by Liz Johnson, @lizjohnsonbooks

With only three weeks left until Christmas, the internet is abuzz with gift list ideas for every type of person in your life. The latest gadgets for the tech lover on your list. New books for the readers. Comfy PJs for the lounging enthusiast. Whoever is on your list, there’s a list to help you pick out the perfect gift.

But sometimes our loved ones struggle to know what to get us—the writers in their lives. It’s not that we’re picky—even if we do have a favorite brand of pen and paper. We’re not that hard to please—even if we’re sometimes particular about the software we use and the machine we write on.

Okay, it might be hard to buy just the right thing for a writer. So here are ten things you might want to put on your Christmas wish list. (Feel free to drop subtle hints—or atomic bombs—to get your family’s or significant other’s attention.)

1. A daily word of encouragement. It may seem like a small thing, but the truth is that knowing someone believes in you can be just what you need to keep going.
2. A new adventure. There’s just something about visiting a new location, exploring a nearby historical locale, or making a new memory that stirs the creative spirit. Try something new and see if it doesn’t inspire a story idea or unlock a new character.
3. A day of peace and quiet—just to write. Whether it means having someone else take care of the kids or taking some time off from your day job, uninterrupted writing time is a gift every writer appreciates. Sometimes the simple act of sitting alone with your characters inspires more great ideas and provides the boost you need to keep going.
4. Plenty of caffeine to fuel the writing. If your writing time is at a coffee shop, a gift card for that venti-extra-large-caffeine-bomb is entirely appropriate and will keep your fingers flying for hours.

5. A break from being asked, “When does your book come out?” We’ve all been there—especially at those awkward church or family functions. Someone finds out you’re a writer, and their first question is always either “Have you written anything I’ve heard of?” or “When does your book come out?” Cringe and double cringe. Sometimes the very act of scrambling to answer questions like these makes us want to throw in the towel and forget this whole writing life. This is where your loved one anticipates the question and blocks it with a reminder of how much they support your dreams and goals. 
6. Never being asked, “How much money do you make writing?” As if the last question wasn’t cringeworthy enough, this one always seems to come from well-meaning family members (or totally random strangers). Maybe they’re worried we aren’t able to afford groceries or are fixing leaking pipes with duct tape because we can’t pay a plumber. But no matter what, it’s always awkward. This is where your loved one steps in with a laugh and a total change of subject. Or—if they’re particularly sassy—a question about how much the other person makes.
7. Absolutely NEVER being asked, “I have a book idea. Will you write it for me?” I rarely meet someone who—upon learning that I write books—doesn’t have a book idea of their own. They just lack the discipline to write it. And this is when we get asked that ever-painful question. It’s also the point where our loved one says we’re completely booked for the foreseeable future but wishes the other person the best of luck with their book idea. And should a stranger (or family member) ask us all three of these questions, our loved one is prepared to whisk us away never to be interrogated again.
8. A get-out-of-doing-the-dishes-free card for those times when you’re on a word count roll—or on deadline.
9. A listening ear for those moments when you need to complain about how hard this writing journey is. And it is hard. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. So it’s okay to struggle and to vent and to be frustrated with the process of writing, the publishing industry, and even your own characters, who refuse to do what you tell them to. This is what loved ones are for—to encourage you in the good times and the hard. They’re also for encouraging you to never give up. 
10. And, of course, colorful pens and paper. Because even if we have favorites, no writer has ever turned down office supplies of any kind.

A Sparkle of Silver

Ninety years ago, Millie Sullivan’s great-grandmother was a guest at banker Howard Dawkins’ palatial estate on the shore of St. Simons Island, Georgia. Now, Millie plays a 1920s-era guest during tours of the same manor. But when her grandmother suggests that there is a lost diary containing the location of a hidden treasure on the estate, along with the true identity of Millie’s great-grandfather, Millie sets out to find the truth of her heritage–and the fortune that might be hers.

When security guard Ben Thornton discovers her snooping in the estate’s private library, he threatens to have her fired. But her story seems almost too ludicrous to be fiction, and her offer to split the treasure is too tempting to pass up . . .

By day Liz Johnson is a marketing manager. She makes time to write late at night—that’s when she thinks best anyway. Liz is the author of more than a dozen novels, a New York Times bestselling novella, and a handful of short stories. She’s a Christy Award finalist and a two-time ACFW Carol Award finalist. She makes her home in Phoenix, Arizona, where she enjoys exploring local music, theater, and doting on her nieces and nephews. She writes stories of true love filled with heart, humor, and happily ever afters.