Q&A with J.T. Ellison, Good Girls Lie

Do you plan your books in advance or let them develop as you write?

Both. Sometimes the story just unfolds, and sometimes I have to relentlessly work on themes and turning points and characters’ points of view. Every book is different, every book has its own unique challenges. I’m always thinking about what’s next, and sometimes even what’s after that. But when it comes to actually sitting down to write, I like to let the story unfold a bit, let it stretch its wings, before I try to lash it to the mast and conform it to my vision.

What does the act of writing mean to you?

It’s a sacred contract with me and a mythical “someone” who might read the words at some point in the future and find them entertaining or moving. It’s sheer magic on my end, creating, and sheer magic on the readers’ end, when they get to experience what was in my head as I was writing. It’s the most incredible mystical experience out there.

Have you ever had a character take over a story, and if so, who was it and why?

All the time. Oh my gosh, all the time. Honestly, if the character doesn’t run away with things, I know there’s a problem. Ivy, n LIE TO ME, is a particular favorite. She’s just so nasty…

Which one of Good Girls Lie’s characters was the hardest to write and why?

Ash, for sure. She was so elusive and aloof with me. The Britishisms, the secrets, the lies, she was always just out of reach. Of course, that was because I’d written her in third person. When I switched her to first, she wouldn’t shut up.

Which character in any of your books (Good Girls Lie or otherwise) is dearest to you and why?

Oh that’s an impossible question. Taylor. Sam. Sutton. Vivian. Ash. Aubrey. Ivy. Juliet. Lauren. Becca. Gavin. Baldwin. Xander. They are all me, on some level, whether it’s a fear or a triumph, a flaw or a heroic action. A moment of love or a moment of animosity. It’s like asking me to choose among my children, which one is my favorite. (I don’t have kids, by the way, but I couldn’t pick my favorite of my kittens, either.)

What did you want to be as a child? Was it an author?

I desperately wanted to be Colorado’s first female firefighter. When that job was taken, I cast about. Doctor. Lawyer. Fighter Pilot. Spy. International business maven. Olympic swimmer. Poet. In the end, being a writer was my only choice. That way, I get to experience all the lives I could have led.

What does a day in the life of J.T. Ellison look like?

It’s rather blissful. It starts rather lazily, with the cats cuddled into my arms and the newspaper on my iPad, then progresses to kicking the lazy beasts out, pouring a cup of tea and handling email. I am not a morning person, so I tend to do business in the morning and writing in the afternoon, when I’m sharper. I’ve always wanted to be the writer who gets up at 5 am to write whilst the birds chirp and the house sleeps, watching the sun rise and running five miles before the rest of the world is awake, but alas, it was not meant to be. You need to go to a concert that starts at ten p.m., I’m your girl.

What do you use to inspire you when you get Writer’s Block?

It depends. If it’s a genuine block, a I’ve lost faith in myself and my work block, I will step away from the manuscript entirely, read, walk, golf, yoga, go out for margaritas with my husband, anything to remove me from the situation. But 90 percent of the time, it’s just a story issue, so I work it out with some of my creative partners. Lots of texting and phone calls and what ifs, until it shakes itself free.

What book would you take with you to a desert island?

Hmmm… my knee jerk is the Harry Potter series – I know, I know, that’s seven books, but I’m sure there’s an omnibus edition somewhere. The fight for good and evil never ceases to amaze and comfort me. Knowing love conquers evil is a big deal in this world. And Hermione kicks ass. If I’m forced into a single title, Plato’s Republic. I’ve been obsessed with the allegory of the cave my entire adult life.

Do you have stories on the back burner that are just waiting to be written?

So. Many. Stories. I will never get to them all. At last count, there are 49 in my “Story Idea” folder, with several more floating around in my head.

What has been the hardest thing about publishing? What has been the most fun?

The hardest is staying in the game, juggling the necessary mix of creativity and business, finding new paths to reach readers and leveling up the writing so it’s possible to grow my career. It was much easier to write, to focus, before our constant connections to the internet consumed us. The most fun is that email from a reader, when something I’ve written strikes a chord with them and they write to tell me they love a story, or a character, or an ending. It doesn’t get better than that.

What advice would you give budding authors about publishing?

Stay as much in a vacuum as you can while writing. You don’t need a platform, you need an excellent, groundbreaking book. And read everything. Everything you can get your hands on. You learn writing through osmosis as much as writing the books themselves. Find your writing habit and hold it sacred. If you respect your work, your people will, too.

What was the last thing you read?

I just finished Holly Black’s THE QUEEN OF NOTHING, the finale of her Folk of the Air trilogy, and just finished listening to BAG OF BONES by Stephen King. Both were exceptional.

Tell us about what you’re working on now.

I’m writing a novel about a destination wedding that goes very, very wrong. It has loose ties to Rebecca, and it titled HER DARK LIES.

Q&A with Wendy Heard, The Kill Club

Do you plan your books in advance or let them develop as you write?

I plan them for a long time before I start writing them, and I’m constantly revising my outline, but the plot and characters do develop quite a bit along the way.  

What does the act of writing mean to you?

It means everything to me! I have been writing for a really long time, since childhood. Words and story have always been the way I’ve made sense of things. I’m constantly making up narratives for people and events around me. 

Have you ever had a character take over a story, and if so, who was it and why?

Jazz held THE KILL CLUB hostage for months because I couldn’t get her to talk to me! She just kept crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at me. She did NOT want a book written about her, and I really needed her inner monologue for that first person POV! Eventually I started mentally arguing with her, and then in fighting with her and hearing her side, I started to get ALL of her IM. It was an interesting experience, trying to engage with a character in different ways until they cracked open. 

Which one of The Kill Club characters was the hardest to write and why?

Sofia. Her story is so much like so many others I’ve known. It’s quietly and invisibly tragic, her pain at the loss of her child so sharp.

Which character in any of your books (The Kill Club or otherwise) is dearest to you and why?

Jazz! By far, Jazz is my favorite character. In my mind, she’s kind of the spirit of Los Angeles. She’s been through so much, and her sense of humor and lack of entitlement gets her through it all. She just continuously makes the best of every hand she’s dealt, moves forward, and doesn’t engage in self-pity. 

Do you have stories on the back burner that are just waiting to be written?

Let me get out my banjo. YES. I have so many. I have a YA that’s waiting to be written after I finish this current work in progress, which I’ve stopped and started a bunch of times, really honing the concept to get it just where I want it. But I’m constantly coming up with book ideas and having to tell them “not right now, darlings!”

