Skip to main content

The 12 Authors of Christmas - Julie Lessman

Captain's Log, Stardate 12.07.2007

Continuing the 12 Authors of Christmas, here’s Julie Lessman!

View the tour, including Rachel Hauck and Tricia Goyer’s authors, here.

About Julie:

Julie Lessman is a debut author who has already garnered writing acclaim, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She is a commercial writer for Maritz Travel, a published poet and a Golden Heart Finalist. Julie has a heart to write “Mainstream Inspirational,” reaching the 21st-century woman with compelling love stories laced with God’s precepts. She resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever, and has two grown children and a daughter-in-law. Her first book, A Passion Most Pure, will be in stores January 2008. Visit her Web site at www.julielessman.com.

Tell us about your first Christmas memory?

We had this great, little Nativity set tucked under the Christmas tree, as if in a giant pine forest. It had lots of cows and sheep and kings, and a pretty molded-plastic angel dangling over the roof of the barn. I’d lie in front of it for hours, playing house with the figurines. It was so cool! Come Christmas morning, though, it disappeared beneath a mountain of presents that all but masked our 9-foot tree! With 13 kids in my family, that poor, little manger set would get lost in the shuffle … which, sadly enough, is sometimes still the case in today’s world.

Growing up, did your family have Christmas traditions? Tell us how you incorporated them into your family life. Or, how you created new ones.

Our “tradition” was everybody opening gifts at once, and with 13 kids, it was a real zoo. All I remember is this wild flurry of activity with bows and paper flying and sheer present pandemonium. So when I married my husband, I was shocked to see gifts patiently handed out in a circle, then opened one by one so all could admire it. I was floored! Suddenly a 20-minute feeding frenzy became a 2-hour unforgettable experience. We’ve done it that way in our own family ever since with one addition: when all the presents are opened, we settle in before the fire and read the true Christmas story with grateful hearts.

When do you put up your tree? Describe the decorating at your house.

We decorate the weekend before Thanksgiving because that’s our host holiday and the only time my husband’s family sees our decorations. Trust me, you don’t want me to describe decorating at my house. Suffice it to say it’s a weekend my family would rather forget. ☺

What is your favorite Christmas song or album? (Feel free here to talk about choirs or other musical things you participate in during Christmas.)

Hands down, Amy Grant’s A Christmas Album. That and old movies (I watch them while I decorate) are the only things that salvage the dreaded decorating weekend.

Relive your childhood Christmas mornings for us.

We opened our presents on Christmas Eve, so Christmas mornings were way more relaxed, beginning with a feeding-frenzy breakfast (we did everything in a frenzy, I’m afraid), then Mass, and then off to Grandma’s house to “wolf” down more food and play with cousins.

Tell us about your Christmas setting--do you have a white Christmas?

We live in Missouri, so we probably have a white Christmas about 20% of the time, if that. But it’s usually pretty cold, which I love because we build a fire and have breakfast in our jammies, which the kids have made for us since they were 12 and 7. We then have Christmas coffee and cookies while we open presents in a setting of Christmas music, twinkle lights and candles glowing everywhere.

It's Christmas Eve… Describe your day and evening.

Last-minute wrapping while watching old movies, then getting dolled up to go to a movie with my family, then off to in-laws for dinner and presents.

Confession time. Shop on line or at the mall?

At the mall, unfortunately. I hate crowds, so I should really do the online thing for my sanity … er, what’s left of it.

Christmas grows more and more commercial every year. Setting the hustle and bustle aside, what does Christmas really mean to you?

It means heightened family time and heightened focus on Jesus. But I have to admit, with all the hustle and bustle of commercialism, decorating, entertaining, functions, etc., it’s challenging to focus on the true reason for the season. But years ago, I learned a little tip. Beginning in September, my prayer partners and I start praying for a peaceful, unstressed holiday season for each of us, so that usually helps keep my perspective on track. Prayer … what a wonderful invention!

It's Christmas day… what's for dinner? Do you make cookies or other traditional foods?

