Friday, December 8, 2017

Storyteller's Journey

"Snow Before Christmas" - Tasha Tudor
My Love for Winter Tales

At one of my recent book events I was asked: "Why do you like to write stories set in the snow?" At first I thought I'd have a ready answer for the woman, but then I replied: "You know, I'm not sure why."

Since that day I've been pondering that very question. Here is a partial list of reasons for my fondness of stories set in the snow:



*Snow transforms the world into a different, fresher version of itself. A place where building snowmen and sledding with friends can happen.

*Due to my love of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, the fantasy winter world he created is a place I'd love to visit.

*You'd think that living in the Pacific Northwest I'd see plenty of snow each winter. However, we live in a valley, so snowfall is a somewhat rare occurrence. Consequently, I yearn for it during the winter months.

*Since the holidays - and my birthday - occur in late fall and winter, that magical time of the year is always special to me, as it is to so many.

All these reasons , however, still don't answer the question:
Why do I like to write stories set in the snow?

The real answer is that I have loads of wonderful memories of spending cold, snowy afternoons with my friends. (For some reason we received more snow in the Pacific Northwest when I was a kid.)
In any event, I believe I'm attempting to recreate those magical, whimsical times in the snow that I enjoyed as a child. In addition to that, it's a ready way to collaborate with my husband to create a beautiful holiday story. Christmas/Winter children's books are the best!


Here are our two Lindstrom Wintertime Tales:



How about you? Do you also enjoy stories set in the snow?