Interview with ... by Rachelle Allen Story of the Month contest entry |
Welcome to you both! I feel so lucky to be interviewing FS royalty, and now you’re published co-authors, as well! (12 New Christmas Stories anthology is currently available on Amazon.com, and features not only these two talented writers, but also Lee Allen Hill (our Humpwhistle), Jay Squires and Terry Broxson. First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS on this wonderful achievement! I have read the entire book several times now, and I love it a little more with each read. Diane, your offering entitled “The Magic of Santa’s Christmas Box” reads like a Hallmark Christmas movie – and please know I consider that the ultimate holiday compliment I can bestow. Is that your favorite childhood holiday memory, receiving that box? Yes! Receiving that cardboard box, filled with books that I treasured, and still treasure to this day, is my favorite childhood holiday memory. But I must also share with you that I still own all those books, and although some are a bit tattered and dog-eared, they are prominently displayed on the shelves of a mahogany bookcase my father handcrafted for me following that memorable Christmas. My own children read all of the books when they were small, and I can hardly wait to share my beloved “friends” with my three little grandsons. To that end, my daughter and son-in-law gifted me last Christmas with a tape recorder in order that I can record reading a few select stories aloud, starting with Charlotte’s Web – complete with individual voices! Oh, now THAT’s going to be a fun treasure to create! It’s perfect for the retired teacher in you. I hope you’ll share it with me, too! And Ann, my goodness! Your first story in the book, “A Christmas Gift,” had me crying – not just welling up, mind you, bona fide CRYING – by the bottom of the third page. Then, with that ending sentence, I was so beside myself, my husband actually hustled upstairs to see what was wrong! This story is fiction, right? I have to say, it certainly didn’t feel like fiction. What inspired it? This story is fiction and was inspired by my daughter, Mary, and her husband and their joint foster care experience. Pure chance caused them to have a month-old baby in their care; today he is my 32-year-old grandson. Wow, wow, wow. The way life unfolds sometimes, it makes it obvious that it was no coincidence. Rather, it was “meant to be.” Now, you talented writers, before we talk more about your other three stories in this anthology, let’s dish a little about the Y-chromosomes who co-authored this! Please give me five-words-or-less that summarize each: Terry: The epitome of gumption, generosity and good will. Take-charge, hard worker, pleasant Jay: The epitome of creative humility. Provides anything the team asks for. Lee – or, as I like to call him when it’s just the two of us, during email schmoozes - Wee-Wee-Haw – a term of endearment based on a story I love that’s in his portfolio: The epitome of creativity, humor and devilish imagination. He’s Lee! That may be answer enough. Hmm. That makes me think of the saying that goes: If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague! Now, I hope this isn’t a delicate subject, but how was it decided that Lee’s name would appear first on the cover and be the first story in the book? I have no idea, but if I were to venture a guess, I’m pretty certain that money or bourbon exchanged hands between Terry and Lee. Omigoodness! HAHAHAHAHA. You slay me. Lee tends to ‘hog’ center stage in anything he’s involved with. What? Nooo! I call “hogwash” on that! What’s going on here? Let’s get away from this Lee-bashing. What’s the best and worst Christmas gift either of you has received in your adult life? Best gift: I treasure the last gift my mother gave to me before she passed away in 2007: a pewter pitcher that is embossed with pinecones and evergreen boughs. My mother was a master floral designer, and she reveled in anything that had to do with gardening, flowers, and the natural world. And she treasured pewter. While the pitcher is displayed in our home year-round, during the Christmas holidays, I fill it with holly and seeded eucalyptus in her memory. She is never more than a thought away. I love that. I can totally picture every aspect of it. The best gift I’ve ever received was from my first husband, Ronnie. We did not give each other gifts at Christmas time but always saved something to be shared later and privately in January. We usually described it as our “Christmas-Anniversary presents wrapped into one.” Our anniversary was February 1. One year, he purchased tickets for us to go to Costa Rica on a two-week birding trip. It was wonderful! A tropical paradise to visit in the middle of the coldest months of the year? That man has World’s Best Husband written ALLLLL over him! The worst gift: Change that to “most painful memory:” So embarrassed to be sharing the following, but here it goes: I idolized my cousin, Gail, who is two years older than I am. An only child, and far more sophisticated at ten years old than I ever hoped to be, Gail loved Barbie dolls. She owned a treasure trove of Barbie dolls and all the paraphernalia that accompanied them. I longed for a Barbie doll…just one. My mother was adamant that I would not receive a Barbie