Dan Walsh's Blog, page 28

August 9, 2014

Fun Book Updates – August

It’s been a busy summer so far. Oddly enough, I spent all of June and July finishing up a contracted Christmas novel with Revell, called The Ornaments. It was quite a challenge getting in the Christmas spirit in sunny Florida weather. My next writing project is finishing up a suspense novel I plan to publish independently, called When Night Comes.


This is a new venture for me, and I’ve been reading up about indie publishing for several months. One of the benefits will be how quickly I can get the novel “on the shelves” once it’s finished. Possibly within two months (October?). With my traditionally contracted novels it takes a full year for readers to get the book once I turn it in.


I just got back from speaking and teaching at the Oregon Christian Summer Writers Conference in Portland. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d happily do it again. In some ways, it was one of the most satisfying writers conferences I’ve attended. It was also great to be able to spend time with my good friends Allen Arnold, a former publisher at Thomas Nelson, and fellow author Jim Rubart. Allen and Jim taught a coaching workshop together and Allan and I shared the keynote duties. We’re surrounding Lindy Jacobs in this pic. She was the conference director.


Jim, Allen and Dan OCW 2014


The Deepest Waters Goes Polish

Received some exciting news 2 weeks ago. My 3rd novel, Carol-award winner The Deepest Waters, was picked up by a Polish publisher. They sent me a copy of it shown here in this pic on the bottom right. That brings the number of different editions for the novel to six.The Deepest Waters - 5 Editions


Moving clockwise in this pic, the first is a hardback, large-print edition. Next is

the original trade paperback edition. Then the hardback book club edition, the Polish version, and a Dutch edition. Not shown is the e-book edition (Kindle and Nook).


When I received the Dutch edition, it was fun to see my own book published in words I could not understand. The Polish edition goes a little further. It’s written in an entirely different alphabet. But it’s definitely satisfying to think that people from other cultures might be reading and, hopefully, enjoying my work.


The Unfinished Gift Hits #1 Again

After my publisher ran a 1-day special on BookBub, my first novel, The Unfinished Gift, has shot up on Amazon to the #1 Bestseller rank in 3 categories, and #197 overall on Kindle. The day before I took this screenshot, it had reached #51. That means of the 9 million-plus ebooks available on Amazon, my novel was selling better than all but 51 of them. I’ve been told at this ranking, thousands of books are being downloaded every day.


The Unfinished Gift No 1 in 3 Categories - Aug 2014


 


Even though they are getting the book at a reduced cost, we are reaching thousands of new readers with sales like these. Hopefully, they will like the book enough to order some of my other books when they’re through.


The strategy seems to be working. With most of my books, when you scroll down and read the section called, Customers Who Bought This Book Also Bought, what you see are all of my other novels lined up side-by-side.


The Unfinished Gift has made it to the #1 slot on Amazon numerous times since its release in 2009. What makes this time different is that it’s happening during the heat of an August summer and, before, it always reached bestseller status in Christmas book categories, not things like Historical Fiction.


Book # 3 in Restoration Series Weeks Away

My final book update for this post is this: My 3rd novel co-authored with best-selling The Desire - Book 3 Covermarriage expert, Gary Smalley, will be hitting the shelves in a few weeks. It’s called, The Desire (Book 3 of the Restoration Series).


Each of the books in the series explores the tensions and challenges of a modern Christian family, The Andersons. Drawing from Gary’s 35 years as a renowned marriage and family counselor, and my 25 years as a pastor of local church, we’ve written the series hoping to reach thousands of Christians who may be struggling or coming up short of their expectations for a truly happy home.


So far, it would appear we have been hitting the mark. Book 1, The Dance, has been named a finalist for this year’s ACFW Carol award for Contemporary Fiction. Book 2, The Promise, was named a finalist for Inspirational Book of the Year by RT Book Reviews magazine.


