Snarky Moms Talk Christmas
Today we’re talking with Snarky Mom Reads about favorite Christmas music and movies. (Visit her site to win PRIZES!) In case you want to hear what I have to say, without bribes (aww) here’s the interview:
In my story, Saving the Sheriff, my heroine Frankie likes to sing. And not just sing, but change the lyrics. (Which, I discovered, is harder than you think, at least if you’re doing it on the fly.)
Unfortunately, my hero, Sheriff Red LeClair, isn’t in the mood for a singing kind of Christmas. Sad, really, because he’s got a great voice. But he’s wounded, you know? And music is one of those things that can really access the emotions. There have been times (usually hormonal) when I couldn’t listen to a People’s Jewelers commercial without breaking down in tears. Oh, I’m a barrel of laughs, all right.
Many of us can’t have Christmas without music. And as Red learns, once you start singing along, you can’t help but get in the spirit of the season.
Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth, sung by David Bowie and Bing Crosby
All I Want for Christmas, the scene from the movie Love, Actually
Zion’s Daughter, by Boney M
Carol of the Bells, by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, complete with light show
And in case you have time on your hands (and, unlike Red and Frankie, electricity!) here are:
The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Jude Law
Love, Actually. I’m a fan. Can you tell? So many great characters in this one. The music is awesome, especially Billy Mack’s naked version of Love is All Around Us. I dare you to watch this scene without tearing up.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, with Chevy Chase. Don’t judge me.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the original cartoon version. I think I was three when I saw it for the first time. Don’t do the math.
This list is by no means comprehensive, so I appeal to you: what are your favorite Christmas songs and movies? (You know, so we can help Frankie torture Red!)
Saving the Sheriff – Now Out!
It’s Happy Book Birthday in Roxanne-land! My novella is now available for purchase, as part of a holiday anthology. Along with my story, this collection contains work from Karen Erickson, Coleen Kwan and Cindi Madsen, heady company indeed!
If you can’t wait for a little Christmas spirit, dip in – you’ll find plenty here!
Title: Stranded with a Hero
(A Bliss Christmas Anthology)
Author: Karen Erickson, Coleen Kwan, Cindi Madsen, Roxanne Snopek
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 350 pages
Release Date: November 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-62266-384-2
Imprint: Bliss
A Merry Mennonite Christmas
Hello. My name is Roxanne. I’m a Mennonite.
I know, you’re thinking how is that possible, since I wear make-up and jeans and don’t have a little black beanie pinned on my braids? My pacifist rebel blood set me on a different path from my ancestors but there is much I cherish about my Mennonite heritage.
Wareneki… noodle-y, cottage-cheese-y, creamy…
Rollkuchen and watermelon… the perfect summer supper, well, except for the deep-fried batter bit…
Cabbage borsch… thrifty, delicious – and nutritious!
…and plumi moos, that cold sweet pudding-y soup filled with prunes and raisins and cherries.
Watch out, though; those prunes pack a punch. Hm. Maybe, with all the noodles and bread, that’s the point.
Anyway, since carbs aren’t my friend and I don’t spend my days hitched to a plow, I rarely indulge my Mennonite appetite.
Music, however, is a different story. Especially at Christmas.
Despite a deep suspicion of the arts, the Mennonite culture embraces music as form of worship. (Nothing you might want to dance to, though. Dancing is Very Bad. There’s an old joke among us Mennos: why don’t Mennonites have sex standing up? Because it could lead to dancing.)
So although we do not dance, few Menno kids grew up without music lessons of some sort; most of us sang in the church choir. Some of us sang in chamber choirs that even went on tour.
That’s a life-time ago, but I can still sing along with The Hallelujah Chorus of Handel’s Messiah and it remains one of my favorite pieces of music, especially at Christmas.
My family tree is filled with humble, hard-working, painfully honest people who are probably deeply concerned for my soul. After all, as a fiction-writer, I am, by definition, a liar. And although I can’t dance, I dearly wish I could, which is just as bad.
Nevertheless, I am grateful for the bedrock of love and faith I was raised with. I am grateful that we can celebrate Christmas together despite our differences, with simple pleasures.
Like music and food.
Hallelujah!
Merry Christmas!