doll, as she felt said doll’s upper anatomy was far too revealing. I could have all the Madame Alexander dolls my bookshelves could hold, but NO BARBIE DOLL! But I still longed for my very own Barbie and held on to the hope that even if my mother disapproved of Barbie, perhaps Santa or my grandparents had other ideas. Christmas 1961 arrived, and as our family gathered with my cousin’s family at my grandparents’ homestead, excitement mounted as the unwrapping of gifts began to take place. Of course, my cousin received another Barbie doll when her turn came to unwrap her special gift from my maternal grandparents. When my grandmother handed me my special gift, I was overcome with excitement so certain that I would finally hold a Barbie in my hands. I quickly, but carefully, opened the gaily decorated box only to find….are you ready? RAGGEDY ANDY Oh….my….goodness! I was so distraught that I openly exclaimed, “Oh, NO! He’s so ugly!” covered up poor Andy with discarded wrapping paper and exclaimed, “Santa goofed! I didn’t want that damn Raggedy Andy!” Pretty certain I’ve repressed what took place immediately afterwards, but I do know that although I never owned a Barbie doll, I eventually did make peace with Raggedy Andy, and for years he held a distinguished place in my childhood bedroom. Whoa. You’ve never had a Barbie? Excuse me while I look up the number for Social Services. “Flabbergasted” does not even begin to scrape the surface here!! OY! I cannot think of the ‘worst’ Christmas present. All my Christmas presents have come in ‘better’ and ‘best.’ I love it when all my family comes together. Maybe a less-than-perfect is when someone is missing. Yeah, especially BARBIE!! You know, not that I’m still stuck on Diane’s answer or anything, certainly… Okay, before we talk about your other stories, I have just one last quick hypothetical question about those male co-authors: If you each had a bottle of fine bourbon, one luscious, beautiful, scrumptious Christmas cookie and one hard, crusty lump of coal to bestow into their stockings, who would get what and why? Well, for certain, the bourbon would go to Terry! The finest I could purchase. The “scrumptious Christmas cookie?” Well, that I would gift to Lee. Yep. I’d gift him a dozen Springerle: crusty and hard as nails on the outside and soft on the inside – especially when dipped in hot coffee. Um, is it just me, or am I sensing all kinds of symbolism there…well, okay, but not the “dipped in coffee” part, right? Now, that only leaves Jay with the “hard, crusty lump of coal,” and I can’t bring myself to do that, because he is a kind-hearted and loving gent. So…he gets both the bourbon and cookies! Wait – so now the other two get nothing, and Jay gets all the spoils? You know they’re all going to be reading this interview, right, Diane?! You know, I love Lee, but I would not waste a bottle of fine bourbon and luscious Christmas cookies on him BECAUSE, no matter what the gift, Lee could have done it better in some way – OR SO HE THINKS! I would not say Lee is a complainer; he simply thinks he’s more skilled and knowledgeable. Maybe he is! He offers all his suggestions as “just another idea.” If not taken, he tends to play the card again. Um, psssst: Lee’s going to be reading this, Ann… I happen to know how much Terry likes bourbon, and certainly his over-the-top, extra effort has earned a good bottle of bourbon. And although I’d like to keep the cookie for myself, I have to give it to Jay because he’s so sweet. So, Jay is the big winner here by far: he’s getting Diane’s bourbon and both Diane’s AND Ann’s cookies. And, he even gets Diane’s lump of coal. Cha-chingggg, on you, Jay Squires!! Merry FS Christmas! Alright, back to your other wonderful stories. In the second half of the book, Ann, your back-to-back true-life stories, the before-and-after the last Christmas with your mom, were simultaneously visceral and rueful, hopeful and heart-warming. Did they feel painful to share, Ann, or cathartic? No, they are not painful to share, perhaps still cathartic. Most of all, I enjoy “bragging” about my mom. She was a one-of-a-kind individual – always optimistic and always on my side. My goal is that each of the stories brings a smile and a reminder that when Christmas comes, it is up to each of us to enjoy it. And then, Diane, comes your piece de resistance tale: the story of you, the Grand Pubah of all Christmas Shopping Queens, getting busted for SHOPLIFTING!!! Best of all, it’s a TRUE STORY!! Is this a story that gets shared, like The Night Before Christmas, every year at your house? I must admit, Rachelle, my friends always bring up that embarrassing holiday shopping adventure every Christmas…without fail! I don’t have to share it with them; they share it with me! And every time they re-tell it, they embellish the entire situation. All in good fun. But to this day, I make certain that I dress very lightly when I go Christmas shopping and check my rear-end for any baubles hitching a ride! Probably good, too, if you’re doing any traveling. You know what sticklers those airport NSA people are! At least your third story, “Of Evergreens and a Flash of Red,” gave a more redemptive picture of shopping for you! Those clerks were way more in that “Christmas spirit” than the “three wise women” in your favorite department