With me, criticism or praise is generated purely on merit and to the degree to which it strikes me. Both are always earned, never volunteered, no matter what the benefits or inducements.
Anyway, as I said before, for whatever reason, "Christmas Eve" has totally spontaneously struck a profoundly resonant chord in me, presenting as it does, a brilliant and joyous validation of two of my own deep-seated, personal beliefs;
Firstly, that "the heart knows no bounds" and my own (here shared) assertion that, behind closed doors and exclusively between indisputably consenting adults, it should not be required to either, regardless of human society's futile artificial attempts to restrict and suppress it.
Secondly, that in the very best of novels, story and characters are so well crafted that the latter, within the confines of the story structure itself, can, to a great extent, actually influence and dictate their own actions, interactions and reactions thereby effectively writing their own dialogue too.
So, I'm really, really looking forward to future developments (no hurry...quality over speed always) with both fascination and, of course, no little excitement and by that I do not mean solely THAT kind of excitement. I am equally encouraged that you seem to be very relaxed in your approach. I think ideas and innovations flow more freely when the mind is relaxed, open and positively engaged rather than closed and narrowly focused and thereby pressurised predominantly, if not entirely, by expectation of results and their associated deadlines.
So, please do continue to "Keep Calm and Carry On", as my tea mug reminds me every morning and I'll continue, with each subsequent chapter, to donate what I can to help support this, my current favourite, cause.