Here’s what others are saying about the series:


“…When a novel is in the hands of accomplished storyteller Dan Walsh and the lessons come from relationship expert Gary Smalley, the result is a story that manages to simultaneously teach and entertain…As always, Walsh paints the background with a master’s touch…The Dance is the first of a series focusing on the Anderson family. That’s good; because this Dance deserves an encore.”Crosswalk.com 


In the second installment of the Restoration series (The Promise), authentic characters and challenges, beautiful and uplifting prose and solid marital advice flourishes…The story is so captivating you’ll find it difficult to put down.” – 4.5 Stars, Top Pick! RT Book Reviews 


This 3rd book focuses on the Anderson’s daughter, Michele. She and her husband Allan have been trying to have a baby without success for over a year. The story touches on the oft-overlooked topic of infertility, as well as the challenges of adoption and African missions.  I’ll post again once The Desire is fully released.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on August 09, 2014 07:28

June 6, 2014

Book Updates

Looks like it’s been a while (7 weeks) since I’ve posted a book update on my blog. Funny thing is, I thought I had done this a couple of times in May. If so, something happened and the posts disappeared from the blog. For those of you who get my blog posts sent by email, I apologize if any of this info seems like a rerun.


Also, I posted several of these updates over the last 7 weeks, as they happened, on Facebook. But I know Facebook has changed things quite a bit and only a fraction of those who’ve Liked my page get to see what I post there.


Anyway, here goes…


What Follows After – Progress  Print

Since mid April, there are now 86 customer reviews on Amazon (72 of them are 5-Star). This doesn’t mean that only 86 people have read the book. Less than 5% of book buyers take the time to write a review. But over 60% of readers say these reviews definitely impact their book-buying decisions. I know it affects me. I’ve bought some books because of great reviews, and not purchased others after reading several bad reviews.


If you bought this book, or any of my others, and really liked it, I’d greatly appreciate you taking the time to write a review. Even a few lines helps.


What Follows After has also done very well on Christianbook.com. For all of April and May, it remained in their Top 4 list for Contemporary Fiction. Since then, it has remained in their Top 10. I’ve really enjoyed reading all the reviews. So far, they’ve all been encouraging.


One last item, I’ve added a video interview done with award-winning author and director of the Blue Ridge Mountains writer’s conference, Alton Gansky. We mostly talked about the new book but got off on all kinds of other things. Click Here then scroll down a bit if you’d like to see it.


New Edition of Remembering Christmas  Remembering Christmas - Dan Walsh

I found out a few weeks ago that Harlequin has purchased the rights for my 4th novel, Remembering Christmas, from my publisher (Revell), to create a mass market paperback edition of the book.


Remembering Christmas was my 2nd Christmas novel (The Unfinished Gift was first). When it came out, it was only available in hardback. It’ll be nice to have a paperback version available. This will also be my first paperback novel in the mass market size. All the rest have been trade size, which are really the same size as hardbacks, just with paper covers.


I don’t know when it will be available. Hopefully, in time for this Christmas. If so, I’ll let you know.


High-Flying Sales for 2 Other Novels


This is a screenshot I took last week.


Over the last few weeks, my publisher ran for 1-Day Ebook promos for two of my novels, The Discovery and The Reunion. Both were marked down to $1.99. During that day, The Discovery moved all the way up to #51 Overall in the Kindle Store and, on its day, The Reunion, moved all the way up to #160. Both of them were listed as #1 in several categories.


This picture was taken several days later when they were back up to their full price of $3.99. As you can see, they continued to sell well ranking at #1 and #4 in the Contemporary Romance category.


They are still selling well and both books have added over a dozen new customer reviews, all of them by readers who love the books and said they plan to buy my other books now.


My publisher has told me they plan to do one day discounts on two different Wednesdays in June for the first two books of my Restoration series with Gary Smalley. They will be marked down from $9.99 to $1.99 on those days. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I will definitely let you know when it happens.


Well, guess that’s all for now.


 


 





         
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on June 06, 2014 06:03

April 15, 2014

Library Journal – Great Review of What Follows After

Getting a great review from Library Journal is a pretty big deal. Here’s why: it is the largest and most respected journal for librarians in the US. It was founded in 1876 by the inventor of perhaps the world’s first “search engine,” the Dewey Decimal system. It has a circulation of over 100,000 (mostly librarians).


I had a clue that What Follows After would be getting a decent review a few weeks ago, when I received a Facebook message from the reviewer for the Journal, simply saying that she had just finished the book, really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down.