store! What was so significant about the entire day and the two shopping experiences is that I came away with the realization that the spirit of Christmas is alive and well, even during these frenetic times. It is found time and again in the small moments that I embrace and cherish. I love your teacher-positive attitude so much, Diane! What’s each of your favorite Christmas traditions? Oh, so many! Decorating every single room in our home for Christmas! Selecting a special book for each of my loved ones and wrapping each in brown paper wrapping with a beautiful red bow, decorating our main Christmas tree with hand-painted glass ornaments and dried hydrangea blossoms from my gardens, baking my mothers favorite Christmas cookies, and preparing family recipes for Christmas dinner. And now that little grandsons have entered our lives, Christmas afternoon is spent sledding on the hills at our daughter’s and son-in-law’s home and enjoying hot chocolate afterwards while we watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Christmas Eve dinner when the family is together, and memories are relived about times when someone who have gone before and left us with a special memory to be replayed and enjoyed again every year. It is a time for sharing deep family love, tons of fun and remembering we are never alone. After dinner, we go to church. After church, I GO TO BED! By then, I am more than ready. The kids and grandkids – all grown now – stay up and fill stockings, add decorations, answer great-grandkids’ letters to Santa, move all gifts to the living room (the entire family brings their gifts to our house) and laugh tons. My bedroom is not far away. What do you look forward to the most? Now that our daughter and son-in-law are married with families of their own, I look forward to all of us being together. Our son, daughter-in-law and grandson live in Fort Collins, CO, and every Christmas, they fly home to be with my husband and me, and our daughter, son-in-law, and two little grandsons who live in Traverse City. Christmas morning, when I see the little ones’ faces so surprised to see the living room make-over. We take a mid-morning break for breakfast, and everyone tells some story about what happened while they were shopping, making a fruitcake or whatever – just a funny story to be stored away for future walks down memory lane. Will you be doing any book-signings in your local stores? I don’t have any plans at this time to hold any book-signings. A bit difficult since the book is an anthology. I don’t have any plans to do so. Tell us how being part of this experience has affected you. On one level, as a writer, this experience has been a validation that my writing has worth and resonates with readers. But, on a more cerebral level, it confirmed what I have always believed to be true: that despite our unique differences, the world is filled with opportunities and serendipitous moment to develop true friendships that are without gamesmanship and guile. Terry, Lee, Ann and Jay readily welcomed and accepted me and my contributions without hesitation. For that, I shall always remain honored and deeply humbled. I didn’t believe this project would be as much fun as it has been and continues to be; neither did I think it would be as professionally directed as it has been by Terry – and I hate to admit it – but also by Lee. I have learned a great deal from each of my fellow authors, and I’m awed by their talents. I am proud of our book and am now working on a solo project I hope will be published in October.
Any last words for your adoring co-authors? In the words of William Blake, “No bird soars too high if he soars on his own wings.” Keep flying! AND…when is our next anthology going to be published? Let’s do it! THANK YOU to each of you for the opportunity of being on your team. I have learned so much and feel as if we are all friends on a much deeper level. Any last comments for Lee? Don’t think I love ya just because I love ya… There are so many things that can be said for and about Lee. For one, if someone needs some experience in herding cats, they may want to share a project with Lee. He doesn’t complain, just has a better idea about almost everything. He’s super talented, and I am so pleased to have worked on this project with him. He doesn’t do anything half-way. Thank you for taking the time from your busy days to schmooze with me here. I so love your beautiful stories in this wonderful anthology and look forward to reading them throughout the year, anytime I need an infusion of joy. I hope you sell a million copies, because it would impact the world in a MOST wonderful and uplifting way!! May this be your merriest Christmas yet. Xoxoxxo PS: While it hasn’t been confirmed – because, let’s face it, the words “Lee” and “firmed” aren’t exactly a matched set, now are they? (Oh, speaking of that, did you know he wears silk pants?!) – but Hump (why he prefers that to “Wee-Wee Haw,” I’ll never understand…) has gotten wind of this interview and is planning a rebuttal. OY! Juuuuuuuuust when we all thought it was safe to go back into the water… Anyway, be on the lookout, fellow FanStorians. I fear there is conflict on this blissful horizon.
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Rachelle Allen
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