Countdown to Christmas | Interview & Giveaway w/ Jo Ann Brown

It's another day of the Countdown to Christmas Party! I'm excited to share about A Hero for Christmas by Jo Ann Brown. Plus, Jo Ann is about some of her most wonderful Christmas memories! (If you've missed other stops along the way, you can check them out here.)

i blog 4 books: Jo Ann, thank you so  What is your most memorable Christmas and why?

Jo Ann Brown: This is a really tough question, because I have a long list to choose from. I think one of my favorites was when I had three small children and was living in the Detroit area while my husband was living in Boston while he began his new job. The children (ages 6, 3, and 2) had stayed behind to sell the house. We had a LOT of showings and finally sold the house a few days after Christmas. That was our favorite Christmas present because we knew the next year, we’d all be together!

ib4b: Name three words that you associate with Christmas.

JB: Family, nativity, joy.

ib4b: How will your family celebrate Christmas this year?

JB: Now that the kids are grown and on the other side of the country, it will be just my husband and myself for Christmas day. We live near Las Vegas, so we celebrate by going out to dinner at a nice restaurant. This is a very new tradition for us.

ib4b: That's a fun tradition ... and so simple! What is the best gift you’ve ever given?

JB: I gave my husband, when he was my fiancé, a homemade knit Christmas stocking with his name knitted into it. Not only did it bring me back to my knitting which I love, but it’s become a family tradition as I’ve made stockings for siblings, parents, and our children as well as the cousins. Now I’m making them for new spouses and new babies. Five generations of tradition came out that one stocking.

ib4b: Who gave you the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received? What was it?

JB: My husband gave me a book that was long out of print. I’d read it as a teenager, and I wanted to read it again. I was thrilled to have a copy of my own.

ib4b: Tell me about the Christmas tradition that means the most to you.

JB: See question #4 above <g> We also have a tradition of getting a Christmas ornament each year that has something to do with what the family (or one member) did that year. When the children were younger, they took turns with the “telling of the ornaments.” We spread them out on the dining room table, and it was that year’s child’s task to select them in order and tell why we had that special ornament. Each year, we had a lot of laughs and lot of “remember whens” that made that Christmas even brighter...and then we’d hang the new ornament near the Christmas star at the top of the tree.

ib4b: My husband and I exchange ornaments too, and it's always one of our favorite gifts! How do you keep your focus on Christ during this hectic but wondrous time of year?

JB: We especially enjoy the Advent services at church. We set up a variety of nativities, some simple and homemade. Others bought at the store. Each one has its special place, but we try to have one in each room, so the true reason for the season is always close at hand.

ib4b: What is your favorite ...

• Christmas movie? I should say “Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage” because I wrote the novelization for that movie, but hands down, the favorite is a tie between “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “The Santa Clause”.
• Christmas song? “Mary, Did You Know?” It gives me chills every time I hear it because it’s a small view into how a miracle unfolded.
• Christmas treat? Brown sugar and walnut fudge.
• Christmas smell? Freshly baking raisin-cinnamon bread.
• Christmas children’s book? A Visit From St. Nick – my husband reads it to the children every year just before bed on Christmas Eve. One year, our younger daughter was in the college program at Walt Disney World, so he called her on the phone and she and her suite-mates listened as he read the story. It helped when they were all away from family on Christmas for the first time. Now he sets up a conference call and they all listen in and have a chance to wish everyone Merry Christmas, even if we all can’t be together on Christmas Eve.

About A Hero for Christmas

To Heal the Soldier's Heart

Jonathon Bradby would gladly return to fighting the French if it meant avoiding his new title: war hero. Only he knows the reputation isn't deserved. Then a visit to Sanctuary Bay brings renewed acquaintance with the lovely Lady Catherine Meriweather. He's drawn to her, yet Cat surely deserves a real hero.

Overwhelmed with organizing a Yuletide celebration and her sister's wedding, Cat gladly accepts Jonathan's help. Soon she sees the gentle heart he conceals beneath his wit. But Jonathan's need to prove himself could drive them apart—unless they're bold enough to seize the unexpected gift of love. 

About Jo Ann Brown

Jo Ann Brown has been creating characters and stories for as long as she can remember. Her earliest stories starred her friends and sisters. She wrote her first novel in high school, and it happily resides in the very back of her file cabinet. Fast forward through college, serving in the US Army as a quartermaster officer, getting married, and increasing her blessings with three children...and Jo Ann sold her first book (a western historical romance) in 1987. Since it was published in 1988, she has sold over 100 titles and has become a best-selling and award-winning author. Romantic Times calls her "a truly talented author." She writes romance, mystery, and paranormal under a variety of pen names.

Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages and are sold on every continent except Antarctica. A sought-after speaker, she has been teaching creative writing for over 20 years, and she established several popular fiction courses at Brown University.

She has always lived on the east coast, but now resides in Nevada with her husband, who is always her first reader, and a chubby tiger cat. Visit Jo Ann's website to learn more about her.

Giveaway

Jo Ann is giving away a copy of A Hero for Christmas! Giveaway is open to US residents only and ends December 19. Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*** All participants must be 18 years or older. The winner will be contacted via email. Once contacted the winner has 72 hours to respond with the required information. If the winner does not respond within the timeframe specified, another winner will be chosen. I am not responsible for shipping mishaps. Void where prohibited. ***