I just received the official review that appeared in the Journal:


Three-time Carol Award-winning author Walsh excels once again with this psychological thriller. Child abduction is every parent’s worst nightmare, and the author’s narrative moves at a relentless pace, with tension building to an almost unbearable degree until the very end.” –Library Journal



I’ve enjoyed reading all the reviews for the book so far. They’ve been mostly very encouraging. This is the first time, however, one of my books has been called a “psychological thriller.” I smiled when I read that. One thing that does seem consistent with all the reviews I’ve read on Amazon: many readers are having a hard time putting the book down once they started.It’s only been out 2 weeks, and there are already 60 reviews on Amazon (50 of them 5-Stars).


Here’s a sample of the some of the recent ones:


One of my favorite authors right now is Dan Walsh. His books are always great reads, and I find myself not being able to put them down.” — Alyce


What Follows After is fast paced and intense all at the same time. There are unexpected twists and turns that will keep your interest and the pages turning.” — Kelly


A masterful story teller, I will look forward to many more books from Dan Walsh. This is actually one of the first books that I have read that I could see being made into a movie.” — Kcpryszer


Often authors are hesitant to read reader reviews. I understand why (reading negative reviews can be painful). I’m not sure how long these great reviews will continue, but I’ve gotta say, so far reading the reviews hasn’t hurt a bit :)





        Related StoriesBlog Tour for What Follows After BeginsWhat Follows After – Releases Today!My 10th Novel – Almost Here! 
1 like ·   •  4 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on April 15, 2014 07:47

April 8, 2014

Blog Tour for What Follows After Begins

Starting this week through Sunday my newest novel, What Follows After, is going on tour. A blog tour, that is. My publisher (Revell, Baker Publishing Group) set it up. Over 90 bloggers throughout the US and Canada signed up to read an advance copy of the book sometime in the past month. In exchange for a copy of the book, they simply agreed to post an honest review on their blog in the same week.


In addition to posting the review on their blog, many of them also post at places like Amazon and Goodreads.


For an author, this can be an exciting time or a tense time, depending on the reactions of this unique group of people. Most of these bloggers are voracious fiction readers, so they’ve already read tons of novels and can compare your book to ones they’ve already read. Many are also writers, some published, some still on their publication journey. So they not only read your book as a reader, but also with something of an editor’s eye.


Another thing that creates tension for the author is the knowledge that many fiction readers pay attention to these online reviews when evaluating their book purchases. I know I do, especially when buying a book from a place like Amazon. I scroll down and begin to read reviews, particularly looking for either positive or negative things mentioned by a majority of people. Many times my primary reason for not buying a book I was interested in was due to the negative things I read in several reviews. It happened just this week.


So…you can see, as excited as I am for the book to get so much attention, I confess I’m also a little nervous about “blog tour week.” Thankfully, so far I have nothing to be nervous about.


We’re only a few days in and, as of this moment, 22 Reviews have come in. 21 of them are 5-Stars. I’ve been floored by some of the comments reviewers have made about the book. Here’s a sample:


Some are saying this is Dan’s best book so far. I loved it, but I still lean towards The Discovery as his best, and am really loving the series he is doing, so it is hard for me to say which is the best…As with any of his books, this is one I highly recommend, 5 stars for sure.” — Mark Buzard (Lisbon, OH)


I didn’t get much sleep last night; I stayed up and finished reading this magnetic book. What a compelling story! Because of a horrific tragedy, a family rediscovers their priorities. The story even contains secrets of a happy marriage!” — Sally (Tampa)


Dan Walsh may have outdone himself in this one! This book is a hard to put down, heart-pounding, action packed, page-turner of a book! It is even difficult to write an adequate review without spoiling the entire story.”– Abbie (Texas)


What Follows After is Dan Walsh’s most riveting novel yet. As always Walsh’s strength is in his characters who with little effort almost dominate the story. Yet he brilliantly corrals them all so they fit into the story so perfectly that even the villain exudes sympathy and the two housekeepers become heroines.” — Bonnie (Scottsdale, AZ)


Dan Walsh is gifted with the pen. His words leave me breathless at times. When I open a book penned by Dan I know I’m in for a rich blessing. I too know when I close the last page I’m going to be left wanting more. I am seriously blown away by the novels Dan pens. He is truly a gifted storyteller. This is one of those novels that stays with you after you have closed the last page.” — Robin (Missouri)


There’s no way to know if the rest of the reviews that will come in this week will read like these. But I’m encouraged that we’re off to such a good start. If you’d like to read some more reviews or order a copy for yourself, Click Here.





