Why build a whole novella collection around Christmas lights?
Well, why not?
Just kidding. Mostly.
I adore Christmas lights. Seriously. I’m not as crazy as my character, Holly, but I’d hang many, many more if my husband would let me get away with it … and help me. As it is, I’m thrilled he gets out on a ladder (which he hates) every year to hang my giant snowflake and all my little snowflakes. Does he grumble about it? Yes. But he still does it. Because he knows it makes me (and the kids) so very happy.
There is just something about the glow they put out. It makes everything more cheerful.
In college, my roommate and I would string lights around the edges of our ceiling and turn out the overhead light. It was our “mood lighting.” Not great to study by, but wonderful when you’re in a funk.
Through our marriage, I’ve added a string or two there and another there. Not all at once. We’ve been married 22 years, after all. Gotta stretch the love out. But we’ve always had bubble lights on our tree. And I procured our snowflake lights that go along our gutters early on. We’re now on strings three, four, and five of those because the first two finally gave up and died. We’ve gone through countless strings of colored lights. And white lights to go around the Christmas village.
In the fall, I have orange lights to weave through my mantle and give off a warm glow too.
But my character has way more lights than that. And she wants to use each and every single one.
I got the idea not only from my love of Christmas lights. But also from seeing the ginormous displays people are doing now. I love looking at them, but also wonder, “how much is their electric bill?” “Do their neighbors across the street hate them?”
And click! There was the idea. One neighbor who wants to put out all the lights and one who doesn’t. Then, I just had to convince the other girls in the collection to write a story around Christmas lights too. Good things my fellow authors love me. This collection is SO CUTE! I love how each and every story turned out.
And tomorrow, you can finally have your turn to read them too. Are you ready?
In case you don’t want to wait until tomorrow to start reading, our publisher has shared the first chapter of each story for free on the Scrivenings website. Feel free to check them out while you wait. And be sure to order your kindle version today before the price goes up $1. 😉
Click here to check out the free chapters.