What has been the hardest thing about publishing? What has been the most fun?

Publishing is not for the faint of heart. For me, the beast is always self-doubt, and in a business that is full of rejection, that can really eat at you. It’s so easy to get out of balance and give our creative projects the power to define us. It’s important for anyone selling their art to remember to nurture a healthy life away from it, because art is a fickle master. It will come and go over your lifetime, and it won’t always be kind. You have to accept the rules of the game, but you don’t have to let the game play you. 

What advice would you give budding authors about publishing?

You’ll hear this a thousand times, and you won’t believe it, but: the most important thing is writing a good book, and more than that, the right book. If you let the market and external forces tell you what to create, you’ll resent and blame them when it doesn’t go well. That said, keep an eye on the market, find a way to love something you think can sell, and then put your personal spin on it. No one can tell your story but you. Prerequisite skills for publishing: The ability to revise without having a tantrum; an interest in book marketing and publicity; professional written communication; the ability to hold your freakout moments and vent them far away from a public or professional setting; an addiction to caffeine. And for God’s sake, if you’ve been working on something for years and it hasn’t sold and you’ve revised it forty times, write a new book. 

What was the last thing you read?

All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban. It’s a 2020 book and has a fascinating timeline craft thing that you’re going to love. 

Your top five authors?

This is not fair because I have at least seven thousand favorite authors! How about this--here are some crime fiction authors doing some innovative things in the genre. Kellye Garrett, who’s doing sharp-witted, LA-based mysteries and winning a ton of awards. John Vercher, who talks about social issues while keeping it gritty and plotty. Rachel Howzell Hall, an LA native who does these rad investigative mysteries. Tori Eldridge has a recent and very feminist take on the action thriller with her recent The Ninja Daughter, which I highly recommend. Gabino Iglesias’ award-winning Coyote Songs is this incredible genre mashup, part folklore, part horror, all commentary, and I can’t recommend it enough. One more one more. Carmen Machado’s recent In the Dream House. It’s memoir told in all different genres, it’s chilling, engrossing, dense, and fascinating. Did you read Her Body and Other Parties? Just wow. 

Book you've bought just for the cover?

Wilder Girls. Because holy crap.  

What did you want to be as a child? Was it an author?

I was torn between the visual arts and writing, and I always vacillated between them. I have a degree in art, and I wrote a book, then did my painting degree, then wrote some nonfiction, then got my art teaching credential. I was trying things on for size. I do wish I still had time for painting. I never intended to abandon it completely in favor of writing books, but there are only so many hours in the day. I hope to come back to it in a future existence in which I have some spare time. In the meantime, I try to write about artists and art as a means of hanging onto it. 

What does a day in the life of Wendy Heard look like?

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Just kidding. I wake up at five, do publishing stuff, go to work at my day job, get my kid, come home, arm-wrestle her into doing homework, go to the gym, etc. On the weekends I wake up at five (yes I’m serious), write for a few hours, maybe record or edit an episode of the Unlikeable Female Characters Podcast, and then, you know, parenting and life stuff. Whenever my daughter is on a playdate or doing something away from me, I’m writing. 

What do you use to inspire you when you get Writer’s Block?

I dive into the DMs and torture some writing friends, make them brainstorm with me until I feel better and I have a plan. Or I just step away for awhile. I actually have come to trust writer’s block. If I can’t move forward, I need to stop and consider. There’s something wrong, and my brain is trying to get me to stop and gather up the threads. We’re so obsessed with productivity and daily word count, but I actually find I finish books faster when I don’t force myself to write things I know are wrong and waste weeks undoing things. 

What book would you take with you to a desert island?

I have a massive volume that contains all the Sherlock Holmes stories in one. I’d take one of those collection type of books. See, it’s technically ONE book.  

Best TV or Movie adaptation of a book?

The Neverending Story.

Tell us about what you’re working on now.

I’m doing a final round of revisions on my 2021 YA thriller, She’s Too Pretty to Burn. It’s loosely based off Dorian Gray and is about a teen photographer who takes a life-altering picture of her introverted girlfriend, sending them into a spiral of fame and danger in an underground San Diego art scene. It has a character who’s basically a fine art Banksy and lots of art crimes.

Holiday Q&A with Harlequin Authors

Is it more (or less) challenging to write your book with the holiday element?  If so, what are those challenges?

Brenda Novak: For me, it's more challenging. Themes of love conquering all and redemption appear in many of my books, which fit nicely at Christmas, so that part's easy. Trying to weave in the celebration while the characters work through their individual conflicts is what can be tricky. I compare it to a juggler who adds just one more ball. ;)

Sheila Roberts:  I love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday. So I find it great fun writing a holiday tale.

Jennifer Snow: My favorite books are those set at Christmas time. If I could write all my romances with a holiday theme, I wouldJ I think the holiday element can make the book easier to write as it provides a timeline and sense of urgency to the story already and also adds a layer of stress to the main characters, whether they love the holiday season or are dreading it. However, it can be challenging to create new, fresh situations and scenes that readers haven’t read before.

RaeAnne Thayne: I adore writing Christmas books, mainly because I love reading them! There’s something so comforting and warm about settling in to read a good book set during the holidays. It’s the perfect way to relax and unwind during all the hustle and bustle. Setting books during this season of hope and joy fits so perfectly with the kind of books I love to write, about families, community, togetherness. It can be a challenge to bring a fresh new angle to Christmas, especially because I’ve written so many of them, but I find that my characters bring new traditions to each book. 

Do you lean more toward humorous or poignant when you’re writing a holiday romance?

Brenda Novak: I definitely lean toward poignant. I've had a lot of my readers write me to say they teared up while reading CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS. I think it might be a new reader favorite!

Sheila Roberts: I love humor, love to laugh, so somehow, something funny always sneaks into my stories. But because life is the way it is, I like to think I manage some poignant moments as well. Don’t we all love it when a character has a bittersweet moment or is touched by something special, learns an important lesson? I think a story, especially a Christmas story, should touch our hearts.

Jennifer Snow: I love humor and despite what my husband says, I’m actually very funny;) So, my books tend to be humorous, slightly on the snarky, sarcastic side, but I do like writing heartwarming scenes as well. Good banter between characters is my favorite part of the writing process.

RaeAnne Thayne: Both, I would have to say. My books are tender and emotional, usually about flawed characters trying to find their way to a happy ending but I definitely try to bring lighter moments into the story as well. Christmas is such a time of joy that I find those happy, bright times are easy to find.

