Christmas Comes to Florida!

Fay Lamb, author of All I Want for Christmas, joins us today to share how her new Christmas mystery with the quirky characters of Mullet Harbor, Florida, has its roots in her own traditions and memories.

Welcome, Fay! You’ve lived in Florida all your life. Coming from a land-locked North Texan, that seems completely foreign to me. What was life like growing up so close to the beach? How has your past impacted your writing?

I actually live fifteen miles from Playalinda Beach, which is the stretch of land that Titusville, Florida calls its own. Kennedy Space Center came in and the federal government moved the people, including members of my family, off of the swamp-like land between Titusville and the beach, so our beach isn’t infested with condos and tourist traps.

Still, I’m not a beach bum (I use the term endearingly). I’m more of a river rat. Since I was a child on my grandfather’s pier, which was promoted as “The World’s Largest, Freest Fishing Pier,” where I slept many a night on a cot in a back room in the wee hours of the morning, I have loved the lull of lapping waters.

Most of my memories are of times spent with my grandmother at her “vacation” home in Merritt Island, only thirty miles from our residences. The stately old place, dubbed River Wind by my turn-of-the-twentieth-century opera superstar cousin Emma Thursby, has a rich history. It sits on the Indian River, and it’s still in the family. When I think of Florida and my childhood, that old pier on the same river and River Wind, where my grandparents and I packed up each weekend and stayed, those are precious memories for me, and they are incorporated into many of my stories.

Florida swampland isn’t the typical setting for a Christmas story, but then again, you are uniquely equipped to write about it. How do you celebrate Christmas in Florida? What are some things y’all do there that most folks wouldn’t think about or be able to do?

That’s a great question. I hear some folks say they wouldn’t like Christmas in Florida because there is no snow. In fact, at *muddled voice here* years of age, I have never seen snow.

Oh, my goodness! Really? 

Yes, it’s like snow fears both me and my husband. We have been in the proximity where school children expected to be free of school for a week, and I’ve looked at them and said, “Ain’t gonna happen. I’m here.” And snow has never fallen on me.

But if you think about it, the warm balmy days of a Florida Christmas allow the children (and sometimes adults) to play with their toys outside. You can actually go boating or even travel to the beach. My grandchildren often open their gifts and run outside to play with them while dinner is cooking. In fact, as I tell you this, it’s going to be a nice eighty-one degrees in my neck of the woods in mid-November.

Tradition wise, I grew up with the old, sad silver trees with the light contraption. If you remember those things, you’re probably as old as I am. My husband, on the other hand, has never had a fake tree. His grandfather and his mother traipsed him off to the woods to cut down a tree. They actually went and chopped down a tree.

How sweet! Hubby did that for me when we were first married.  

We don’t do that any longer, but we do go and buy a tree each year. Our tradition is to have the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I’ve heard that some northerners wait until Christmas Eve to put up a tree. I’d love to know if that’s true. My family is strictly southern, and I have no way to know.

I can't help you there. We decorate from the few days before Thanksgiving until the week before Christmas and leave it all up until mid-January.

My favorite Christmas tradition was one we created with my dear mother-in-law, Saralyn. She began a Snow Village some thirty years ago, and my husband, kids, and I added two or three pieces every year. She never allowed us to put it up or take it down, but we enjoyed her substantial collection each year. Now that Grandma Lamb has passed, the family keeps up the tradition, but now, the grandkids help with the display. We incorporate Grandma’s love for her family and Christmas by pulling out all of her pieces and setting up the entire Christmas village.

And on Christmas morning, the family gets together, opens presents, enjoys each other’s company, and we have a great dinner—the turkey-cooking torch having passed over me and to my oldest son (despite the fact that Saralyn always declared that someday I’d have to do the hard work. Ha! She didn’t know who she was threatening).

Lol! I am blessed with a turkey-cooking hubby. Though that might have something to do with the fact that I cooked the one for our first Christmas together. And I was HAPPY to let him take over!  

Saralyn's Christmas village in my mind reminds me of the quaint houses of Mullet Harbor, without the wintery scenes, of course. That little town has some quirky citizens. Choosing your favorite might very well feel like choosing a favorite child, but share a little about one or two of the folks that live there and what makes them special.

If I didn’t say Herb Miller has my heart, I’d not be truthful. I love the flip-flop wearing mayor of Mullet Harbor. He’s down-to-earth practical, and he has a way of steering the people he loves in the right direction. His heart is huge, and it’s been broken by the death of his wife, Lacey, and the loss of one of the younger residents in town. He’d lost a lot in his life. He’s recovered some of those treasured gifts, and Herb knows how to appreciate them.

And then there’s Abigail. All I Want for Christmas is her story. For most of her life, Abby has sacrificed for the ones she loved. Her parents were older when they began their family, and events brought tragedy that had Abby taking on adult responsibilities when she was a teenager. Now, life has gotten simpler, and she has hope for the future, but life doesn’t always turn out the way we want—or hope is deferred. Abigail walks on her tiptoes, is a master-baker, and she’s one that all the quirky citizens seem to want to protect, as if she’s fragile. Yet everyone has watched Abigail grow into a strong woman because of the hardships she’s faced. Abigail, though, doesn’t see herself as others see her. At times, she wants to flee her problems, but when she’s ready to stand up and fight, as others find out, you’d better watch yourself.

Like Fay said, All I Want for Christmas is Abigail's story, and she finds herself in a whole bunch of trouble. Here's some more information about her book. 

A wedding headed for disaster,

A crime syndicate bent on destruction,
And a bunch of hungry alligators.

Knee deep in preparation for her best friend’s Christmas wedding, Abigail Brewster reels when her estranged younger sister returns to Mullet Harbor. She brings secrets, intrigue, and trouble along with her—a crime syndicate set on goals that would destroy the harbor. And Abigail is in the middle of their scheme.

Remy Arneaux doesn’t understand the reason for Susan Brewster’s return, and maybe that’s due to the brain fog from his concussion. But he does know enough not to trust her and not to let her near Abigail. The self-centered woman would only hurt her . . . again. Abigail has had enough pain, even from him. Still, he made a promise to escort someone else to the wedding. And with the promise is a secret that begins to rip his relationship with Abigail apart.

According to Mayor Herb’s edict, nothing is allowed to mar this occasion for his only granddaughter. Not heartbreak, not tirades from a spoiled young woman, and not threats from organized crime.

But what about their attempts to make good on their threats . . .

***

All I Want for Christmas is available from Amazon in e-book and paperback HERE.

And one lucky reader will have the chance to win a free copy of the fun Christmas mystery. In the comments, share a Christmas tradition that you enjoy the most. Like the Christmas Village from Fay's mother-in-law, what tradition would you find hard to give up? And don't forget to leave your email address!