AUTHOR CHRISTINE CLEMETSON ON HOW A CHRISTMAS COOKIES-THEMED CD INSPIRED A MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY

Growing up in a small beach town in NJ, Christine Clemetson wouldn’t have been caught on her beach towel without a good book. From that, she caught the fire of creativity and now pens edge-of-your-seat thrillers and mysteries. Learn more about Christine and her books at her website. 

How Christmas Cookies Inspired Me to Write a Mystery

Do you bake Christmas cookies? When I was young, our family had a traditional Christmas cookie weekend. We mixed and kneaded cookie dough one day, and then baked the next. To bring in the holiday cheer, we would play all the classic tunes in the background. We filled big plastic tins with all different kinds of cookies, but my favorite was SUGAR! I loved using the cookie cutters and decorating with sprinkles, and especially liked making the small snowflake shapes with the cherry in the center.

 

With the cookie baking tradition being a big part of my growing up years, having a story in the Christmas Cookies Mysteries anthology was a perfect fit for me! This anthology includes fourteen mysteries inspired by the songs of The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Cookies CD; my story is inspired by the song Little Annie’s Christmas Wish. 

 

The story starts out at a Christmas fair, where Anne Cooper doesn’t believe the tea leaf reader’s ominous words that danger is coming. But when Anne embarks on a harrowing journey Christmas Eve to uncover her past, she faces unexpected events. The desolate road in which Anne travels was inspired by a night last October. With the crisp air and the moon so high and bright against the dark sky, I knew a story was talking to me. I translated this into a blood moon as the backdrop for this story’s setting.

 

My favorite part about writing Little Annie’s Christmas Wish was giving the characters their voices, learning who they were, and how they would confront situations. To do this, I started by asking Anne lots of questions. What do you want to learn most about your past? What if you had to come face to face with the villain? I would take notes on what she told me, including her biggest fears, and then I moved to the other characters and did the same detective work. Sometimes the answers arrived when I was cooking or driving, or even cleaning (gasp!), and not always when I was sitting at the keyboard. There were also many surprises the characters told me along the way, which brought even more magic into creating this story.

 

I hope you enjoy finding out if Anne’s wish comes true. In the meantime, I’m hoping all of your wishes come true this holiday season!  

 

Christmas Cookies Mysteries

An Anthology Inspired by The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Cookies Album

 

Everybody loves Christmas … and mysteries. And now the two of them have been combined. We hope you’ll enjoy this fun little project revisiting the Christmas Cookies CD. — Joe Bonsall, The Oak Ridge Boys

 

Christmas is magical and includes many traditions like decorating the tree, giving gifts, baking cookies … and murder and mayhem?!?! Join in the fun this season and create a new holiday tradition with mysteries from more than a baker’s dozen of award-winning authors—all inspired by the songs of The Oak Ridge Boys' Christmas Cookies CD.

 

Hark the Herald Angels Sing—Patricia Bradley

Ollie Bramlett—Joseph S. Bonsall

From Love to Love—Lisa Preston

Away in a Manger —Beth Pugh

Aunt Elvira’s Jewels (aka Hay Baby)—D. L. Havlin

Little Annie’s Christmas Wish—Christine Clemetson

I’ll be Home for Christmas—Don Bruns

Blessed Be the Day of Our Savior’s Birth—Kathy Harris

Jingle Bells Murder All the Way—Kelly Irvin

Ordinary Days—Delores Topliff

Uncle Luther Made the Stuffing—Vanessa M. Knight

Back to Tennessee—Danielle M Haas

The Warmest Night of the Year—Kaye D. Schmitz

O, Come All Ye Faithful— M.M. Chouinard

O Come All Ye Faithful (Reprise)—Mindy Steele

 

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