        Related StoriesWhat Follows After – Releases Today!My 10th Novel – Almost Here!Some Fun Book Updates 
1 like ·   •  2 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on April 08, 2014 07:38

April 1, 2014

What Follows After – Releases Today!

My 10th novel, What Follows After, officially releases today (April 1st), though I understand the print version has already been available in many stores for about a week. But now you can get it on Kindle, Nook and other e-book formats, as well.


It has already received some strong magazine reviews:


Dan Walsh is an artist who paints with words. His canvas is the novel, where he uses different colors and hues of words to create a masterpiece. What Follows After is a marvelous old school tale illustrating the importance of faith and family. It’s a story that will surely touch your heart and soul.” – New York Journal of Books


4.5 Stars - “This story is complete with a fast pace and a riveting storyline that keeps readers’ attention. Colt’s voice is passionate and enthralling, and it allows the reader to feel a part of the tale as it unfolds.” – RT Book Reviews


I haven’t read her review yet, but the reviewer from Library Journal magazine sent me a Facebook message that she had just finished the book, absolutely loved it, and couldn’t put it down once she started.


Customer Reviews on Amazon

A number of people who got early copies of the book have already posted reviews to Amazon. There are 8 up right now, 7 of them 5-Stars. Here’s a sample of what readers are saying:


“Stunning. Riveting. Realistic. So masterfully written that I didn’t just read the story, but became involved in it.”Delores Liesner (Racine, WI)


I finished this book in less than 24 hours, heart pounding the last few chapters, too…This is one of Dan Walsh’s best books, in my opinion. I was crying, yelling, cheering at different points of this book.” — Susan Snodgrass


What Follows After is as good as it gets! Dan Walsh is fast becoming my favorite author and has written a very poignant, challenging and intense book…I find with Dan’s books I usually just devour them the first time I read them. They draw me in so quickly that I make excuses to read at times that I normally would be doing something else.” — Donna Collins Tinsley


To read more customer reviews on Amazon, Click Here.


Flying Off the Shelf at Christianbook.com

For the past month, What Follows After has remained in the Top 10 in Christianbook.com’s Contemporary Fiction category, even though it’s been as a pre-order. For the last week, it’s remained in the Top 4. Right now–the first day of its release–it’s ranking at #3 in that category and #24 overall.



Blog Tour This Week

Expecting to see a lot of buzz online this week about the book, since 90 bloggers have signed up with my publisher to read an early copy of the book and review it on their blogs. All of them this week. That’s the highest number of bloggers who’ve signed up to review any of my books so far (70 was the high number before).


Can’t wait to see what they say. Hopefully, their comments will be similar to the Amazon and magazine reviews. My thanks to everyone who’s participating. And to every reader who reads the book and tells others about it. 


Word-of-mouth advertising is the most powerful marketing tool there is.


Ending on a Personal Note

This picture of my grandson, Caden. As you can see, as far as little boys go, they don’t come any cuter. My wife, Cindi, and I are looking forward to Caden’s little sister, Norah, arriving very soon. She is “scheduled for release” in mid-June.





        Related StoriesMy 10th Novel – Almost Here!Some Fun Book UpdatesCelebrating Release of The Promise – 5 Book Giveway 
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on April 01, 2014 06:55

March 16, 2014

My 10th Novel – Almost Here!

We’re just 2 weeks away from my 10th novel, What Follows After, being released What Follows After by Dan Walshthroughout the US and Canada. Should be available in all the bookstores, retail and online, as well as on Kindle, Nook and other Ebook formats. This one’s a stand-alone (not part of my series with Gary Smalley).


Some Great Early Reviews

Advance copies have already been sent out to many magazine and other media outlets. I’ve read two significant reviews so far. Both of them very encouraging.


