by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart
Just before starting this month’s column, I Googled, “Best gifts for writers.” Result? Ninety-eight million results. Then I Googled, “Best gifts for writer’s spouses.” This time it was only 16 million. The problem? The results were still all for WRITERS!
That’s a problem, Cubby.
Our spouses or significant others have to live with our neurotic ideas, behavior, and emotions many moments throughout the year and there are no gifts designed specifically for them? What?
So since my research yielded no help, forgive me if the following ideas aren’t the definition of stellar as to what you might gift your spouse this Christmas, or soon after. But I had to try.
- Neck Massager- for way less than a massage session, you can buy a massager they can use any time they want. Great way to shed those knots in their neck after they’ve talked you off the ledge for the 500th time.
- A Deck of ‘Get My Way’ Cards – take an old deck of playing cards and glue, “Your Way!” onto, uh, twenty of them. Anytime your spouse likes, they can pull out one of the cards and get their way on a decision you’re currently in the middle of.
- A customized Shirt- A Hawaiian shirt with face of their favorite pets or vacation photos – something quirky and fun that they wouldn’t buy for themselves. It’s a whimsical gift that can bring a smile to their face every time they wear it, and who doesn’t love a little humor in their wardrobe?
- A Foot Massage given by you – My wife LOVES this one. Get a little lotion, put on some nice music, maybe a glass of merlot to go with, and work those feet.
- BlueTooth Shower Speaker – like the Neck Massager, far less expensive than you might think. I’ve seen them as low as $25 – 35 on Amazon.
- Cool Card Time – Write them a card and mail it to them at work. Make it sappy, schmaltzy, downright syrupy sweet. There’s something very cool about seeing a card show up out of the blue. One year I sent Darci roses at her work and it surprised the heck out of her (and of course made her co-workers a little green).
- During Your Next Writers Conference – Next time you gather with your other non-normals, leave notes behind for your spouse. But hide them where they won’t be discovered for a while. Last conference I went to I stuck a note in the final quarter of a book Darci was about halfway through reading so she’d discover it a while after I’d left.
- Write Them A Song – now before you non-musicians say, “Nah …” hear me out. Try it. Write a song. Sing it for them. The WORST thing that can happen is your song will be atrocious and you’ll both be busting a gut over how bad it is. Laughter is truly one of the greatest gifts we can give.
Okay, your turn since that’s only seven and this time of the year twelve would be perfect.
And Merry, Merry Christmas.
How Do You Stand Up for Yourself When It Means Losing Everything? Allison Moore is making it. Barely. The Seattle architecture firm she started with her best friend is struggling, but at least they’re free from the games played by the corporate world. She’s gotten over her divorce. And while her dad’s recent passing is tough, their relationship had never been easy.
Then the bomb drops. Her dad was living a secret life and left her mom in massive debt.
As Allison scrambles to help her mom find a way out, she’s given a journal, anonymously, during a visit to her favorite coffee shop. The pressure to rescue her mom mounts, and Allison pours her fears and heartache into the journal.
But then the unexplainable happens. The words in the journal, her words, begin to disappear. And new ones fill the empty spaces—words that force her to look at everything she knows about herself in a new light.
Ignoring those words could cost her everything . . . but so could embracing them.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY, and RT Book Reviews award winning author of ten novels and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He’s also a branding expert, audiobook narrator, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder with his son, Taylor, of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington state.