Yes! It's the Jungle Red Holiday Poem

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: With apologies and appreciation to Clement Moore...and maybe Dr. Seuss. 

Here's this year’s Jungle Red Holiday Greeting! 

Twas the night before Christmas

And all through this site

Not a blogger was working

Not even to write.

Our books are all saved on our thumb drives with care

In hopes that bestseller lists soon would be there.

Our new novels were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of royalties danced in our heads.

The Jungle Red sisters, five east and two west

Had just settled our brains for a well-deserved rest.

When in magazine pages--There arose such a clatter

We opened the things to see what was the matter!

To the mag’s review pages we turned in a flash

To see Julia’s new book oft praised with panache!

The readers were loving the Wrong Girl by Hank

(And Hallie's “Old Woman” put cash in her bank!)

Debs’ Gemma and James are in book now—sixteen?

And Rhys is awaiting a nod from the Queen.

Our Lucy—she’s sunning herself with some zest

There’ll soon be some more of her tales from Key West!

And what to our wondering eyes should appear

The twelfth printing of “Her Majesty’s” –whoa! Susan's career!

But what makes us the happiest—keeps every day new?

We knew in a moment—it’s our blogging crew!

You listen, you chatter, you join in the game

We cheer you, we love you, we call you by name!

Thanks, Thelma! Thanks Edith! Thanks darling Joan E!

Both Karens, Susannah and our Michele D.

Hail Ramona, and Marianne, Tiger and Clare

We hope Brenda and DebRo will always be there

Here’s to Reine, and to Kathy, to Mary and Jack

To Lisa and Lori—we know you’ll come back!

Same for Linda, and Leslie, we love you as well,

And dear Mary Garrett--the stories she’ll tell!

Kaye Barley, we love you, and love to Don, too.

(We know that Wimsey’s a breakthrough for you!)

Our guest bloggers were stellar:

Rozan and Fay

We brought SJ and Lipman to brighten your day!

To Delia, and Kristopher (king of the LIST!)

To Rodrigo our genius--consider you're kissed.

Hail to Rosemary Harris, and all that you do--

Hail “Anonymous” also--love hearing from you!

We had memories, recipes, tales of our youth

We’ve had jokes, and disasters, and telling the truth.

To the top of the lists! To the top of them all!

We’re revising, and writing, and sharing our call!

As dry words before our reviser’s pen fly

When they meet with cliché, and we fix them (we try):

We’re almost at New Years, and our thoughts go to you

May you write perfect books, may your wishes come true!

May you waste not a word, may you write fresh and new

And fill all your stories with myst'ries and clues

And remember: on days that things don’t turn out right

And you wonder if this was a fraud and a fright

You have sisters on line—there are sev’n of us here!

And each one is wishing you all-the-year cheer.

And we all say—we love you! ‘Fore you click from our site--

Happy Holidays to All

—and long may you Write!