Dan Walsh is an artist who paints with words. His canvas is the novel, where he uses different colors and hues of words to create a masterpiece. What Follows After is a marvelous old school tale illustrating the importance of faith and family. It’s a story that will surely touch your heart and soul.” – New York Journal of Books


4 1/2 Stars – “This story is complete with a fast pace and a riveting storyline that keeps readers’ attention. Colt’s voice is passionate and enthralling, and it allows the reader to feel a part of the tale as it unfolds.” — RT Book Reviews


Be on the lookout for the Blog Tour during the 1st week of April. Over 90 Bloggers are reading their copy now with plans to all review the book in the same week.


Pre-Orders Looking Very Good on CBD

I’ve been checking the book’s status on Christianbook.com the past couple weeks and found it regularly in the Top 10 for the Contemporary Fiction category. Since the book’s not out yet, that can only be a reflection of pre-orders. I just checked it now and found it’s jumped to #3! Here a screenshot:



5 Book Giveaway on Goodreads

My publisher, Revell, is doing a 5-book giveaway of What Follows After on Goodreads that lasts throughout the month of March. Click Here to go there. Very easy to enter.


Next month, we’ll be doing another major giveaway on The Book Club Network (TBCN). Also, be looking for a major interview appearing in their BookFun Magazine, April Issue, along with a full page add of the book. If you haven’t heard of TBCN, it’s a great site for book lovers. They do giveaway specials all the time. Click Here to check it out.


You can pre-order the book NOW at any of the online stores. Just Click Here to get to the page on my website devoted to the book. Right near the top, we’ve created links to take you right there.


Can’t wait for the book to release. Really love the cover on this one, and really enjoyed writing it.





        Related StoriesFun Book Updates in the New YearSome Fun Book Updates 
 •  2 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on March 16, 2014 14:09

February 2, 2014

Fun Book Updates in the New Year

Haven’t done this in a while, so I thought I’d post some of the more enjoyable Book Updates that have happened so far in the New Year. Most of these appeared on my Facebook Author Page. Click Here if you’d like to see them as they happen. All you have to do is Like the page and I think Like one of the posts, to make sure they start showing up in your Newsfeed (I mention the 2nd thing because FB is tricky…I’ve noticed some of the pages I’ve liked don’t show up in my Newsfeed unless I actually interact with the page).


Onto the Updates…


The Discovery Hits #1 on Amazon

Early in January, my publisher did a 1-day Free giveaway for The Discovery. The day after that it went back to its regular $3.99 price. But even then, here it is ranking #1 in Contemporary Christian Romance. It’s in some very good company, too. And it stayed in the Top 5 for almost 2 weeks.


Since then, dozens of 5-Star customer reviews came in. It now has 225 Total Reviews (the most of any of my novels) with 181 of them being 5-Stars. Click Here and scroll down if you’d like to read some of them (or order the book if you haven’t read it yet).


Booksigning with Suzanne Woods Fisher in Orlando


A few Saturdays ago (Jan 18th) Cindi and I drove 1-hour west to Orlando to do a booksigning with good friend and fellow Revell author, Suzanne Woods Fisher at the Lifeway Store. Suzanne’s is a bestselling Amish author and a wonderful lady. She lives and writes in California, but was doing a mini-book tour through Florida and Georgia promoting her newest novel.


We had a great time, signed a bunch of books and chatted with readers. Here we are in this pic with Chris Johnson, the Editor of Christian Retailing Magazine. She stopped by for a chat. My wife Cindi took the pic.


Speaking at Oregon Christian Writer’s Conference In August


I know it’s cold out now, but summer will come. If you’re a writer, consider this excellent coaching conference in Portland, OR. I’ll be teaching fiction classes there and sharing the keynote duties with my friend Allen Arnold, former VP and Publisher with Thomas Nelson (and one of my favorite people in the world of publishing.


This year the OCW Summer conference has an an amazing faculty team, including: James L. Rubart, Susan May Warren, Susan Meissner, Randy Ingermanson, and many others.


A little sooner, and a little closer to home…I’m also part of the teaching faculty at the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference in Lake Yale, FL, which will be held Feb 26th through Mar 2nd. Click on the link to read more about it.


The Promise Available Now in Hardback


Just before the weekend, my publisher sent me a large-print, hardback edition of my latest novel, The Promise. I don’t know why, but I LOVE hardbacks. They offer such a sense of permanence (like the books may stick around long enough for my grandkids to see them). Now both books 1 & 2 in the Restoration series are available as hardbacks.


