I am thrilled to have the opportunity to review Kris Kringle's Magic on My Bookshelf! Diane and I met a few years ago when she and I were members of a writer's group. She has since published two novels, Carving Angels and now Kris Kringle's Magic. Diane also blogs at: On the Border. I asked her if she'd mind writing a little spotlight for me and she willingly agreed! She's so awesome! Here's your opportunity to get to know her a little better.
"I was raised on a ranch in southern Alberta in an atmosphere of literary magic. With a mother who wrote constantly and a father who spouted poetry at every opportunity, I caught the literary bug as I would a cold. I have been writing since I could hold a pencil. And even before, if you can believe some of the crayon scrawlings on my mother’s walls.
My greatest goal in life, from the time I was 11, was to be published. I wrote short stories, articles, how-tos, poems and finally novels. One by one I sent them off, each accompanied with the tiny little hope that - this time - I would be published.
And finally, with Carving Angels, it happened.
I have watched the episodes of a popular talent show where people get ‘discovered’ and you can, quite literally, see their dreams coming true in front of you.
That is how I felt when I first looked at that contract offer from my first, real, publisher. As though all of my dreams had just been realized.
It was quite a feeling. Have you ever seen an old woman turn handsprings? I’ll save you the embarrassment by telling you it’s . . . quite a sight.
To actually have someone like my writing so much that they would publish me was only a little lower than a miracle.
I will always be grateful.
The idea for Carving Angels, my first published novel, was conceived when I was looking at a picture of Santa Claus, coloured by one of my Grandchildren. I remember thinking, “I wonder who made his sleigh?” The rest of the story simply filled itself in as I wrote. Papa Adam and his granddaughter, the irrepressible Amy, quietly stepped out of the shadows and onto the page. The Elf community gathered around. Sometimes they moved so fast that I had a hard time keeping up. Finally the other creatures who made their home at the North Pole pushed their way in, demanding to be included.
The resulting story, of love and faith overcoming impossible obstacles, is simple, touching and quite common. We see similar stories every day. But sometimes they just need to be pointed out.
Kris Kringle’s Magic came to me as my husband and I were camping with friends in the great Canadian woods. As I shivered in my sleeping bag on one of northern Alberta’s warmest nights of the year, I began to think about people who chose to make their homes in even colder climes. Naturally, my thoughts turned to the most northern point I could think of. The North Pole. Okay, what sane person would live there? And what could induce them to do so? It would have to be something . . . momentous.
And it was.
Kris Kringle’s Magic is a story of courage amidst trying times. Of prejudice softened by understanding. Ignorance overcome by the power of pure love. It tells of the boy, Kris, trying to right wrongs in a world where Elves are no more than slaves. Of his struggles to feed the hungry. Bring aid to the destitute and lonely. And with the help of his loving Rebecca, to change his world.
It also explains how and why Kris, his wife, Rebecca, and their firm friends, the diminutive but loving Elves, all end up living at the North Pole.
I love Christmas. I love writing about it. Writing about people who give without any notion of receiving. People who care about their fellow man.
Not only is it an opportunity to celebrate the birth of the Greatest ever among us, but it is also the time when good will abounds. I find it interesting that a date that commemorates the birth of our Lord and Savior should resound with such peace and love. Over 2000 years after the actual event.
This, to me, is significant. A sign of His greatness.
I don’t know about you, but I rather think my birthday will be long forgotten in 2000 years.
No matter how many books I write."
Diane Stringam Tolley
Author
Carving Angels
And
Kris Kringle’s Magic
By
Cedar Fort Publishing
Please join me for my review of Kris Kringle's Magic
posted here November 12/12!
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