Writer Cynthia Hickey On Christmas Reading

Cynthia Hickey, welcome to my Christmas series of Writers on Reading. I’ve been looking forward to these interviews like—well, excuse the cliché—but a kid at Christmas! So with your recent Christmas story, A Christmas Stamp, having released this August, what is your favorite part about a Christmas-themed story?

Love, romance, and Christ in Christmas!

What do you look for when selecting a Christmassy novel or novella to cozy up with this month?

A message of the true meaning of Christmas with a sweet romance to go along with it. I also enjoy stories of something lost, something precious found.

That’s fun to know. I don’t know about you, but many of us associate this season with traditional baking. I don’t think a Christmas novel would be complete without those special scents floating around in your head. What are your favorite Christmas goodies to read or write about?

If a Christmas story features a dish that means something to the characters, it’s nice to

have the recipe included in the book.

Is there an element of these books that you’d feel cheated if it wasn’t there? Or something special you like to add to your Christmas stories?

If there wasn’t a Happily Ever After with a gift that is special only to the characters, I’d be sorely disappointed. In my Handcarved Christmas, a family heirloom is accidentally destroyed, and the hero’s actions to make Christmas memorable, despite the heartbreak, will warm the reader’s heart.

How very special, Cynthia! As far back as you remember, what was the first Christmas-related fiction story you read or had read to you? Is there a Christmas book you like to share with your children or grandchildren? Do you have any other special Christmas reading memories?

When the children were small, my husband would read to them The Night Before Christmas and from the book of Luke. Precious memories.

Indeed precious memories! Over the years, has any Christmas novel or novella really stuck with you that you’d like to share with our readers?

 

Being Scot-Irish, I read An Irish Country Christmas by Alice Taylor. It’s an older book, but the simple traditions of the Irish always warms my heart.

Special! Thank you for sharing, Cynthia. Folks, you can continue to connect with Cynthia—and find out more about her books—at the link below.

Multi-published and Amazon Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She had several historical romances release in 2013, 2014, 2015 through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold half a million copies of her works. She has taught a Continuing Education class at the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers conference. She is active on FB, twitter, and Goodreads, and is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazine blog and Suspense Sisters blog. Her and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s well-known authors. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs and one cat. She has seven grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”. Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com

Two Fantastic Christmas Box sets. Check out My other Writers On Readings Christmas Interviews on these authors!