Book 3 of the series, called The Desire, releases in September. I’m just finishing up Book 4 right now.


The Reunion an Editor’s Pick in National Woman’s Magazine


My 6th novel, The Reunion, was selected as an Editor’s Pick in the Feb 17th issue of FIRST for Women magazine. FIRST has a huge circulation (1.3 million). My daughter picked up this copy at our local WalMart checkout stand. Honored to be the Christian Fiction selection and LOVED what the editor said about how the book affected her.


If you click on the pic, I think it opens in a bigger window. The Reunion ties with The Discovery as my highest customer-reviewed novel (It has 175 5-Star reviews on Amazon at the moment).


Well…those are the highlights for the first 4 weeks of 2014.







        Related StoriesThe Folly of New Year’s ResolutionsMy Favorite Christmas Present as a Kid 
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on February 02, 2014 14:38

January 1, 2014

The Folly of New Year’s Resolutions

I’m writing this on New Year’s Day. One of the big topics of the New Year holiday, of course, is making resolutions.



Lose weight
Exercise more often
Quit smoking
Get out of debt

This morning I heard a TV news host read several Tweets people had sent in about their New Year’s Resolutions. This one caught my eye: “ My New Year’s resolution is to be more physically active. I’ve only missed one day so far .”

It took a moment for the host to realize (maybe you, too?) that this person was admitting they’ve already failed to keep their resolution. They had only missed “one day so far.” There had only been 1 day so far this year.


That’s a failure rate of 100%.


This is a great illustration for why I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Not anymore. I gave up on the tradition decades ago. I’m not saying I don’t need to make them. If I could wave a wand, there are plenty of areas in my life that I’d change. Some that need serious improvement.


The problem is, I can’t find that wand. Making a list of promises I can’t keep doesn’t put one in my hand. When I was younger and tried to make New Year’s resolutions, my failure rate (like that Tweeter this morning) was also 100%. I’m not alone in this, making and failing to keep New Year’s resolutions is the norm for the vast majority of “resolutioners.”


The University of Scranton did a study on this and found that 92% of people who made New Year’s resolutions failed to keep them…and the 8% who succeeded were so annoying they had no friends left after they reached their goals (the last part of that is my contribution to the study).


Why are so many of us–the overwhelming majority of us–unable to keep our resolutions? And in light of this, why do we keep making them? What’s that definition of insanity again (doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result)?



I’m not against the idea of setting goals in general. Or even working hard to achieve them. I’ve actually changed in some major ways over the years. But never as a result of making or keeping a New Year’s resolution.


I gave some thought to the few times I have experienced significant and lasting changes in my life, and came up with a handful of items those “successes” had in common:



Something had happened to change my heart, and I totally “owned” the need to change.
Aware of a history of failure to succeed on my own, I’d turn to the Lord every day for grace and strength.
I humbled myself and accepted the help and accountability of trusted friends.
It often took several weeks, even months for the change to become real.


That’s pretty much it. The upside of this is, God really does want to help us change in many of the areas we need to, and want to change. The downside is (at least the way I see it), we really don’t possess the goods to pull it off on our own. So that’s my New Year’s advice. Just say No to New Year’s resolutions and say Yes to humility and prayer.




How about you? Have you found the secret path to lasting change? Anyone here part of that 8% who’ve actually made and kept your New Year’s resolutions (and had any friends left at the end)?








        Related StoriesMy Favorite Christmas Present as a KidMy Most Memorable ChristmasJFK’s Assassination 50 Years Today 
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on January 01, 2014 11:40

December 18, 2013

My Favorite Christmas Present as a Kid

I know at Christmas time, we’re not supposed to think too much about toys and presents,Dan holding favorite Christmas presentlest we lose the true meaning of Christmas. But let’s face it, when we were kids, if someone put a mic up to our face and asked us: “What do you like most about Christmas?”, we would answer honestly (as little children often do): “Presents!”


Then a parent would correct us and remind us that the most important thing is not presents but that God sent Jesus into the world to be our Savior. And we would probably say something like, “Yeah, that too.”


As the years went by and I grew a little older, I finally understood the real “reason for the season” and, when I did, it changed everything. That became the greatest gift I had ever received (talk about the gift that keeps on giving).


