Interview with Rene Gutteridge

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.29.2007

Today I have an interview with Rene Gutteridge about her new novel, Boo, Humbug!

Readers have come to love the eccentric characters from Skary, Indiana, in Rene Gutteridge’s popular Boo! series. Now, in Boo, Humbug! they’re back – and they’re stirring up a large amount of holiday havoc.

It’s Christmastime in Skary, and the town is planning an original production of A Christmas Carol with a horror spin. As showtime approaches, things go very awry for director Lois Stepaphanopolis. She panics when she discovers that her marketing director loathes Christmas and that the audience has been promised not Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but the real Christmas story. Can the actors pull off the improv of all improvs and convince their community to embrace the true meaning of the Christmas season?

Boo, Humbug! offers readers a delightful glimpse into small town, community life with heartwarming humor and winsome characters. And in the end, the true meaning of Christmas shines out bright and clear, in a decidedly un-Skary way.

The winners of
My Life, Unscripted
by
Tricia Goyer are
Kathy at Sumballo
Elysa Mac
Cathikin
Congratulations!

And now, here’s me and Rene!

What was the funnest part about writing Boo Humbug?

The most fun for me was intertwining Dickens' A Christmas Carol into the lives of the Skary, Indiana residents. I enjoyed watching them interact with a classic and find its theme alive in their own hearts. It also provided a lot of hilarious scenes.

What's your favorite scene?

I can't say much because I don't want to spoil things, but I love the scene with Alfred at the end of the book. Once you read it, you'll know which one I'm talking about. It's very touching and it's taken four books to get to this point.

What's your favorite Christmas carol and why?

O Holy Night. Love the music and the chorus and everything about it, especially with a full choir behind it.

What was the best Christmas present you ever received and why?

I was sick a few years ago and in the hospital. They released me the night before Christmas Eve. That was the best gift, to be home for Christmas!

If you could be any dish from Christmas dinner, what would you be and why?

Ha! I've never been asked that question before! I'd have to say pumpkin pie. For people who love this dessert, they'll stop at nothing to get it!

You're off the hotseat! Any parting words?

Thanks for the opportunity to burn a hole in my pants! :)

Camy here: LOL! Er, anytime ...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

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I am a bad aunt

So here’s what happened at Christmas: Captain Caffeine and I ordered our nieces’ and nephew’s gifts well before Christmas but because postage takes longer in December, we had the gifts mailed to where we would be staying over Christmas rather than to our house. We figured it would be safer than waiting to see if we’d get them in time before traveling. However, when I was doing the ordering, I made the mistake of having the gifts sent to MY name rather than the name of the person whose house we were staying at. Needless to say, the gifts were returned as “undeliverable” because the post office said that “Camy Tang” does not live at that address. Which I totally don’t get because we get mail addressed to other people at our address ALL the time. And so we showed up at Christmas and had no gifts for our nieces and nephew. Bad aunty and uncle. So now I am making sure we got refunded for the gifts that were returned as “undeliverable” and I’m reordering them to send them to our ni...

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