Please join me in celebrating the release of two new “home-based” sets of Christmas novels for this holiday season!
Even though we’ve all spent more time than usual at home over the past couple of years, we still long for the comforts of home, family, and friends during the holidays. These collections of Christian Christmas novels bring “home” the spirit of the season. Let’s get to know some of the authors and find out how we were inspired to write our stories.
Hometown Christmas Dreams: 4 New Novels Plus 4 BONUS Previously Published Novels
Today, we’re meeting Kathleen Freeman, author of Deck the Halls, and finding out her inspiration for writing this book. Take it away, Kathleen!
One rainy November, I wandered the thrift store aisles searching for plates. Two of mine had broken, and Corelle no longer sold white plates with scalloped edges.
I was no stranger to thrift stores. They often had what I was looking for—the chair cushion and blue sweatshirt I could turn into a Blastoise costume; Fisher-Price Little People to replace the ones lost at the beach; boots for a trip to the snow; decorative lanterns useful in power outages. Then there were cool things I didn’t know I “needed”; items like a pair of ice tongs I hung up to give our bedroom a cabin look.
Yes. I dabble in decor. It’s a creative outlet for me, a way to change a mishmash of so-so, or even blah, into beautiful—much like the joy I find in writing.
Then a top shelf display caught my attention, and another, and still another. Thrift stores often put colors or themes together. These were…amazing.
One day, a few weeks before Christmas, a lady in an elegant outfit stood creating a display.
“You’re really good,” I said. “You should consider interior design.”
She shrugged. A flattered look on her face told me she didn’t believe it.
Some months later, the displays went back to the so-so of before. I knew she was gone and hoped it was to create displays for hotels, or some design firm. A story began in my imagination because, as Dr. Seuss once wrote, It should be, it should be, it SHOULD be like that.
When I was asked to be part of a Christmas Novella Collection, I knew I had to write that story, not the thrift store woman’s life, but a tale of talent and hope. Fast forward some months. I’d been writing the Novella and had it mostly done—a rough version—when I walked into the thrift store.
Beautiful top shelves told me she was back, even before I saw her. I told her I was writing a story inspired by her work, about a lady named Luce who does the top shelf decorating for a beach town thrift store. I asked if she’d be willing to read it. Her wide eyes told me she thought I was crazy, but she wrote her info on a piece of paper and handed it to me.
“Your name is Lucy?” I said as I read the paper. “That’s so weird. The heroine of my story is named Luce!”
Maybe less weird than one would think because life is like that. My Novella, Deck the Halls, has more than a couple fate-feeling “coincidences.”
My wish is that readers will relate to it as much as I do and use the wonderful talents God has given them to make the world a bit more beautiful and hope-filled this Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
Visit Kathleen at her website:
Find HOMETOWN CHRISTMAS DREAMS here:
While you’re in the mood for reading (and shopping), find HOME FOR CHRISTMAS here:
Love the idea of a story set in a thrift store and so happy you found Lucy again! Can’t wait to read!
It’s such a sweet story about a sweet book!