What’s your favorite holiday cookie or dessert?

Brenda Novak: My mother's homemade cheesecake with sour cream topping is absolutely divine! (You even have to crush graham crackers to make your own crust.) I'll never forget the first time I tasted it. I was only about ten years old, and it's been my favorite ever since.

Sheila Roberts: I have to pick a favorite? Oh, that’s cruel. How about I give you my top three? Red Velvet Cake, frosted sugar cookies and Andes mint cookies (the Andes mint serves as the frosting.) I think I gained five pounds just thinking about those goodies!

Jennifer Snow: Anything chocolate. Cold, hollow chocolate balls are my weakness.

RaeAnne Thayne: I love English toffee but have never found a great recipe for it that’s easy enough for someone like me.  I also adore snickerdoodles and have used those in several books. I consider them the perfect Christmas cookie!

Tell us about your favorite Holiday tradition.

Brenda Novak: I have five children. Each year I enjoy trying to figure out which book I will buy each one--and whether I can get an autographed copy (I get very excited when I can). They get to open their new book on Christmas Eve, which puts it separate from their other gifts. I hope none of them will see this, but I'm all set for this year, and they are all signed! I got George R.R. Martin's A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, Malcolm Gladwell's TALKING TO STRANGERS, Mitch Albom's FINDING CHIKA, Lee Child's BLUE MOON and Louise Penny's A BETTER MAN. 

Sheila Roberts: Gathering with my big, extended family for Christmas Eve. Been doing this since I was a child and it is really special - games carols, and, of course, a reading of the real Christmas story from the Bible. That used to be my oldest brother’s job but we lost him two years ago and now middle brother has taken over. Bittersweet.

Jennifer Snow: I have so many! Christmas is a really big deal for my family. We go all out and usually start decorating and celebrating mid-November. Growing up, it was always a very special time of year. We’ve had a lot of traditions change throughout the years as we’ve moved provinces, the family has grown and expanded, etc…But, my favorite tradition was always lunch and shopping with my mom on Christmas Eve. It would always be just the two of us. Now, we’ve switched things up a little to do lunch and an annual fashion show to support the local University Hospital Foundation but I still love that one on one time with her as we prepare for the holidays.

RaeAnne Thayne: My family has many cherished traditions. One of my favorites has gone by the wayside now that my kids are older but I still remember it with great delight. Each November I would wrap up 24 Christmas picture books collected over the years (or sometimes borrowed from the library!) and put them in a basket. My children would unwrap a new book each night as a way of counting down to Christmas and that’s the book we would read for bedtime. It was something we all looked forward to each day, finding out which book we would read that night.

What Holiday treat is on your must-make, or must-eat, December to-do list?

Brenda Novak: I'm huge on hot chocolate, and I love mint hot chocolate best. I also love peppermint ice cream! A friend makes a delicious baked Alaska with hot fudge and peppermint ice cream, and it's amazing! These are all things on my must-have list!

Sheila Roberts: The cake and cookies I mentioned, of course. By the way, I’ve been making Red Velvet Cake for Christmas ever since my kids were little. We’d always light candles and sing happy birthday to Jesus. My kids are grown now, but still come home for Christmas. One year I thought it would be nice to try a different cake. Let me tell, you, that went over about as well as Santa not stopping by with presents. Both kids wanted to know where the Red Velvet Cake was. Some traditions you just can’t do away with.

Jennifer Snow: I can’t bake to save my life, though I am obsessed with holiday baking shows. Someday, I’ll learn.

RaeAnne Thayne: I guess it’s a holiday treat since I rarely make it any other time of year but my family loves my Make-Ahead French Toast recipe made with pecans and a delicious creamy brown sugar sauce. I always put it together Christmas Eve and then throw it in the oven on Christmas morning to bake while we’re opening presents. 

What's the most memorable Holiday gift you've ever received or given?

Brenda Novak: I just moved, so while I was sorting through boxes in the attic, I came across a box I've kept for most of my life. It contains a "Baby, Alive!" and some handmade clothes for the doll that my mother had someone sew--a gift I received from Santa when I was only six or seven. The clothes are so well made, and they came in the cutest little suitcase, which I also still have. That's my most memorable Christmas, and I can't wait until my granddaughter is old enough to inherit my most beloved baby doll, which is still in near perfect shape, despite the many hours I played with her.

Sheila Roberts: I still remember the Christmas when my husband and I were having some lean times. My parents, who weren’t exactly rolling in the green stuff either, gave us a Christmas ornament... wrapped in five ten dollar bills. It saved the day.

Jennifer Snow: My parents gave me an old fashioned typewriter that I’d been eyeing in an antique store. I love it!

RaeAnne Thayne: One year when times were very tough for us and we were emotionally and financially drained from medical bills for our special needs fragile baby, my amazing husband surprised me with a used laptop I knew we couldn’t afford. I wept when I discovered he had cashed out his hard-earned vacation for the next year so I could use it to write while taking our son to appointments or had to stay overnight at the hospital with him. It’s ancient and probably won’t turn on now but I’ll never part with it.

What are some of your favorite novels? What do you like the most when writing 

Christmas/Holiday-themed books?

Brenda Novak: I'm such an eclectic reader, and yet I don't read Christmas books. I'm not sure why--except that writing one seems to fulfill that need. As far as favorite books, I absolutely devoured WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ and THE NIGHTINGALE, so I would name them as a few of my recent favs.

Sheila Roberts: If we’re talking Christmas, I must say the Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the best Christmas tale ever written. Brilliant. And such a great message. Wish I’d written it! :)

Jennifer Snow: My favorite novels are everything Debbie Macomber publishes lol. She was the first romance author I read and I adore her holiday themed stories. The thing I like most about writing Christmas themed books is the way I get to enjoy my favorite season all year round lol. With publishing schedules, I’m quite often writing Christmas stories in July lol, so it’s fun to be able to stay in that spirit outside of December.

RaeAnne Thayne: I have so many favorite books, it’s hard to choose! I adore historical romances set at Christmas. For some reason, they put me in the holiday spirit like nothing else. What I love most about writing Christmas-themed books is the chance it gives me to think about the things I love most about this time of year, that feeling of joy and hope and promise, and try to recreate that feeling for my readers.

What inspired you to start writing novels? What do you hope are some of the key takeaways from of your latest holiday novel?

