IMHO Welcomes Christie Craig!

Christie Craig, an Alabama native, is an award-winning, multi-published writer, multi-published photo journalist, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. Her non-fiction articles and photography have appeared in almost three thousand national magazines. (Don't worry. She'll explain that picture in a minute.)

A Golden Heart finalist, and a finalist in more than fifty RWA-sponsored contests, she has gained a well-deserved reputation for writing romance fiction that has both witty humor and a suspenseful, sexy tone.

Published by Silhouette in the 90s, Christie broke back into fiction in 2006 in a big way, making four book sales in one day. Her seventh humorous single title romance novel, Divorced, Desperate and Deceived (from Dorchester), will hit the stands in June 2010.

Her non-fiction book, co-authored by Faye Hughes, released September 2008, is The Everything Guide To Writing A Romance Novel, and their second non-fiction book, a humorous self-help relationship book, Wild, Wicked and Wanton: 101 Ways to Love Like You Are in a Romance Novel is scheduled to be released December 2010. Craig’s latest writing adventure is the sale of a young adult paranormal romance series, Bone Creek Camp, that will be published by St. Martin's Press in the near future.

While Christie has learned to laugh at life, it hasn't always been a bed of banana peels. Fellow author Teri Thackston interviewed Christie about her incredible journey from being a dyslexic high school dropout to becoming a prolific and successful author here.

IMHO: Christie, welcome back to IMHO! Wonderful having you here again. This time, though, instead of talking about Valentines and romance, you're talking Christmas. Tell us what you want most out of the season this time of year.

CC: Ah, Christmas. The most beautiful time of the year. The time of giving and of warm hearts. Or as I often refer to it, this is the second time this year that I will end up with my hand up a turkey’s butt. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not a Scrooge. I love Christmas.

I love the smells of Christmas—the fresh pine makes my eyes swell and my nose run like a leaky faucet. I’m all into the Christmas music, too. I mean, who doesn’t feel the spirit of the season after getting the song, "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," stuck in your head because it’s been played over and over?

The Christmas food—seriously, knowing you’ll gain ten pounds over the next few weeks is so exciting. I adore going to my husband’s Christmas party and meeting all the weird folks he’s complained about all year. And knowing that the other wives are looking at my hubby the same way I’m looking at theirs.

I love the Christmas movies, snuggling on the sofa with a glass of red wine, and watching the ghosts terrorize the stingy ol’ fart. Oh, and I really love walking two miles to get into the mall, in the cold, while it’s raining. And once you finally get there, I adore feeling the real Christmas spirit. There is just something special about seeing two moms wearing red and green sweaters having a fist fight over the last Tickle Me Elmo.

But seriously, I really, really do love Christmas. Why, when I’ve done nothing but complain? Well, I love Christmas because it’s about family. It’s about traditions. I know I’ve whined about those traditions, and while I honestly don’t like cleaning out the innards of a turkey, I love sitting around that dinner table watching everyone enjoy the food I worked so hard to prepare.

I don’t like having to fight the crowds at the mall, but I love watching my family’s eyes light up when they open the gifts—and it’s not the gift’s price tag, it’s the sentimental value of knowing I picked it out just for them. That just maybe I got into a fist fight to get the last one.

It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t have to carry around tissues for a week in December to keep my running nose in control. It wouldn’t be Christmas if there wasn’t the music and movies that I’ve seen and heard so many times. It wouldn’t be December if I didn’t have too many baby spinach quiches or those tiny barbequed wieners forced upon me.

It just wouldn’t be Christmas if I didn’t hear the merry laughter of children hoping their mom wins the fist fight so they’ll get the Tickle me Elmo.

Christmas and all the traditions aren’t perfect. They can drive us crazy if we let them, but I suggest you do what I do. Take a deep, pine-scented breath and through allergy-stricken eyes, view the craziness of this holiday with humor. Laugh. Laugh loud and laugh often. And more importantly, remember that the real meaning of this crazy hectic time is about love. It’s about family. Enjoy it and embrace those in your life. Merry Christmas!

IMHO: Thanks, Christie.  Why don't you tell our IMHO readers which book you are putting into the Christmas tote today?

CC: A signed copy of Divorced, Desperate and Deceived, which I guarantee will help you laugh your way through the holiday stress—so make sure you leave a comment.

IMHO: Good choice! Publishers Weekly says of Divorced, Desperate and Deceived, "The action only stops long enough for steamy passion in this fast-paced conclusion to Craig’s contemporary romance trilogy (after 2008’s Divorced, Desperate and Dating)...Craig keeps the sexual tension as high as the suspense..."

Leave a comment for Christie for a chance to win DDD as well as signed books by Emily Bryan, Jennifer Ashley, Christie Craig, Carrie Lofty, TJ Bennett, and a $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com. We all know we love this time of year...but secretly there are a few things we probably think we could live without. Let Christie know what your least-favorite part of the holidays is (bah-humbug!). Don't forget--to be eligible to win, leave a comment for at least one other guest author this month as well (the more, the merrier).

Begin.

TJB

Booksigning at Murder by the Book, Houston, TX

Hi, y'all. Just wanted to pop in and invite you to a booksigning I'm having on Saturday with three wonderful "ladies of suspense" at the indy book mecca, Murder by the Book, in Houston. I'll be signing copies of THE PROMISE.

