Author Interview: Rebekah Morris {12 Days of Christmas}

Welcome to day three of the 12 Days of Christmas party!  Today we have another guest that has graciously agreed to an interview, Rebekah Morris!  Rebekah is a talented author that has published a good many Christmas stories.

About Rebekah:

Rebekah A. Morris ia a homeschool graduate, an enthusiastic freelance author and a passionate writing teacher. Her books include, among others, Home Fires of the Great War, The Unexpected Request, Gift from the Storm, the Christmas Collection series, and her best selling Triple Creek Ranch series. Some of her favorite pastimes, when she isn’t writing, include reading, playing with her seven nieces and nephews, and coming up with dramatic and original things to do. (Sometimes with the nieces and nephews!) The Show-Me state is where she calls home. 

You can find Rebekah on her blog, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

What inspired you to write Christmas stories?

Christmas! I love Christmas and all that goes with it. One of my favorite things though, was listening to my mom read a few Christmas stories to us each year. Over the years we discovered a few more good Christmas stories, and then I decided to try my hand at writing one. My first story was: Unto Him (Published for the first time this month.) From that time on, I’ve written some sort of Christmas story every year. 

Which of your Christmas books is your favorite, and why?

Oh, that’s hard. I honestly don’t know. It would be a toss-up between “At the Christmas Lodge” (because I want to do everything they did), “First Christmas in America” (because it’s based on a true story), and “His Law Is Love” (because I’ve never set a Christmas story in AZ nor with those circumstances).

And speaking of His Law is Love, it also was just published this month!

Will hate and fear drown the song of Christmas love?

Amelia is eagerly anticipating her first Christmas in the west, but she soon finds that her brother-in-law's worry and her sister's exhaustion reach far deeper than the cares of a ranch and a family. A rash of fires and cattle thefts is plaguing the area, and the three young orphans they've sheltered are under suspicion from their prejudiced neighbors.

As hostilities mount, Amelia seizes every opportunity to help and encourage, but how much can one girl do? Will Reverend Brown win the community over to the true spirit of love? And will help arrive before everything they hold dear is destroyed?

What inspired you to write those books?

“At the Christmas Lodge” was inspired by the family get-togethers we used to have with my mom’s side of the family, only we never got that much snow! “First Christmas in America” came about after reading a story submitted by a Reminisce Magazine reader about their first Christmas in America. It brought tears to my eyes, and I knew I wanted to turn it into a story people could read every Christmas. “His Law Is Love” came about after watching some episodes of “26 Men” about the Arizona Rangers. My mind started spinning with ideas and then this Christmas story hopped out, and I had to write it.

What aspect of Christmas is your favorite to write about?

The joy of family, the true peace on earth, and memories each person creates.

Did you write all of your Christmas books during the Christmas season, or all year round?

Mostly I write them in November and December. Once January hits, I’m pretty much done with Christmas stories. :) I’ll even set aside an unfinished story until next season. If I’m publishing them before Christmas, I’ll usually have to edit them and stuff before November even arrives and that’s tough. :)

What is one thing that you want all your readers to get out of your Christmas books?

That Christmas is not toys, games, cookies, and “me time.” It’s about serving others, about family, about the wonderful Love sent to a word of sin. Yes, there is time for laughter (just read “A Christmas Disaster”), there’s also time to reflect on what has become important to you (read “The Christmas She Wanted”) but not everyone is happy at Christmas time (as is shown in “Christmas Smiles”). It all comes back to the real reason for Christmas: Christ came to earth to suffer for our sins that we might be reconciled to God. I hope each reader of my stories is reminded of that wonderful event.

Thank you so much for being our guest, Rebekah!

To our readers: come back tomorrow for a post full of tips about writing a Christmas story!
Again, don't forget to visit Faith's blog for the links to all the other participators!

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