Brenda Novak: I caught my daycare provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol while I was working as a loan officer more than twenty years ago and was so freaked out I quit my job to stay home with them myself. But I needed to figure out a way to make a living. I was searching for something I could do from home when my sister sent me Jude Devereux's KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, telling me I would love it. She was right. It also gave me the idea to become a novelist. I remember closing that book and thinking, "I wonder if I could do this." I started the next day!

CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS is a touching and poignant story about a man who's recently been released from prison for a mistake he made just before he turned eighteen, so it's definitely a redemption story. I would hope that readers take away the fact that love and understanding can change lives.

Sheila Roberts: I’ve been writing since I was a little girl. I think story tellers just have to tell stories. That imagination muscle demands being used. I hope readers will enjoy Christmas from the Heart, and come away inspired to donate to their favorite worthy causes. There are so many organizations in need. If we all picked one and pitched in we could make a big difference in the world.

Jennifer Snow: I’ve been writing stories since I was five years old. At fifteen, I submitted my first YA romance manuscript to Harlequin and I think I tried to pitch them a new line lol. I had no idea how publishing worked, but I knew I wanted to be an author. Needless to say, that manuscript was rejected, but the letter from the editor was so wonderfully encouraging, it helped me stick with it through university and pregnancy and marriage and finally I got my ‘yes’ from Harlequin in 2012. It was a dream come true and I’m so happy that I get to do what I love for a living.

In my latest holiday novel, An Alaskan Christmas, the heroine is a work-aholic and she’s not sure how to balance her career and her love for the hero, so I’d love for readers to read it and watch the heroine struggle and overcome her own challenges in finding her happily ever after and be inspired by that. We can have it all if we are willing to work for it and be brave enough to follow our hearts.

RaeAnne Thayne: I’ve always been a voracious reader. When I was in high school while writing for my school newspaper, I discovered I loved telling stories too. I pursued a career in journalism and after graduating from college I started working for a daily newspaper. I loved the challenge of it but still dreamed of writing a romance novel one day, the kind of books I had been devouring since middle school. I finally started my first book when I was home on maternity leave with my first child and have been doing it ever since.

My latest book, COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, is a reunion story about two people who definitely deserve to find the joy of Christmas. Luke and Elizabeth Hamilton have been separated by circumstances beyond their control for more than seven years. It’s an emotional, tender story about courage, forgiveness and second chances. Their journey back to their happy ending is a difficult one but turned out to be one of the most rewarding books I’ve ever written. 

When did you start writing Christmas/Holiday-themed stories? What was your inspiration for your latest holiday novel?

Brenda Novak: I've been doing them for a number of years now. My first was WHEN SNOW FALLS, which I think is still one of my best. 

The inspiration for CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS came from the book before it--UNFORGETTABLE YOU. In that book, the hero had a brother in prison. I wanted to explore what Tobias might be like after the life he's lived so far. My fascination with Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons (I'm a huge fan!) supplied the rest of the inspiration, although the rock star in this book wasn't portrayed in the most positive light, I have nothing but respect for Dan Reynolds, so I had to twist a few things to make a good story. ;)

Sheila Roberts: My first contemporary Christmas novel was On Strike for Christmas (inspired by my husband, who was being naughty). Ever since I’ve been writing a Christmas story almost every year. This year’s offering came about because I wanted to write a  Scrooge story of my own, my nod to Mr. Dickens. 

And I guess there’s no better way to end this interview, after saying thanks for allowing me to join you, than, to quote Mr. Dickens himself. “God bless us, every one!”

Jennifer Snow: My first novel was a Christmas themed story…and so were the next three after that lol. I’m obsessed with them and plan to write as many as Harlequin will let meJ

The inspiration for An Alaskan Christmas was meeting my local search and rescue and just being in awe of what they do, the challenges they face and how brave and selfless they are. And I’ve always loved Alaska, so I wanted to set a series there.

RaeAnne Thayne: My first Christmas book was THE COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, set in my Cowboys of Cold Creek series. It was the only book I’ve ever written where the story came to me fully formed in a dream! I emailed my editor the next day with a blurb and she loved the idea and immediately offered me a contract. I wrote 15 books in the Cold Creek series and about 10 of those were holiday books!

The inspiration for my current book was really one of those throw-away plot points in a previous book. In my book SNOWFALL ON HAVEN POINT, the hero, a sheriff, was injured while investigating a mysterious tip on a long-cold case of a missing woman. I didn’t know any details about who the woman was, why she was missing or about the people she had left behind. All of that developed while I was writing subsequent books in Haven Point. COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS answers all those questions I first had more than four years ago.

The Myth of Closure After Loss by Sharon Prentice, Author of Becoming Starlight: Surviving Grief and Mending the Wounds of Loss

“This wasn’t supposed to happen! Tell me why this has happened!” These are the spoken words of countless bereaved parents throughout countless years in countless languages. A never ending and always present wound in the Souls of those who have buried their children.

Parental grief is forever boundless; an ever present, deep-seated wound that has no name. There’s a reason no label has been ascribed to those who have lost a child — it is too foreign a concept, a much too chaotic form of brain freeze, an enormously frightening emotion for any language in the world to even consider naming.

Within that foreign concept lies the heart of the matter — losing a child is the most frightening, unspeakable, unresolvable and ultimately the most devastating deprivation of a lifetime. It is disorienting, unimaginable and is the most unacknowledged universal trauma of them all.

It is the very nature of this grief that makes the concept of “closure” almost laughable. Psychology tells us to look to “closure” as a way to live within this boundless grief. Finding the “certainty” we need to make things whole again is supposed to exist within this concept so easily spoken of by well-meaning friends and therapists. The need for cognitive closure (NFCC) is supposed to provide us with an ending to all ambiguity and bring us certainty. Within that certainty, we should find freedom from all the questions that live and breed in our lives as to “why” our child had to die. Problem is — most parents see their child’s death as multi-factional. It wasn’t just the child that was lost, it was the parent as well. The parents lose their way in the world and the entire premise of how the universe operates is shaken to its core. There is a natural order in life, a death order, if you will. First, it’s the grandparents, then the parents. All should pass from this world in the natural order of life events. At least, that’s what we think. But it doesn’t happen that way in “real” life. Children die and the overwhelming loss that becomes the new way of living in the world is never one for which “closure” exists. The feeling of having “lost a limb” becomes a life wound, a Soul wound that never heals.

