By now, you've probably heard quite a bit of my story about how I came up with Mama Dated Santa. How my mother-in-law dated a guy in college who grew up to be Santa now. She probably never even knew about it because we didn't find out until after she'd passed away.
Funny enough, though, she LOVED all things Santa. These pictures are just part of her collection that she'd get out every Christmas. Ornaments, knick-knacks, a wreath, even a big shelf-sitter. They ranged from cute to classic and every style in between. And every time I see a Santa, I think of her. Just no helping it.
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The very first Christmas after my mother-in-law passed away, I was setting the table and put out one too many plates. I was so used to setting one for her, as well, that I naturally just counted to that number. And when I realized what I had done, I had to stop for a minute. Because the pain was raw. It's been six years. I no longer set the wrong amount of plates at the table, but I still have those moments when I stop and blink a few times and have to catch my breath. Because I still miss her. Grief is real. And it doesn't really go away. It just isn't as sharp after a while. It dulls just enough to be able to catch you off guard, in my opinion. Last year was the first time my father-in-law had put out most of my mother-in-law's Santa collection. And it just made it feel like a part of her was still with us. A toy store at Christmas. Sounds frenetic, doesn't it? Definitely busy and chaotic.
But not Russo's Toy Emporium. Not at the beginning of Mama Dated Santa, anyway. Instead, it's suffering the fate of many brick-and-mortar stores today, losing business and unable to keep up. That's why, when Trudy walks in on Black Friday, she's blown away by the lack of customers ... and the poor dilapidated Christmas tree in the Santa section. But it's not her responsibility to help such a mess. Not until her Mom gets her involved, that is. When you think Christmas story, you probably think somewhere up north, where there's at least a chance of snow. Why would anyone set a Christmas story smackdab in the middle of Texas? If they get any cold precipitation, it's more likely than not going to be ice.
And yet, that's where my story, Mama Dated Santa, is set. Why? Well, I have several reasons. The first is, I didn't set it in Temple to begin with. Are you confused? Hang with me. I'll explain. When I first wrote it, I set it in Waco. Thanks to some famous HGTV stars, that town has become quite known over the last few years. And I love how they're revamping their downtown area. It was perfect. Except it was just a bit bigger than I needed.
If you're going to write a novel called Mama Dated Santa, then you better have a Santa to go with it, right? Well, good news. My story definitely has a santa.
Santa is played by Paul Russo, one of the brothers who owns Russos' Toy Emporium. All three brothers are now semi-retired, but Paul loves to come back each holiday season and keep the Santa tradition his dad started alive. And he's good at it. Paul has this intrinsic way of seeing beyond what people portray to those around them. Now, he's not perfect and sometimes makes mistakes, just like all of us, but he's also pretty good at getting people to do what he thinks is in their best interest, whether they agree or not. Do you work out?
I wish I had more time to. I always feel better about myself when I've had a workout session. And yoga is a great stress-reliever. But my life is super busy right now, and my jobs have my sitting a lot. I'm going to have to make time soon. I have several friends who work out at a local spot, including one friend who teaches a 5 am barre class. I definitely don't make it to that one. Too early and the timing doesn't work for me to get kids to school, either. But she was a bit of the inspiration behind my newest heroine, Lennox.
What would a story be without secondary characters? Not as much fun, that's for sure. Especially when those secondary characters are like Sara Beth. She's Lennox's best friend. Has been since ninth grade. And now she's getting married to her sweetheart Brian (Ty's cousin).
Aren't they cute? They took that picture for their "Save the date" cards. ;) Best friends don't come much better than Sara Beth, except right now, she's got her mind on one thing and one thing only--being married in a few months. And she's dragging Lennox along into the fray as maid of honor. |
This is a place for me to tell you about what I'm writing, talk about the process or where some of my ideas came from, or even have other authors come in and talk about their books.
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