But I thought it might be fun to think back to when we were kids and answer the question: “What was your favorite Christmas present as a kid?” For me, only one thing comes to mind. Recently, I came across a picture in an old box of me sitting with my grandparents the day after Christmas in 1968 holding that very present.


Back then, I was completely bonkers about the space program. We had actually moved down to Florida from Philadelphia so that my father could work on the Apollo moonshot program. In 1968, the space program was in full swing. We were only 18 months away from Neil Armstrong making the first moonwalk. 


I only wanted one gift that year: the G.I. Joe Mercury Astronaut & Space Capsule. We weren’t rich and, by then, I knew who Santa was (and he had made it very clear to me that what I wanted was way too expensive). As soon as I saw it in the Sears catalog, I knew it was beyond our price range, more expensive than the “big gift” all my other siblings were asking for that year.


My parents had me convinced I wasn’t going to get it right up until Christmas Eve. They had me focused on my second choice (I don’t even remember now what it was). To my great shock and surprise, there it was Christmas morning under the tree!


So now, it’s your turn. What was your favorite Christmas gift as a kid? Tell us what you remember.






        Related StoriesMy Most Memorable ChristmasJFK’s Assassination 50 Years TodayA Nice Way to Honor a Vet on Veteran’s Day 
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on December 18, 2013 06:47

December 5, 2013

My Most Memorable Christmas

First, I’ll tell you mine (then you tell me yours down below). Figured this is December, so Christmas presentwhy not do some Christmas?


My most memorable Christmas happened in 5th grade. At the end of that year, our family moved south to Florida so my Dad could work on the Apollo Space Program. I’ve lived here in Florida pretty much ever since. And I’ve had some fine Christmas moments in Florida, but the memory of that Christmas in 5th grade resurfaces every year at Christmastime.


Because that was the year I experienced my last Christmas with snow. And it wasn’t just a flurry. It came down hard, starting right after dark.


We lived in a suburb of Philadelphia. For fans of my first novel, The Unfinished Gift, the neighborhood closely resembles what I described in the book. In Philly, we could always count on it being cold at Christmas, but not that it would snow. It snowed at least a few times during the winter, but on Christmas Eve? That was pretty rare.


In fact, I can only recall that one time in my childhood…that very last year in 5th grade.


I remember my little sister on that Christmas Eve (she’s now a grandmother of seven), being the first one to see it. She screamed as she looked out the window of our living room, “It’s snowing! It’s really snowing!” We all ran to look.


Behind us, the Christmas tree stood sparkling in the corner, surrounded by tempting presents. The stockings were hung, thumb-tacked to the stairway (we didn’t have a fireplace). Sugar cookies and egg nog were set out on the coffee table for Santa. But none of that mattered now. It was snowing! My big brother opened the front door and we all ran outside, spinning around with our mouths open, trying to catch the snowflakes on our tongues.


“Kids, get in here. You’ll catch colds,” our mother called, to no avail. I looked back at her, standing there in the doorway smiling (she’s with the Lord now, these past four Christmases).


We eventually did come inside and finished our Christmas Eve traditions. But every few moments, one of us would get up and check on the snow’s progress.


It kept snowing, all night.


We awoke on Christmas Day, not to just the delightful scene of shiny presents under the tree in our living room, but to a virtual Winter Wonderland outside. A full two feet of snow had fallen, with drifts of four to five feet in some places. I’ve yet to see a Christmas card that matches the beauty that lingers in my mind, even now as I recall that scene.


And like a Christmas gift that keeps giving…the next day, the snow plows came through, piling up two equal mountains of snow on opposite sides of the street. Our street was filled with kids (picture the Leave It To Beaver era). The plows had made two perfect snow forts. All week long, it was our side against their side of the street.


I don’t remember a single Christmas gift I got that year, but I do remember the snow on Christmas Eve, and having some of the most amazing snowball fights in kid history throughout that Christmas vacation.


Okay…your turn. What was your most memorable Christmas growing up?





        Related StoriesJFK’s Assassination 50 Years TodayA Nice Way to Honor a Vet on Veteran’s DayHappiness and Low Expectations 
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on December 05, 2013 05:56