 I was addressing Christmas cards a few weeks ago and had to stop. It was the first year I would address an envelope to one person but not his spouse. The first time that name wouldn't be on my list. And it hurt. I stopped and teared up for a few minutes, praying for the family that would be without their Marmie at Christmas for the first time. For the man who would do Christmas without his wife.
I had a friend lose her dad a few weeks ago. Another has her dad on hospice. Several friends have received cancer diagnoses or news that wasn't what they wished. Another friend suffered a traumatic brain injury over Thanksgiving break. But it's Christmas. That means we have to be happy, right?
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 All three of my Christmas stories have children in them. Want to know why? I can't imagine Christmas without kids.
Don't get me wrong. We had ten Christmases without children, while we waited on God's perfect timing. And I enjoyed those Christmases. But they lacked something. There is something magical about seeing the holidays through a child's eyes. They still believe in magic and see it in every piece of the holidays. Why not join them?  The Christmas trees decorated by theme are beautiful. Their big fluffy bows and color-coordinated ornaments are stunning. But that's not the kind of Christmas tree I want.
Granted, I also don't want one like I described in the first chapter of Mama Dated Santa, where all the ornaments are falling apart, tinsel is here and there, and some of the branches are in the wrong slot. Yeah, no. Thanks. There's something special about the tree we put up each year--and not because it's twenty years old (the one we bought our very first Christmas when we barely had any room to put a tree up). No, it's because the ornaments hold so many memories and reminisces.  What's a Christmas story without children? Obviously it can be done, but are they as much fun? I don't think so.
Needless to say, all of my Christmas stories have ended up having children involved. A few years ago, in the Candy Cane Wishes collection, my hero was a single dad dealing with his tween and her attitude. This year, my Christmas story, Mama Dated Santa, has Mark. He's the nephew of Trudy, my heroine. And he's a fun-loving four-year-old who adores Santa. Because that's a really fun age at Christmas. Some neat facts: I also have a nephew named Mark, but he's no longer four, so except for the name, there's not much else in common with the one in my book. The man I call Santa now is also named Mark. See how that all works?  When I think of Christmas, two flavors come to mind. Peppermint and gingerbread.
I'm sure some people want to include eggnog in there too, but it's not one I prefer. Needless to say, when writing a Christmas novel, there was going to be some seasonal flavors mixed in. Of course, I don't think I realized Trudy was going to run away with one of them. That's right. My characters sometimes take over my stories. You see, Trudy loves peppermint. To the point that she puts it in her hot chocolate and her coffee. And her truffles. And decorates in that theme too. She just can't help herself.  When I started writing Mama Dated Santa, I didn't have a ton of direction. Mostly what I knew was the title and that my main characters were both well, not into the holiday spirit. But as I got to know Trudy, I realized she had been at one point. Then, I just had to figure out what ruined it for her. Of course, with her mom being a widow, it was pretty obvious it was going to have something to do with her dad.
Okay, so then I started exploring her relationship with her Dad. Sure, he loved Christmas. But what made it so special to do Christmas with him? Then, she let me know about their bucket lists. (Yes. My characters talk to me.) So, what is a holiday bucket list?  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.  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.  My first book will officially be 6 years old in two weeks. November 1, 2017 was when An Unexpected Legacy was "birthed." If you had told me back then that I would be able to have 12 more books release over the next six years, I would've thought you were crazy. That's an average of two books a year. And when I got started, they were coming out about every year and a half.
But whether I'd believe it or not, number 13 releases tomorrow. Not only that, but it's my first full-length Christmas novel. A trope I didn't think I'd ever want to write. Come to think of it, I've done several things I didn't think I would write a series. But I enjoyed my roadtrip trilogy and have another series in my head. Just need to find time to write three more novels to go with the first. And now, a Christmas novel.  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. |
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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