Tag Archives: Amazon KDP beginner

Happy Christmas Eve Eve (Even If You Don’t Do Christmas)

Leave a reply


I don’t celebrate Christmas—but I do celebrate vibes, good smells, full kitchens, and watching people I love light up like they just found batteries on December 24th.

Let’s get this out of the way first, because honesty is festive too:
I don’t celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense.

No tree theology debates.
No explaining myself at the dinner table.
No long essays about belief systems.

And yet—
I love this time of year.

I love the warmth that sneaks into houses.
I love seeing people soften.
I love the way joy gets louder and grudges get quieter, if only for a few days.

And yes—I absolutely buy gifts for my immediate family, because love speaks many languages, and sometimes it speaks through Amazon Prime and gift receipts.

The Thing About Holidays No One Says Out Loud

You don’t have to celebrate a holiday to enjoy the human behavior around it.

You don’t have to share a belief to enjoy the glow.
You don’t have to follow a tradition to honor the moment.

Some people celebrate with trees and hymns.
Some with candles and intention.
Some with food, laughter, and the smell of something comforting in the air.

All of that counts.

What I Do Instead (And Why My House Smells Amazing)

While others are hanging ornaments, I’m doing my own quietly pagan, earth-rooted thing—nothing dramatic, just intentional.

I cleanse my space.
I slow my pace.
I make my home smell like peace had a kitchen.

Here’s one of my favorite winter simmer pot recipes—simple, grounding, and deeply comforting:

Winter Hearth Simmer Pot

  • 1 sliced orange
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 5–6 whole cloves
  • 1 sprig of rosemary or pine
  • A splash of vanilla
  • Water to cover

Simmer low on the stove and let it fill the house with a scent that says, You are safe here.

No altar required.
No rules enforced.
Just warmth.

I also light candles with intention—gratitude for what survived the year, clarity for what I’m leaving behind, and space for what hasn’t arrived yet.

That’s my version of the season.

We’re All Doing This Differently—and That’s the Point

Some people go all in on Christmas.
Some don’t touch it at all.
Most of us live somewhere in between.

And that’s okay.

You’re allowed to enjoy the joy without adopting the doctrine.
You’re allowed to participate without performing.
You’re allowed to say, This part feels good to me, and leave the rest behind.

If anything, that’s the most honest way to honor a season built on light returning to dark.

A Note From the Author (Because Yes, I’m Still Writing)

I write about these in-between spaces a lot—the quiet moments people don’t know how to label.

If you like reflective, warm, slightly rebellious storytelling, you’ll probably enjoy some of my holiday-adjacent books too, including:

  • The Lamp of Christmas Eve – for readers who love atmosphere more than sermons
  • Unlocking Carolina’s New Year’s Day: Superstitions, Traditions, and Delicious Recipes
  • Hypothyroidism Holiday RECIPE Guidebook: Surviving the Season
  • The Witch’s Almanac Cookbook (2026 Edition): Seasonal Recipes, Spells, Rituals & Kitchen Magic
  • Healing Stews & Enchanted Brews: Holiday Magic
  • The Lamp at the End of the Corridor: A Story of Rejection, Redirection, and Resurrection for the Misfit Soul
  • The Lies We Loved: How Advertising Invented America
  • Revealing the Hidden Pagan Origins: Christian Perspectives on American Holiday Traditions
  • Before the Ink Is Dry – for those who sit with meaning instead of rushing past it
  • The Margin Notes – for anyone who lives in the quiet spaces others overlook
  • The Girls Who Never Left the Room
  • The Girl the Darkness Raised: A Memoir of Scarcity, Survival, and Becoming
  • The Girl in the Mirror Is Thirteen Again: The House That Yelled and the Woman Who Finally Heard Herself
  • The Making of the “Broken Child”: A System Built Before Diagnosis

You’ll find them under A.L. Childers on Amazon, and more of my writing over at TheHypothyroidismChick.com.

Disclaimer (Because Adults Still Need These)

This blog is not religious guidance, spiritual instruction, or an argument for or against any belief system. It is simply one human explaining how she experiences a season—and giving you permission to experience it your own way.

No judgment.
No conversion attempts.
No holiday policing.

Final Thought (Before the Cookies Burn)

If you celebrate—celebrate loudly.
If you don’t—rest joyfully.
If you’re somewhere in between—welcome to the club.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve.
May your house smell amazing, your heart feel lighter, and your boundaries remain intact.

