Our Living Room Christmas tree
Our flocked pre-lit Christmas tree is from At Home. The stump Christmas tree base is actually a planter from Target. The garland is yarn from Michael’s. The ornaments are either locally crafted, family heirlooms, or from TJ Maxx/Marshall’s. Our white peacock tree topper is from Anthropologie.
Merry and Bright
Who wouldn’t be cheered by lots of twinkle lights and a succulent in a Santa mug?
Forever Wild
My love and adoration for The Simple Wild is well-documented here. But with the reveal of the cover of the new novella Forever Wild, out December 2nd, my obsession has really maxed out here. I really thought long and hard about my casting for Jonah and Calla and I’ve decided on Travis Fimmel (literally the quintessential hot Viking) and Alicia Vikander—who always comes across as almost ethereally beautiful but tough. Which is something I think is perfect for Calla’s growth and development as a character as well as allowing her to standout even in the midst of all the Alaskan beauty.
For Susan I would love to see Rachel Weisz (who looks so much like Alicia—and in the book, Calla is her spitting image!) and Josh Lucas as Wren. Josh has done an amazing job on Yellowstone playing a younger John Dutton so I think he definitely has enough of that roughneck energy to really make it work.
When you’re wish-casting your favorite books, do you usually gravitate to well-known actors or do you tend to try to match lesser-known picks?
October
Who is ready for a thriller to kick off the spookiest of months? Karen Dionne’s The Wicked Sister is sinister and atmospheric and I loved it almost as much as I did The Marsh King’s Daughter—a personal favorite of mine.
Falloween Reading Guide: Day Seven
Lost Autumn by Mary-Rose MacColl is the perfect fall read if you enjoy historical fiction with an English royals vibe—very much Downton Abbey goes to Australia. I found this book sumptuous and immersive and interesting enough to keep me reading—which is quite the feat these days! It seems like all I want to do is re-read romance novels and watch Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version, thank you.)