There truly is no definition for exactly what this form of grief “feels” like. It is a wrenching sadness and a despair from which recovery cannot be found in any form of what we call “closure” except that which can, somehow, reach deep within the recesses of what we know as Spirit and start a healing process that acknowledges the fact that life isn’t fair, that we never really “get over” this kind of loss, that we keep on breathing and that children do die. Trying to accept our, and our children’s mortality, trying to accept all that has been or will be or can never be again, deciding how we will honor our child and keep them “alive” within our family, and trying to accept the fact that death is part and parcel of all life may be the key to survival for those parents who suffer endlessly with questions for which there are no answers. But there is never certainty, never total acceptance and never closure in our collective human condition that keeps us from fully accepting all these things. And, perhaps, an even larger impediment to consider can be found within the parents need to “keep and maintain” the relationship with the lost child. Holding onto the grief, many times becomes a staple in the need to maintain that relationship. As if letting go of the grief means letting go of the relationship and losing their child all over again. Maintaining the relationship within the grief experienced at the time of death can become all important to a bereaved parent. Those final moments may be all that can be “felt” because anything else — memories of the good, the bad, and everything-in-between can become tangled up with unanswerable questions and lead to the could of’s, should of’s and if only’s of having no future with the lost child. Losing a future together can be and, often is just as devastating as is the actual physical death of that child. Even thinking of closure as a possibility then becomes some foreign notion that will never be considered because it is seen as a complete loss of all relationship, past and future.

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Healing from the death of a child is a lifetime journey. If there is any healing at all! And looking for “closure” does one thing and one thing only — it simply grounds you in the very thing that you are trying to heal within your very damaged and wounded Soul. I mean, life is hard stuff. It presents itself in the light of day and the dark of night in varying shades of joy and despair-all in the same day. Life is amazing. Then it’s not. It’s mundane. Then it’s horrific. You can’t out-run it any more than you can defeat it. You can’t change it without changing yourself, your environment and your very Spirit. You can deny it and try to hide from the realities of it for a while until it catches up to you, which it always does! Life can be messy and painful and joyful and filled with grief and laughter all at the same time! Don’t try to plot it on a straight path, you will lose every time!

All you can do is look within and try to accept the mortality of all things. Then decide how you will be “in this world’ and how you will honor those you love while trying to figure out how to honor yourself again. Forgetting isn’t an option. No drug, no mind-bending herb, no (as the song says) “wishing and hoping and thinking and dreaming” will take you back into that “before time.” That moment in time is forever gone. There is now only the “after time” to be dealt with and incorporated into what is remaining…and what that “remaining” stuff is, well, that’s up to the survivors to decide for themselves.

About the Author

Dr. Sharon Prentice is a psychotherapist and spiritual counselor whose work focuses on helping patients process the grief of losing a loved one. Becoming Starlight is her memoir of healing from the devastating loss of her daughter and husband. She experienced a unique spiritual experience, known as a Shared Death Experience (SDE) which gave her a peek into foreverness and a sense of peace that was otherworldly. For more information, please visit https://sharonprentice.com and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.

Q&A with Casablanca Christmas Authors

Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? To celebrate, we asked the authors of our 2019 Christmas titles to answer some fun, wintry and Christmas themed questions!

Fall in love this Christmas and be sure to read:

• Longing for a Cowboy Christmas by Leigh Greenwood, Rosanne Bittner, Linda Broday, Margaret Brownley, Anna Schmidt, and Amy Sandas

• Wish Upon a Cowboy by Jennie Marts

• Cowboy Christmas Kiss by Kim Redofrd

• Cowboy Christmas Homecoming by June Faver

• A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase

• Puppy Christmas by Lucy Gilmore

• Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays by Terry Spear

Keep reading to get in the Christmas spirit and check out the books over at Romance Reads!

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What’s the best part about writing a Christmas book?

Rosanne Bittner: The best part about writing a Christmas story is that it takes me into that “miracle” mood that seems to be a part of the Christmas holiday. I always try to include some kind of little miracle in my stories. In last year’s anthology, Christmas In A Cowboy’s Arms, my story miracle was the healed awakening of an unconscious little girl. This year, in Longing for A Cowboy Christmas, my miracle surrounds the birth of a baby boy the mother wasn’t sure she could love.

Anna Schmidt: For me the holidays are a magical time of sharing and giving and FORgiving. To be able to tell stories that convey those things is a gift in itself.

Jennie Marts: Capturing all the magic of the Christmas season and giving it to both your characters and your readers as you create touches of that magic in the story.

June Faver: The absolutely best part of writing a Christmas book in Texas is that I’m wearing shorts, tank top and flip-flops while writing about slogging through the snow. It helps with the endless summer heat when my brain is hauling hay to cattle in the snow blanketed fields.

Kim Redford: Magic! A larger-than-life theme that touches many lives always arises when I’m writing a Christmas book. In Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kiss, Fernando, the stolen bull, escapes and heads for home where an eight-year-old girl awaits him, hoping he’ll get there in time for Christmas. In A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas, troubleshooter Misty Reynolds arrives in time to help Trey Duval stop a brushfire, investigate a Christmas tree farm fire, and be dubbed his “Christmas Angel.”  

Lucy Gilmore: One of the best (and sneakiest) things for an author to do is put their own family traditions into the book. We all have our unique ways of celebrating and enjoying the holidays, many of which are passed down from generation to generation. By writing a Christmas book, I can share some of those traditions with the world, and you don’t even know I’m doing it!

Margaret Brownley: I always seem to be writing a Christmas book during the searing heat of summer.  To get in the right mood, I try to imagine a reader curled up in front of a blazing fire, hot chocolate in hand and smiling as she reads my story. The image usually puts me in the Christmas spirit.  On the few occasions it fails to work, I stick my feet in a bucket of ice water.

Samantha Chase: There is something about writing a Christmas book that just gives me joy from the first word to the last. I think it’s because everyone always seems happier during the holidays and that gets to be portrayed in the book. The plot doesn’t have to be quite so angsty – everything is lighter and sweeter and always ends with a Merry Christmas!

Terry Spear: I always end up having to write them during the hot Texas summers, so when I write a Christmas book, I look for Christmas recipes, make up pictures of wolves and snow, and cool myself down.       

What is something you can’t live without during the holiday season?

Amy Sandas: Cozy socks. I'm not much for slippers, but my feet are always cold so I love to warm them up with thick, super-soft socks.

Anna Schmidt: Traditions from my childhood—my family was very into giving to others especially those who might not be blessed with family at that time of year so I love finding ways to shop and wrap and give to others.