WHEN: Saturday, July 11, 2009, 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
WHERE: Murder by the Book, 2342 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005 (713) 524-8597/(888) 4-AGATHA
WHO:
Colleen Thompson
Christie Craig
TJ Bennett
Kerrelyn Sparks

With this line-up, it promises to be a fun afternoon. Please stop in if you're local!

TJB

IMHO welcomes Christie Craig!

Photojournalist, author and popular speaker Christie Craig is an award-winning, multi-published writer whose non-fiction and photography have appeared in almost three thousand national magazines. A Golden Heart finalist, and a finalist in more than fifty Romance Writers of America-sponsored contests, she has gained a well-deserved reputation for writing romance fiction that has both witty humor and a suspenseful, sexy tone.

Published by Silhouette in the 90s, she recently broke back into fiction in a big way, making four book sales in one day. Christie will put her first single title romance novel, Divorced, Desperate & Delicious, in the Romance Roundup Gift Basket (AKA the "BIG BASKET of LOOOOVE"). Her latest book in the Divorced series, Divorced, Desperate & Dating, is in bookstores now. Her newest non-fiction title, The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel, co-authored with her nonfiction writing partner Faye Hughes, is also available now. Her marriage partner, Steve, figures prominently in her own hilarious blog posts over at Killer Fiction, where she often chronicles the sometimes unbelievable (but always true) adventures of the Craig clan.

IMHO: Welcome to the party, Christie! I know you have some deeply serious thoughts on what romance means to you. Well, okay, some deeply funny thoughts, then. Share!

CC: Thanks, TJ! You bet I do. I even have a title: “What a Woman Really Wants in Romance.”

I remember being in first grade and coming home and asking my mom if she’d put my hair up in pigtails the next day for school. She rolled her eyes at me in disbelief because that very morning I’d thrown a hissy fit because I hadn’t wanted to wear my hair up in pigtails. But I had good reasons for my change of heart. And you can bet it involved matters of the heart, too. You see, I’d watched a neighborhood boy named Calvin, whom I liked, pull on the pigtails of another little girl named Mary. Surely, if I wore my hair like hers, he would pull my pigtails instead of Mary’s.

At age six, I didn’t care if that boy had a six pack or a sexy gait. His toothless smile and freckles made my stomach flutter. I didn’t care that his mode of transportation, an old paint-chipped bike that had belonged to his brother, wasn’t the hottest on the block. Frankly, I didn’t really care, or even want, to get my hair pulled, either. What I wanted was . . . his attention.

As I grew older, like most girls, what I looked for in a man changed a bit. Don’t judge me, but I’ll confess, I got to that place where I preferred my men with teeth. And when I got to high school, freckles weren’t a plus either. And yes, in time I started noticing six packs and sexy bad-boy smiles, and I’ll admit it, I wouldn’t have been happy with a man whose mode of transportation was a paint-chipped bike.

My point isn’t that love, or our search for it, is superficial. I think the whole attraction thing is somewhat physiological. We are instinctively looking for a mate with good genes, and how he fits into his jeans is sure to catch our eyes. We are looking for a mate who can help us feed and clothe ourselves and our children and that paint-chipped bike may lead us to believe he won’t be a good provider.

But you know, when I look deep into romance, at what a woman really wants and what my romance heroines want, I can tell you that some things are the same as they were on that playground years ago. Women want to know that of all the girls pumping their legs on the swing set, going up and down on the seesaw, that you are the one he wants. It’s your pigtails he wants to pull. Women want a man’s full attention; they want to be the thing he’ll do anything to attain--even if it means spending his whole recess chasing you around the school’s backyard.

As I write my novels, I try to remember this about romance. Sure, I add plenty of hard abs and bedroom smiles. Hey, sex is part of a good romance. And you can bet your bottom dollar that my heroes have all their teeth. Nevertheless, these two people get together because there just isn’t anyone else whom they would choose to share their lives with. Like most romances, my characters may not know this in the beginning, but while playing on life’s playground, (which for my heroine in my book, Divorced, Desperate & Dating, means avoiding a killer, resisting a bad-boy’s charm, and using a tampon to defend herself) they suddenly realize that this other person is the one.

Today, after twenty-four years of marriage, when I look over at my husband, I’m kind of glad I didn’t hook up with Calvin. I won’t lie, my hubby no longer has a six pack—not that it’s all gone to pot, mind you. His bedroom smile still makes my stomach flutter, and of course he still has all his teeth. But more importantly, he still somehow makes me feel like the prettiest girl on the playground.

And isn’t that what a woman really wants? To be made to feel beautiful and desirable—to know you are his one and only. Here’s wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day, and may you spend it with someone who makes you feel special.

IMHO: Thank you for sharing, Christie. I’ll bet your hubby is kind of glad you didn’t hook up with Calvin, too. LOL! And folks, I’ll also bet Christie would love to know what you think a woman really wants in romance.

Remember to leave a comment for Christie and at least one other author during our contest to be eligible to win all ten autographed books in the BIG BASKET OF LOOOOVE as we close in on Valentine’s Day. And be sure to come back on Saturday, February 7, 2009, when we welcome my dear friend Lynne Marshall, Romantic Medical Fiction author. Lynne is the only person I know who can make a stay in the hospital seem romantic. See you then!

TJB