Until seven years ago, I baked 60 dozen cookies and 30 rum cakes every Christmas for cookie plates for friends and neighbors, a la Martha Stewart. Then I started writing novels, and there hasn’t been a home-baked cookie in the house since. ☺ Dinner menu? Buffet-style at my in-laws, usually with ham or brisket and all the trimmings.

Tell us about your favorite Christmas memory.

That would be the year my husband gave me a wristwatch when we were engaged. I absolutely HATED it, but couldn’t tell him because he was so darn proud of it. So I did what I usually do—I prayed that God would help me love it. I even wrote the prayer on a piece of paper, dated it, and put it in my Bible so I would be sure to pray it every day. Years later, my husband was reading my Bible and found the note. “You don’t like the watch I gave you?” he asked in shock. “I do now,” I said with a sheepish smile, and he just shook his head.

What are your plans for this season?

Well, I have my first book coming out in 25 days, so I am desperately trying to keep my focus on Jesus because bottom line, being consumed by anything else is guaranteed misery. So I’ll probably be pressing into Him all the more when reviews come in, good or bad, because I will need all the strength I can get. And I have long since learned that the joy of the Lord is my strength.

Any final thoughts on Christmas?

Just that Christmas is a time for appreciating loved ones and friends, and I want you to know, Camy, how much I appreciate you as a Seeker buddy, a techno-wizard and friend. Blessed Christmas to all!

Camy here: Thanks for sharing, Julie!

For any of you guys interested in Christian romance with a little more sexual tension than the norm in CBA (because you know, most of us have either had sex or seen it on cable), keep your eyes peeled for Julie’s debut historical novel, A Passion Most Pure, which releases in January!

Comments

  1. Great interview!

    BTW, Hubba hubba on the hero on your cover. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Pam! And, yeah, regarding the guy on the cover, I have to admit ... I have his model head shot taped above my desk at work, and whenever I get too stressed ... I just look up, and he takes my mind off of it pretty darn quickly!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Hugs,
    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great interview, Julie. The book looks great.

    Rachel

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks very much, Rachel ... appreciate you stopping by!

    And, Camy, thanks for the plug on the book AND for the opportunity to share my Christmas memories! My husband and I got a big chuckle out of your comments. :)

    Hugs,
    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  5. I loved your interview, Julie!!! It's SO great to get to know you better. Fabulous questions, Camy and this whole idea is wonderful. Provides a fascinating glimpse into some of our favorite authors.

    LOVE your cover, Julie.

    Hugs,
    Cheryl

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree with the others i love these interviews.
    Oh and we are a family who do the cookies for others maybe not 60 dozen but enough for the neighbours (and some dough for me to eat).
    I also love the story of the watch. thats a good tip the pray each day for it.
    love the cover of the book to will be looking out for it.
    Thankyou for the interview Camy and Julie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, Cheryl, I loved yours too, but I didn't get to read it until today, my day off. I have to admit, I felt a a bit ancient reading about your Grandma Nellie's silver tinsel tree ... uh, we had one too, rotating color wheel and all.

    And Ausjenny, making cookies at Christmas is a lot of fun for families ... unless, of course, you're anal like me and take 20 minutes per cookie to decorate with three different colors of icing and an artistic design befitting the Louvre. I was finally banned from the kitchen for everyone's sanity and peace of mine ... especially mine!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Julie, i do the ones you stick together so noe decorating. I dont have an artistic bone in my body or if i do its been hiding for along time.
    our are make with a cookie maker and then we ice them together. we use a shortbread type recipe.
    im glad you found a way to keep your sanity in tact.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Had to laugh, Julie about the Chrissy pressies! My hubby's family does the frenzied opening while mine do the sedate, respectful and imminently more refined one at a time approach - LOL!! Not biased am I? Great interview - thanks Julie and Camy :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, Rel, for stopping by. Apparently both my husband's family and yours knew how it should really be done! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I cannot WAIT to read this book. It's killing me that it doesn't release until January. Great interview!

    ReplyDelete
  12. 13 kids!! Oh, my! LOL I can't imagine the chaos. I have one sister. :)

    Great interview. It was fun to get to know more about you, Julie!