Jennie Marts: We have a tradition of our family going to the Candlelight Service at church on Christmas Eve then coming back to my house for homemade lasagna and my Christmas Butter Bundt cake. I wouldn’t want to miss any of this special night.

Lucy Gilmore: My heated ice scraper for the car. Seriously. It snows a ton where I live, and we don’t have a garage, so having a quick, easy, and warm way to get the ice off the windows is like holiday magic.

Margaret Brownley: I couldn’t live without knowing the true meaning of Christmas and what we are celebrating.  This keeps me from becoming overwhelmed by the commercial part and focused on the things that truly count.  

Samantha Chase: My decorations. We have a TON of Disney decorations we’ve collected over the years and I always look forward to taking them out and putting them all over the house.

Rosanne Bittner: Something I can’t live without in the Christmas season is, of course, having my 3 grandsons over on Christmas Eve. They love my apple pie!

Terry Spear: Decorating for the holidays--a Christmas tree. I feel I'm in my own Christmas story, my home is now a holiday scene. It's warm and the Christmas lights make it cheery and special mementos handed down from our family or that I've picked up in special places or from friends and family are brought out and cherished all over again.

What’s your favorite holiday or winter tradition?

Jennie Marts: My two sons and I have a fun tradition of inviting the grandma’s over to our house on December 23rd to make all the Christmas cookies. We used to have the great grandmothers participate and those were great memories, and even though my sons are grown, we still do this tradition.

Linda Broday: The candlelight service on Christmas Eve puts joy and thankfulness in my heart and I look forward to it each year. There’s something very moving about sitting in a church lit only by candles, singing Christmas hymns. The service brings such a sense of peace.

Lucy Gilmore: I hate, hate, hate being cold, so winter can be a tough time for me. I’d stay inside all day, every day if I could. However, I also have two very large, very active Akitas who adore everything about the snow, so that’s not really a choice. One of my favorite traditions is taking the two of them to a nearby hiking spot as soon as we get fresh snow (which, to be fair, is most days). The cold matters a lot less the moment I see them prancing around and throwing the snow to each other. They’d probably love it if we moved to the Arctic year-round. (Sorry, dogs. That will never happen.)

Margaret Brownley: A favorite family tradition began by accident.  When the children were small, I habitually bought Christmas presents throughout the year and hid them. The problem was, some presents were invariably forgotten until after Christmas.  One gloomy January, while organizing my closet, I found a set of cars I’d intended Santa to leave under the tree. Not knowing how else to handle it, I entered the room where the boys were playing and announced, “Look what Santa left on the roof.”  This was a big hit and every year after that, Santa always left something on the roof. The funny thing is that no one ever thought to ask what Mommy had been doing on the roof.  

Terry Spear: Seeing the Nutcracker or some other play like that over the holidays.

What’s your favorite holiday memory?

Anna Schmidt: Wrapping presents with my Dad—he always had us shop for him and then gathered us kids one night to wrap everything on his list for my Mom (usually 10-12 gifts). He wrote these wonderful cards to attach to each gift and there always was one small gift (usually jewelry) he hid in the tree.

Linda Broday: What parent hasn’t worked hard on Christmas Eve putting toys together? I remember one Christmas when my husband and I tried for most of the night to assemble a bicycle for my oldest. We hunted and hunted for one important part and finally found it in the trunk of the car where it had fallen out of the box. Exhausted, we fell into bed and I still remember the warmth of his arms around me. We fell asleep whispering to each other. He passed away a few short years after that. But I can’t look at a bicycle without remembering that night.

Terry Spear: Having both kids and their spouses here for the holidays. That's the best time ever.

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

Amy Sandas: It's gotta be a tie between Home Alone because it's so nostalgic and fun for the whole family... or Die Hard (Yes, it is a Christmas movie!) which has become an annual tradition in our house.

Anna Schmidt: The vintage version of A Christmas Carol w/ George C. Scott—he made the BEST Scrooge!!!

Jennie Marts: The Santa Clause with Tim Allen. I love all three of them, and we watch at least one every year.

June Faver: I love, love, love Love, Actually. I can watch it over and over, and tear up every time. But, on the other hand, I also have to watch Die Hard. Is this why I write romantic suspense? Gotta have both.

Kim Redford: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) stars James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore. Frank Capra directed this film based on the short story, “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. Over the years, this magical tale of a man whose guardian angel shows him the true value of his life has become one of the most beloved holiday films. George Bailey (James Stewart) gave up his dreams to help his family and friends in his small home town and so always lived what he considered a small, unimportant life. When a financial disaster strikes, he turns suicidal until Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) arrives as his guardian angel to reveal all the lives George has touched in positive ways and how different the town of Bedford Falls would have been if he had not been born.

Linda Broday: This is a little old-fashioned, but I always have to watch The Homecoming at least once. It was the first Walton’s episode about Christmas on Walton’s Mountain during the Depression. No matter how many times I watch it, I always get a lump in my throat at how little they had, yet they were a happy family, taking joy in just being alive and together. This has suspense when the father can’t get home and they fear he’s been killed in a bus accident. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without watching this.

Lucy Gilmore: My go-to holiday movie every year is While You Were Sleeping. Granted, it’s not the most Christmas-y of Christmas movies, but I love everything about it. Never, in my wildest dreams, would I picture Bill Pullman as a romantic lead, but he absolutely sells it in this movie. Plus, the dinner scene with the family is SO MUCH like my own that I start giggling just thinking about.

Rosanne Bittner: My favorite Christmas movie would have to be the original “Scrooge,” A Christmas Carol. But I also absolutely love the original Miracle on 34th Street.

Samantha Chase: Um…The Christmas Cottage (based on my book!) of course!

Terry Spear: A Christmas Story. I loved how he wrote his Christmas wish list at school and he didn't get the "A" he expected for such a brilliant piece of work. "You'll shoot your eye out" comes to mind whenever I think of what he wanted for Christmas.

What’s your favorite holiday/winter song?

Anna Schmidt: “The Christmas Song” or “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”

Jennie Marts: “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Oh Holy Night” are probably my favorite Christmas carols. I love belting them out in church or when they come on the radio. When my second son was born, he had colic and I used to sing to him in the middle of the night, and I would often sing “O Come All Ye Faithful” because it was one of the few songs I knew all the words to.

