Inspiration for “A Collingswood Christmas”

A holiday gift for my newsletter subscribers! My short story A Collingswood Christmas will be available in my newsletter this month. I can’t wait to share these characters with you! If you haven’t signed up, it’s not too late. http://gailpriest.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=402ec65c2802e4cf87bc1e647&id=7fee7f0061

A Collingswood Christmas was first inspired a couple weeks ago by a Facebook post about this old fashioned hard candy. When I was little, the children in Collingswood visited Santa in the funeral home on Haddon Avenue.  It seems a bit odd now, but it’s true.  My husband, who also grew up there, has the same memory.  The kids in town would go in one door of the funeral home, visit Santa, and as we were guided to exit out a different door, we received an orange and a box of this candy.

When I saw the post about the candy, the memory began to turn into a story.  Two of the characters, Megan and her husband Charles, were inspired by an extremely talented couple I knew in college.  They both majored in music, have been very successful in NYC, and I hope are still happily married.  Megan and Charles are not so happy which brings Megan back to Collingswood for the holidays, around the time of her 20th high school reunion.  She runs into Kyle, an old high school friend, and the sparks fly. Will Megan begin a new life back home?  Will her husband ask her to return to NYC?  Will Kyle’s heart be broken?

In A Collingswood Christmas, I continue to explore issues of family and marital dynamics, depression, and the healing power of love as I have in my Annie Crow Knoll series.

You’ll see that the classic holiday film It’s a Wonderful Life is referenced in my story.  Collingswood even has the old fashioned Season’s Greetings sign like the one in Bedford Falls.  The holidays can be joyful, but they can also trigger past pains and sad feelings.  The characters in A Collingswood Christmas struggle as George Bailey does in my favorite Christmas movie.

Another reason I decided to place the story in my hometown is that the town is named for my husband’s great, great grandfather.  Yes, Gary is a Collings of Collingswood, although he plays that down a good deal.  I’m the one who runs around telling people.  I think it’s rather cool.  We both spent most of our lives in Collingswood and have strong ties to it.

I hope to expand this idea into a series of holiday themed short stories set in Collingswood to be released next Thanksgiving.  For now, you can read the first one for free by signing up for my newsletter.  Enjoy and I wish you a peaceful and joyous holiday season!   http://gailpriest.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=402ec65c2802e4cf87bc1e647&id=7fee7f0061