Christmas Memories with Regina Scott

Please join me in welcoming Love Inspired Historical author Regina Scott to my blog today to talk Christmas.

1.    What do you most associate with Christmas where you live?

Lights.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, winters tend to be dark and gray.  Christmas lights—on trees, on houses, in store windows, truly do brighten our lives. (Jenny here, We have lights here on some homes and they are really pretty to look at)

2.    Do you have any special family traditions you do at Christmas time?

We have always opened our presents Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning. My parents explained when we were little that with the growing world population, poor Santa simply couldn’t make it around the world in one night.  So, WE were nice and let him come early.  (Personally, I think maybe they just didn’t want to be woken quite so early in the morning by excited children!)  My husband and I kept the tradition with our boys, and soon we’ll be passing it on to the next generation. 

3.    Do you have a favourite Christmas Carol and if so do you know why? 

Oh Holy Night.  I love the story of it.  And I love that you can really belt it out.  

4.    If you could spend Christmas any way you could how would you celebrate?

In a cabin in the woods, with the snow falling softly outside, a fire roaring in the fireplace, and all my family around me, with lots of food and stories and laughter. 

5.    Do you have any special memories of Christmas?

My father was brilliant about getting my mother presents.  One year, she had suggested he get her bookends for her bookshelves.  The present under the tree was this huge box.  When she opened it, all she could see were tiny white packing peanuts, thousands of them, and a string with a tag at the end that read “Pull.”  She pulled, and out came a bookend, and more string.  She must have kept pulling for ten minutes before they were all out of the box.   

6.    What is a typical Christmas eve and or Christmas day for you?

On Christmas Eve, we generally have some kind of dinner that everyone likes—pizza or lasagna.  While one of the adults keeps the kids busy cleaning up after dinner, one or two other adults tiptoes down the hall and fills all the stockings.  My mother’s stocking has a jingle bell on the end of it, which we have to muffle until everything is ready.  Then we let the bell peal.  All the kids look at each other, and someone says, “Santa’s here!”  Then they all run for the stockings.  We take everything out, exclaim over it, share our booty (chocolate coins, Tootsie Rolls, maple sugar candy, Turkish Delight), and talk for a good while before someone else remembers there are presents under the tree.  And then Christmas Eve really starts.  

7.    Do you have any Christmas movies or Christmas books you like to see or read each year?

The movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye is a big favorite in my family.  We can all sing the songs and quote the lines.  “Must be beautiful in Vermont this time of year, all that snow and everything.”   

8.    Do you have a Christmas message for my readers?

May you make new and joyous memories this Christmas and never forget the reason for the season.

The Rake’s Redemption, November 2012, Love Inspired Historical

Even infamous duelist and poet Vaughn Everard has qualms about dragging an innocent lady into his quest for revenge. But Imogene Devary is the daughter of the man suspected of murdering Vaughn's uncle. Surely that makes her fair game in order to uncover the truth!

Can the man who writes such moving verse be beyond redemption? Imogene can't believe so. In taming Vaughn's heart and healing the rift between their families, she's sure she's found her calling. Then his mission to unmask a killer reveals a terrifying plot. Only together can they safeguard his legacy, their newfound love, and England's very future.