June Faver: I have two favorite Christmas songs for totally different reasons. When I was in college I was a member of the Acapella Choir <alto> and one song we sang was so gorgeous with all the voices chiming in can still make me tear up: “Do You Hear What I Hear”

The other song is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. I think of all the people who are separated from loved ones at the holidays. That was why it was so important for me to write Cowboy Christmas Homecoming, to chronicle the return of a soldier to his home town and how he adjusts and settles in after the horrors of his deployment. It’s also a sequel in the Garrett family saga, so there are old friends to celebrate with him. And finally, it’s about an amazing heroine, based on a female firefighter friend of mine, who in effect, rescues the big strong and emotionally isolated hero. Love it.  

Kim Redford: “Pretty Paper” recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Willie Nelson. In downtown Fort Worth, Texas, a handicapped (pre artificial limbs) street peddler always had a smile on his face and a kind word on his lips when he sold pencils from a tin cup affixed to his back. At Christmas, he peddled paper and ribbons, calling out “pretty paper, pretty ribbons” to everyone who happened by. Willie Nelson lived in Fort Worth at the time and wrote this heartfelt song that is a lasting tribute.

Lucy Gilmore: I love this question because my answer is always, always “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” I also hate this question because I can’t explain why I love it so much. I mean, it’s catchy and fun, but it’s also about a cartoon dog who takes down an enemy WWI pilot on Christmas Eve. What? I’ve decided there must be some deep childhood association with it that I can’t recall, but that leaves me with a happy feeling all the same.

Margaret Brownley:  It’s not Christmas for me without seeing at least one production of The Nutcracker Suite. I love the music so much I wrote a story called The Nutcracker Bride.  I also wrote a story titled after another Christmas favorite: “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

One story I’ll never write is “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” This isn’t my favorite by any means, but it always makes me laugh. That’s because the first time I heard it, I had four grandchildren in the car, ages five to nine.  All at once they started singing it. It was the first time I’d heard the song and I honestly thought they’d made it up. I was shocked and that only added to the backseat giggles.     

Samantha Chase: “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey

Rosanne Bittner: My favorite Christmas song is “White Christmas.”

Terry Spear: “Carol of the Bells” It's like listening to angels' music. It always makes me feel good.

What’s the best bookish holiday gift that’s not a book?

Kim Redford: Throw a Holiday Book Exchange Party! You provide the comfy location in your home with tasty treats, delicious drinks, and cute little gifts like bookmarks. Your friends bring books they’ve read, loved, and want to exchange. What could be better for the holidays than reading books, talking books, and sharing books?

Linda Broday: I love buying those collections of tea for all my author friends. Also, a variety of popcorn works nicely as well as warm booties or throws.

Lucy Gilmore: My family excels at giving me bookish gifts that aren’t books, mostly because they know that books are my life and they can’t possibly keep track of everything I’ve read. My favorites are the alcohol-themed ones. I’ve gotten Writer’s Tears whiskey, Harlequin Romance wine, the Tequila Mockingbird cocktail book, and various literary wine stoppers. Books + booze = a win!

Samantha Chase: Oh, there are so many, but something that I’ve seen that I love, are Christmas ornaments that are made from pages of a favorite book or even miniatures of a beloved book cover!

Terry Spear: A friend sent me a waterproof writing pad I could use when I have those miraculous scene ideas in the shower. lol

Do you have a go-to stocking stuffer?

Amy Sandas: I always put gift cards to Barnes & Noble in my kids' stockings. Then we go to the store together to pick out new books.

Rosanne Bittner: This isn’t my favorite stocking-stuffer, but rather, it’s my GRANDSONS’ favorite stocking stuffer – MONEY! They are all in their teens, so no more toys and candy canes! They want that green stuff so they can buy gasoline. All 3 of them are now driving!

Terry Spear: Candy. Unfortunately, I don't have a fireplace, the only thing I regretted about not having in the house I bought. I worried that Santa would be able to come when I don't have one. I love decorating a mantle. It's part of Christmas. Plus, they're great if your electricity goes out in winter. But the advantage is that I can stuff all kinds of chocolate treats in stockings. No heat to melt them!

If you could travel anywhere this winter, where would you go?

Anna Schmidt: Denmark…mostly because my next book is set there.

Jennie Marts: My dream trip would be to go somewhere warm to a gorgeous beach and stay in one of those luxury bungalows out over the water and spend the days swimming, snorkeling, and reading.

June Faver: I’ve spent a lot of time at the Texas coast, so I am quite familiar with the term “Snow Birds.” These are people who live up north and become “Winter Texans.” Anyplace from Corpus Christi to South Padre Island, where there is a beautiful beach and gentle waves. I also love Mexican coastal areas. My freckles need sunshine and I need waves frizzling out over my bare feet as I walk along, looking for sand dollars.

Rosanne Bittner: Hubby and I have been going to Nevada every winter for about 20 years now. We stay 2-3 months. We always stayed in our condo in Vegas, but we’ve sold that and this year we will go to Laughlin, NV, which is right on the beautiful Colorado River across from Arizona. My vacations are ALWAYS somewhere in America’s Great West. It’s what I love and almost the only thing I write about!

Terry Spear: Scotland. I love Scotland. I've traveled there in September and October, but I wouldn't mind going there any time of the year. But I'd love to just stay there for a month and soak up the Scottish beauty and write.

What’s your go-to treat to take to the pot-luck holiday party?

Amy Sandas: Sugared pecans! Such a simple snack but so, so yummy...especially when warm from the oven. We're lucky if we make it to the party with half a batch left.

Anna Schmidt: I make a dynamite chili, but if something less ‘entrée’ is called for, then how about a chocolate cheesecake???

Jennie Marts: I like to take a crock-pot full of meatballs. The recipe is so easy: Mix an 18 oz jar of grape jelly with an 18 oz jar of BBQ sauce in the bottom of your crock pot (Sweet Baby Rays is my favorite). Then dump in a big bag of frozen meatballs and stir it up. Let cook on high for 2 or 3 hours and enjoy! So good and so easy!

Kim Redford: Cowboy Cookies! Now these fun cookies are real, downhome Texas with a twist—that’s Texas whiskey. Quick and easy, too. Grab a Texas Tea Cake recipe (sugar cookie), throw all the ingredients into a bowl, mix well, add whiskey to taste, spoon the batter onto a cookie sheet, and bake just right. They’re sure to be a hit at any holiday party. If you want my personal recipe for Cowboy Cookies, it’s in my new release Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kiss.

Margaret Brownley: I don’t know that you can call this a treat, but I always volunteer to bring the paper goods. Hey, someone has to do it, right?

