giving?

You’ll find a Libertà bargain offer at the end of the blog. But get in quick — our special offer expires at midnight on 6th January.

Epiphany — a moment of sudden and great revelation/realisation

Epiphany doesn’t have only a religious connotation. It can also be a lightbulb moment. For writers, it’s the moment when we go: “Aha! Of course! Why didn’t I realise that before?”

And, in a way, it is a gift, isn’t it? Often, it’s a gift from our ever-busy subconscious. It seems to be able to find the way through, even when our conscious mind is tearing its proverbial hair out.

Writerly Epiphanies

I remember a couple of occasions when epiphany moments totally changed what I was writing. One was how to end my first timeslip story, Lady in Lace. I had been agonising over that for ages and couldn’t find a satisfactory answer. I was ready to bin the story altogether. Then, one morning, I woke up and it was all there. And my epiphany solution was much simpler than any of the tortured plot ideas my conscious mind had worked out. (Though to save spoilers, I won’t say here what it was.)

On another occasion, I was on writing retreat with some of the most inspiring authors out there, including our own Sophie Weston, Katie Fforde and the much-missed Sara Craven. I was creating a villain, trying to make him as sinister as I could. We all sat down — over a sustaining glass of wine, as you do — to read out what we’d written. And in response to my villain, Sara said: “Sinister, yes, but sexy, too.”

sexy anti-heroes?

Lightbulb moment.

Yes, he would be a villain but also an anti-hero.

So I needed another villain, a totally unsexy one, to fill out the cast. Which is what I did.

You can imagine how much fun I had, writing my sexy anti-hero. Especially as I had the two on the right in the back of my mind 😉

Have you had epiphany moments in your writing?
We’d love to hear about them.

Epiphany special — Libertà Boxset at 99p/99¢ — ends 6th January

BUY HERE

Life happens, even while you’re making Christmas plans

Christmas is imminent and Jet Delaney is in the wrong country, challenged by a troubled teen, a mysterious conspiracy and, just possibly, the wrong man.
Jet’s seen off more crises than you can shake a stick at. She’s a problem-solver and she keeps her cool. Or she always has up to now…

I Hate Christmas: witty romantic suspense from Sophie Weston

Gabe doesn’t do Christmas, though selling Christmas trees helps to keep his struggling nursery business afloat. Lucy, his titled landlord’s daughter, would help him if he’d let her, but bitter experience has taught Gabe not to trust rich employers.
Will a strange encounter with a Victorian image – and a different Lucy – teach him to trust again?

One Christmas Tree To Go: Victorian timeslip from Joanna Maitland

Offer expires at midnight on 6th January, UK time.
Sadly, the offer is available only in the UK and the USA.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading from the I Hate Christmas authors:

Sophie and Joanna