Rick Nichols Online

As I write this it's Christmas Day. The house is quiet. The wife is in the middle of a two day shift, my son is exchanging gifts at his girlfriend's house, my daughter is in Atlanta, and I'm here alone. Just me and my grand-dog, who is asleep in my daughter's old room on the bed.

Exciting, huh?

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, however you celebrate.

I've been binge-watching House of Cards to pass the time, but unlike many of you, I can only take so many episodes of something at one time. I'll watch them all eventually, but not at a 12-hour marathon. Can't do that. My daughter can do it for seemingly days on end but I can't unfortunately.

THE EASTLANDER CHRONICLES is due out soon. We're waiting on the cover and I have to proof the final galley before it hits the printer. I'm planning a sequel, if the response is good.

Being alone this weekend has given me a chance to reflect on the many blessings I have encountered the past year.…

"My wife made a crucial difference during those two years I spent teaching at Hampden (and washing sheets at New Franklin Laundry during the summer vacation). If she had suggested that the time I spent writing stories...was wasted time, I think a lot of the heart would have gone out of me. Tabby never voiced a single doubt, however. Her support was a constant, one of the few good things I could take as a given. And whenever I see a first novel dedicated to a wife (or husband), I smile and think there's someone who knows. Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don't have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough."--Stephen King, On Writing

Amen, Mr. King.

My wife, Lisa, is a CNA specializing in home health care. She deals with sick people, dying people, paralyzed people. During the years that I was trying to put a sentence together she never discouraged me, never said that maybe I needed to take up under…