Rosanne Bittner: My “go-to” treat for holiday parties is my special home-made apple pie that I make from real peeled apples.

June Faver: There are usually plenty of desserts, so I take my broccoli casserole. Not the usual broccoli casserole where rice is the main ingredient. Blah! This is a recipe my kids loved and demanded growing up. Now they make it for people they love. Sharing recipe because we’re such close friends. Easy to double.

What’s your go-to drink in the winter?

Amy Sandas: I love egg nog with a bit of rum or homemade Irish cream, but I also made a batch of hot-buttered rum one year. Sooo rich! 

Anna Schmidt: Winter/spring/summer/fall = COFFEE

June Faver: I seem to always be watching my weight, but I cannot resist getting a carton of egg nog in the winter. It’s so rich and flavorful. I know it loves me as much as I love it. It’s like a hug in a cup.

Linda Broday: Without a doubt, it’s hot apple cider. When I still at home, my dad would load us all up each October and we’d head for the mountains that was a day’s drive from where we lived. They’d be fruit stands set up all along the highway and we’d stop. Before the day was done, we’d have a carload of apples. My daddy would make the best apple cider and mom, her apple cake. The house would fill with the fragrance of apples and I’d lie in bed, taking deep breaths, feeling so loved. I did it with my kids and my heart returns to that treasured time when I smell apples.

Lucy Gilmore: I have a weirdly specific answer to this: maple tea from the Metropolitan Tea Company. A friend brought a box back to me after a trip to Canada a few years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s warm and a little bit sweet and makes even the darkest winter days seem cozy.

Rosanne Bittner: My “go-to” drink in winter is Eggnog. I have to be careful not to drink too much of it because it’s so fattening, as are most holiday treats!

Terry Spear: Peppermint mocha, though I have to admit Starbucks now has it year-round, yay! So I get to feel like it's Christmas any time I want to get one during the year.

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Making Spirits Bright (until the commercials stop) by Ryan Byrnes

Goodbye pumpkin spice-flavored everything; the Christmas commercials have begun. A trip to my local grocery store reveals an entire aisle dedicated to red and green—scented candles, greeting cards, rustic welcome mats with phrases like “Let you heart be merry.”

“But it’s only November,” you might say. “Let’s all just slow down and enjoy all the great November holidays.”

Great November holidays? Like Thanksgiving? I’m going to have to stop you right there, because there’s one November holiday everyone seems to be forgetting. Veterans Day! 

Veterans Day is obviously the best. Forget Thanksgiving, which is based on a somewhat-fictionalized dinner party (there is no evidence they ate turkey). Veterans Day, on the other hand, is totally real. Allow me to tell you the heart-warming story of Veterans Day. On November 11th 101 years ago, Europe had been reduced to ruins after the most destructive war they had ever seen—World War I. On that day, the world leaders convened and signed a pact saying, “We are going to end this terrible war.” On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, they decided, everyone was going to stand at attention and observe a two-minute respectful silence. They were going to remember all the sacrifices made during World War 1, and afterwards they were going to stop fighting. It worked, and the event has been remembered ever since in parades, TV shows like Downton Abbey, and even novels.

On the topic of novels, I have a gripe. I am a novelist myself, and I find it ironic that hundreds of novels dramatize the violence of WWI, yet only a few show us the non-violence of WWI. It was a war where a soldier once sprinted into an enemy trench just to gift them a chocolate cake; it was a war where enemy soldiers disobeyed direct orders just to play soccer together; it was a war where opposing armies dropped their weapons for a month-long Christmas party.

So how come nobody tells these hidden stories?

Non-violence is even more subversive than the comforting narrative of good versus bad. Given the state of our world, we need these hopeful stories more than ever.

Hi. I’m Ryan Byrnes, author of the historical fiction novel Royal Beauty Bright, which I wrote in high school. That’s me doing some research below.

At a time when teens are expected to worry about prom, senior photos, and graduation, I visited the research library at the National World War I Museum and Memorial to pore through their archives. After reading some of the surprisingly hopeful stories of WWI, I felt deeply moved to pick up a pen and start working on a novel to spread the message. My initial outline for the novel is pictured below; if you squint close enough, you might seem some spoilers.

I read about nurses who served all soldiers regardless of their affiliation. I read about candy-makers who sent millions of chocolates the troops because it was the only trade they knew. I read about charity drives to encourage the adoption of French orphans who wandered the countryside barefoot. But the most bizarre topic I read about was the surprising amount of nonviolence in the war.

Yes, that’s right. During night patrols, when two soldiers from opposing armies would accidentally cross paths, they would pretend they couldn’t see each other and keep walking. Soldiers referred to this as a “live and let live” policy. Soldiers would also engage in “ritual” battles, where they would be ordered to attack but would purposely miss each other, instead aiming at the dirt. In some instances, British soldiers learned that their German enemies used to be their neighbors in London, and they chatted casually about sports, exchanging addresses so they could visit each other after the war. These episodes of nonviolence grew more frequent until coming to a head on Christmas Eve, 1914, when thousands of British and German soldiers lost the will to fight altogether.

Yes, that’s right. Soldiers on both sides, British, French, Russian, and German, essentially went on strike during Christmas 1914. They dropped their weapons and threw a giant party on the battlefield, where they exchanged gifts, drank, and played soccer. Normally this behavior would be punished, but when thousands of soldiers suddenly joined in, there were too many to punish.

By now, the site of the truce has returned to well-tended farmland surrounded by polite Flemish natives. In the fields, a monument of a German and a Brit shaking hands stands erected to the memory of the truce. When in the midst of conflict, people look back to this episode to justify their hope that peace can begin at any moment, with any person.

After completing my research, I spent my final two months of high school pounding away at the keyboard until I had drafted my novel, Royal Beauty Bright, which describes the truce through the eyes of a nurse, three refugee sisters, the owner of a candy store, and a man with autism. My publisher and I have worked very hard to tell the most vivid story we can about regular people trying to do good in an irregular time.

All author proceeds for this book will go to the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program, a nonprofit that teaches immigrants and refugees to read, write, and speak English. This book was meant to be a holiday gift to readers; I hope it is enjoyed! Thank you to the blog for hosting this guest post. Happy Holidays everyone!

You can view the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Beauty-Bright-Ryan-Byrnes/dp/1943075603 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanbyrneswrites/ 

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19488712.Ryan_Byrnes 

My website: https://www.ryanbyrneswrites.com/