A funny, heartwarming take on Christmas Eve Eve from someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas—but loves the warmth, family joy, and cozy winter rituals that come with the season.

You Don’t Need Permission to Begin: A Letter to the Writer Who Hasn’t Published Yet

Leave a reply


If you are waiting for the right time, the right money, or the right permission to write your book—this is that moment knocking.

There are more unpublished books in the world than published ones.

Not because the stories aren’t worthy.
Not because the writers aren’t capable.
But because waiting has a very convincing voice.

It sounds responsible.
It sounds practical.
It sounds like wisdom.

“I’ll do it when I have more money.”
“I’ll do it when I know more.”
“I’ll do it when someone tells me I’m ready.”

And so the book waits.

I wrote Publishing Without Permission: What No One Explains for the people caught in that waiting—not because they lack talent, but because no one ever told them the truth:

Most books do not begin with confidence.
They begin with persistence.

Most writers do not feel ready.
They feel compelled.

And most people who eventually publish did not arrive with permission in hand—they stopped asking for it somewhere along the way.

The Myth That Stops Books Before They Start

Publishing has been dressed up as something expensive, exclusive, and technical. As if there is a secret door, only a few are allowed to open.

The truth is quieter—and far more freeing.

You do not need thousands of dollars to publish.
You do not need a publishing house.
You do not need to know everything before you begin.

Amazon KDP exists.
Free tools exist.
Entire YouTube libraries exist—created by writers who figured it out one step at a time and decided to explain it to others for free.

Is it work? Yes.
Is it impossible? No.

What is difficult is not the process.
What is difficult is believing your voice belongs on the shelf at all.

Why I Wrote This Book (Especially for You)

I did not write Publishing Without Permission for experts.

I wrote it for people with notebooks full of half-written thoughts.
For people who believe their life hasn’t been “interesting enough.”
For people who think the story has to be perfect before it can exist.

I wrote it because I know how easy it is to mistake delay for preparation—and how many stories disappear quietly because of it.

This book does not teach you how to upload files or format margins. I will be offering free resources and a free series for that—because the mechanics should never be a barrier.

This book exists to do something more important first:

To steady you.
To orient you.
To tell you what no one explains until after you’ve already learned it the hard way.

It explains what publishing feels like.
What happens after you hit publish.
Why silence does not mean failure.
And why waiting for approval is often the thing that keeps the book from ever being written.

Your Story Is Not Too Small

You do not need a dramatic life.
You do not need trauma.
You do not need to impress anyone.

You need honesty.
You need attention.
You need the courage to begin imperfectly.

What makes you different—the paths you’ve taken, the detours you survived, the ordinary moments that shaped you—may very well be the reason your book matters.

I still carry a notebook in my purse.

I write things down in grocery store parking lots.
I scribble lines I might forget.
Because I know that a passing thought or half-remembered moment could become the seed of the next book.

Stories do not announce themselves loudly.
They whisper—and they move on if ignored.

If You’re Still Hesitating

Let me say this plainly:

You do not need to publish tomorrow.
But you do need to stop telling yourself “someday” is guaranteed.

Write now.
Learn as you go.
Trust that clarity comes after motion, not before.

And when you’re ready to understand the emotional landscape—the parts no tutorial explains—that’s where Publishing Without Permission meets you.

Not with hype.
With honesty.
With steadiness.
With the reassurance that you are not behind—you are simply beginning.

Why This Book Might Be the Right First Step

  • It speaks to writers before they publish, not after
  • It removes shame from uncertainty
  • It names fears most writers think they’re alone in
  • It reframes publishing as practice, not performance

This is not a book about becoming famous.

It is a book about becoming brave enough to begin.

Disclaimer

This blog and the book it references do not guarantee sales, success, or outcomes. Publishing experiences vary. This content is offered as encouragement, perspective, and lived insight—not financial or professional promises.

About the Author

A.L. Childers is an independent author writing about creative endurance, publishing reality, and the discipline of continuing without permission. She believes stories are built through attention, not approval. You can find her writing at TheHypothyroidismChick.com and under A.L. Childers on Amazon.

A warm, inspiring message for writers who haven’t published yet—why you don’t need permission, money, or perfection to begin, and how Publishing Without Permission speaks directly to you.