Tag: winter

Winter Stories

Anyone who knows me will say that I adore all things winter. I actually like feeling cold and then going into a warm building or wrapping myself up in a thick coat and gloves. As an environmental blogger, I care very much about our climate and it saddens me to think that we have far less snow than we used to. I love snow!

At this time of year I generally select books that are set in winter or involve snowy landscapes. Nothing beats reading about ski lodges nestled in snowy mountain ranges or snowflakes falling during a key scene in a powerful narrative.

I know it looks harsh to some people, but to me, winter scenes are beautiful.

Just for fun, I wanted to share why I love winter stories so much and encourage you to comment your own thoughts about this below. Here are some of my reasons:

– Books set in winter time are usually full of emotions and drama. Cold weather and conflict often go hand in hand. I enjoyed reading ‘The Chalet’ last winter because of its Alpine setting and high drama. For my review of this, click here.

– Snow makes for a beautiful setting and even just being described in words it decorates a story wonderfully. So many of these novels have me reaching for a hot cup of tea and dreaming about snowball fights and sled rides.

– I miss snow. Due to this reason, finding any excuse to appreciate it works for me. Reading about characters going about their business during inclement weather reminds me of the days when I trudged to work through heavy snow and enjoyed the bite of the frost.

– I even read romance novels at this time of year, mainly because they often use wintry weather well. Last year I read ‘One Perfect Christmas’ by Paige Toon, purely because of the setting (Cambridge at Christmas). It also introduced me to a new author that I came to like.

Everyone has a favourite season but, for me, winter beats them all, hands down. This is mainly because of the imagery of a snowy landscape and that feeling of comfort that this presents. If you enjoyed this post, please follow my blog for similar future content.

Snow Chance – My Book Extract

Today I was thinking about colder weather and decided that I would share one the of the first short stories I published, which is now in my little Kindled Unlimited book, ‘Short Dates’.

AFF- There is an affiliate link within this article for which I would get a kickback if you chose to buy.

As the 8:40 bus disappeared into the distance, I knew that I was without any alternative. I had to run to University if I stood any chance of getting there in time for my lecture. Mark had shown me a short cut once and today was my chance to try it. The only thing making it difficult was the fact that the ground was covered with half -melted snow. The white sludge had moments of darkness which I suspected might be black ice. I hoped that an awkward slip didn’t finish me off, especially as I had already missed this lecture three times this semester and I really could not get into trouble. The thought of a painful injury was also unappealing.

 

As I swung round the corner, passing the newsagents, I noticed that the bad weather filled the newspaper adverts. ‘Worst winter in ten years!’ and ‘UK at a standstill due to icy blanket’ were the types of hype that this bad spell had been attracting. Right now, I began to wonder why Uni was even open today. After all, the local schools had opted for a snow day and lecturers seemed like the types to appreciate time off. Plus, there was more snow forecasted. I guess the fact that I had a submission deadline today was adding to my torment. Midday was the cut off for my essay about Soil formation. Oh what an exciting night I had had looking up synopses about how soil accrues when rocks deplete and weathering takes on natural materials. I was meant to give in the essay before my lecture as I had three hour-long sessions in a row and there was some distance between the lecture hall and the handing in room.

 

Anyway, I went for it, brushing against a guy who was stood right in the middle of the path, trying to take a snow selfie. I think I definitely photobombed his shot but he did not realise until I was already long gone. I heard him shout, ‘Oi!’ moments later, in a disgruntled yell. Facing forwards, I carried on, crossing the road and nipping through the park. My mind returned to thinking about that credit card bill. I needed to get a few more extra shifts in at Waitrose if I was ever going to bring my balance down. Maybe I could see if they had any shifts tonight. The trouble was, the more work I did for them, the less energy I had for Uni. But an Ibiza holiday was calling and so I knew my card would take a massive hit when I finally booked up. I sighed out loud as I slid slightly, crossing the slushy grass, trying to shave yet more seconds off my journey.

 

Only now did I realise that I was drastically out of breath. My chest was heaving and a painful stitch had grasped my body, causing me to stop for a moment, leaning forward to suck in the wintry air, seemingly anaesthetising my mouth each time I inhaled sharply. A random dog sniffed at my shoes as I leaned there, prompting myself to get a move on and take off again. My legs seemed weighted down suddenly, but perhaps this was due to the layer of heavy snow engulfing the grass and attempting to infiltrate my shoes, wetting my feet. It came to my attention that this park was pretty much untouched by human tracks this morning and there was hardly anyone around.

For another extract from the book ‘Short Dates’ click here.

Winter Books to Check Out

I woke up feeling cold for the first time in ages and suddenly thought, ‘YES! We are on our way to winter!’ Being a person who loves cold weather, cosy evenings and roast dinners, nothing makes me happier than snow, hot chocolate and Christmas music.

So I decided to share a few books which are set in winter that really impressed me. Christmas often plays a huge part in winter books, but not always. For me, a winter book is made obvious by the characters being wrapped up in thick coats and the snowy weather adding texture to their settings.

Dash and Lily (three books)

Fun, clever and moving.

The Dash and Lily books are all set at Christmas time and, although they are in the YA category, they are such exquisite reads for any adult too. The language is trickier than some YA books because the characters are very intellectual thinkers, especially Dash. Often he refers to stuff that I have to Google.

The stories are clever, with two characters who found each other via a moleskin notebook left in a book shop. The little book was left by Lily to catch a keen reader’s eye and maybe find her a perfect boyfriend. After they connected, their funny, moving and adventurous narrative continued into a third book where they spent time in England.

Because the characters are so likeable, and each chapter is written by one of them, you will have so much fun reading about Dash and Lily’s thoughts as they look to their futures, explore some highlights of their home town, New York, and engage with their slightly odd families. For a previous post about excellent YA writers (and Dash and Lily) click this. I will be writing more about the third book nearer to Christmas.

As Winter approaches, I will be writing about more seasonal books that have interested and excited me. If you like this kind of content, please consider supporting me by following my blog.