    Missy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Laura’s Apricot Shell Shawl knitting pattern

I usually have a knitting project in mind when I write it into one of my books, but Laura’s apricot-colored shawl just kind of appeared upon the page as I was writing the first scene of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 4: Betrayer , and it surprised even me. I immediately went to my yarn stash to find a yarn for it, and I searched through my antique knitting books to find some stitch patterns. I made her an elegant wool shawl she could wear at home. The shawl ended up tagging along with Laura into the next book, Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 5: Prisoner , where it imparts some comfort to her in her trying circumstances. The two stitch patterns are both from the same book, The Lady’s Assistant, volume 2 by Mrs. Jane Gaugain, published in 1842 . A couple excessively clever and creative knitters might have knit these patterns in the Regency era, but they would have only passed them around by word of mouth or scribbled “recipes” to friends or family, and it wouldn’t have been widely use

Phoebe’s Muffatees knitting pattern

In Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 4: Betrayer , Phoebe wears a pair of lace muffatees, or gauntlets/arm-warmers that hide a rather deadly surprise. :) I actually got the idea of having her wear muffatees because I saw a lace manchette pattern in Miss Watts’ Ladies’ Knitting and Netting Book , published in 1840, page 20. However, after doing some research, I found that they were called muffatees in the Regency era, and the term manchette did not arise until a few years later. They were essentially arm-warmers worn under those long sleeves on day dresses, which were usually made of muslin too thin to be very warm. I decided to knit Phoebe’s muffatees using a Leaf Pattern originally suggested for a purse in Mrs. Gaugain’s book, The Lady’s Assistant, volume 1, 5th edition published in 1842, pages 234-237. I think there was an error and row 36 in the original pattern was duplicated erroneously, so I have adjusted the pattern. The original manchette pattern called for “fine” needles a

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures

Year of the Dog serial novel, chapter 13

I’m posting a Humorous Christian Romantic Suspense serial novel here on my blog! Year of the Dog is a (second) prequel to my Warubozu Spa Chronicles series. Year of the Dog serial novel by Camy Tang Mari Mutou, a professional dog trainer, is having a bad year. While renovating her new dog kenneling and training facility, she needs to move in with her disapproving family, who have always made her feel inadequate—according to them, a job requiring her to be covered in dog hair and slobber is an embarrassment to the family. She convinces her ex-boyfriend to take her dog for a few months … but discovers that his brother is the irate security expert whose car she accidentally rear-ended a few weeks earlier. Ashwin Keitou has enough problems. His aunt has just shown up on his doorstep, expecting to move in with him, and he can’t say no because he owes her everything—after his mother walked out on them, Auntie Nell took in Ashwin and his brother and raised them in a loving Chri

One-Skein Pyrenees Scarf knitting pattern

I got into using antique patterns when I was making the scarf my hero wears in my Regency romance, The Spinster’s Christmas . I wanted to do another pattern which I think was in use in the Regency period, the Pyrenees Knit Scarf on pages 36-38 of The Lady's Assistant for Executing Useful and Fancy Designs in Knitting, Netting, and Crochet Work, volume 1, by Jane Gaugain, published in 1840. She is thought to be the first person to use knitting abbreviations, at least in a published book, although they are not the same abbreviations used today (our modern abbreviations were standardized by Weldon’s Practical Needlework in 1906). Since the book is out of copyright, you can download a free PDF copy of the book at Archive.org. I found this to be a fascinating look at knitting around the time of Jane Austen’s later years. Although the book was published in 1840, many of the patterns were in use and passed down by word of mouth many years before that, so it’s possible these are

ひとり寿司第36章パート1

「ひとり寿司」をブログに連載します! ひとり寿司 寿司シリーズの第一作 キャミー・タング 西島美幸 訳 スポーツ狂のレックス・坂井 —— いとこのマリコが数ヶ月後に結婚することにより、「いとこの中で一番年上の独身女性」という内輪の肩書を「勝ち取る」ことについては、あまり気にしていない。コントロールフリークの祖母を無視するのは容易だ —— しかし、祖母は最終通告を出した —— マリコの結婚式までにデート相手を見つけなければ、無慈悲な祖母は、レックスがコーチをしている女子バレーボールチームへの資金供給を切ると言う。 ダグアウトにいる選手全員とデートに出かけるほど絶望的なわけではない。レックスは、バイブルスタディで読んだ「エペソの手紙」をもとに「最高の男性」の条件の厳しいリストを作った。バレーボールではいつも勝つ —— ゲームを有利に進めれば、必ず成功するはずだ。 そのとき兄は、クリスチャンではなく、アスリートでもなく、一見何の魅力もないエイデンを彼女に引き合わせる。 エイデンは、クリスチャンではないという理由で離れていったトリッシュという女の子から受けた痛手から立ち直ろうとしている。そして、レックスが(1)彼に全く興味がないこと、(2)クリスチャンであること、(3)トリッシュのいとこであることを知る。あの狂った家族とまた付き合うのはごめんだ。まして、偽善的なクリスチャンの女の子など、お断り。彼はマゾヒストじゃない。 レックスは時間がなくなってきた。いくら頑張っても、いい人は現れない。それに、どこへ行ってもエイデンに遭遇する。あのリストはどんどん長くなっていくばかり —— 過去に掲載済みのストーリーのリンクはこちらです。 *** 36 誰かと結婚するとしたら、きっと駆け落ちだ。 クスクス笑うマリコのブライズメイドの後をついて、レックスはよろめきながらパゴダブリッジ・レストランに入った。泣きわめくティキの隣で四時間立ちっぱなし——マリコはレックスを列の最後に入れてくれたから、ありがたい——抜歯と同じぐらい喜ばしい経験だった。ノボケインなしで。 (ウェディングそのものは一時間だけ。よかった)リハーサルも終わり、あとはオリバーを見つけ、四時間ぶりに椅子に座って、祖母のおごりで高価なリハーサルディナー(結婚式リハーサ

Year of the Dog serial novel

About Year of the Dog : A month or two ago, I remembered an old manuscript I had completed but which hadn’t sold. It was a contemporary romance meant for Zondervan, titled Year of the Dog . The book had gone into the pipeline and I even got another title ( Bad Dog ) and a cover for it, but eventually my editor at the time decided she didn’t want to publish it, for various reasons. She instead requested a romantic suspense, and so I cannibalized some of the characters from Year of the Dog and thrust them into the next book I wrote, which was Protection for Hire . Honestly, I didn’t take a lot from Year of the Dog to put in Protection for Hire , aside from character names and a few relationship ties. I was originally thinking I’d post Year of the Dog as-is on my blog as a free read, but then it occurred to me that I could revamp it into a romantic suspense and change the setting to Hawaii. It would work out perfectly as (yet another) prequel to the Warubozu series and introduc

Quiz from Lady Wynwood's Spies #6 - question 5

The latest volume in my Christian Regency epic serial novel just released, so I thought I’d post a few of my favorite passages from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 6: Martyr . “There is no need for you to apologize.” A sliver of her normal self seemed to return to her, and she lifted an eyebrow at him. “Yes, well, you should not have interrupted my argument with the tree.” “I could not stand by and watch you bully a defenseless beechwood.” QUIZ: Who is Keriah speaking to, Michael or Mr. Benjamin? EXTRA CREDIT: Why was Keriah apologizing to him? This exchange was an unexpected point of levity in an otherwise pretty heavy scene. It surprised me when I was writing it. Start the series with Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer ! A Christian Historical Adventure set in Regency England with slow-burn romance and a supernatural twist Part one in an epic-length serial novel She met him again by shooting him. After four seasons and unmarried because she is taller than mos

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou

New contest!

I haven’t had a contest since October! Here’s new one just in time for Christmas. I’m picking 3 winners to each be able to choose 10 books from my Christian book list! And yes, that list includes my books! 1) You get one entry into the contest when you sign up for my email newsletter at http://www.camytang.com/ . If you already belong to my email newsletter, let me know! 2) You get a second entry into the contest if you Like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CamyTangAuthor . If you already Like my Facebook page, let me know! 3) You get a third entry into the contest if you join my Goodreads group: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/49078 . If you already belong to my Goodreads group, let me know! 4) You get a fourth entry into the contest if you follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/camytang . If you already follow me on Twitter, let me know! 5) You get extra entries into the contest if you get someone else to join my email newsletter. Just email camy {at] c