I’ll Be Gnome for Christmas

My friend and prolific author and country wife extraordinaire Susan Baganz wrote another nifty
Christmas novella. I’m not going to tell you what it’s about except that the title is I’ll Be Gnome for Christmas and it isn’t technically about mythical gnomes but is gnome-adjacent. And the names are delightful and the characters are relatable and there is drama and romance and good food. And a happy ending. But I won’t tell you any more. You can check out buying options etc. at Amazon or, for a whopper of a deal, go right to the publisher. Pelican is offering all it’s e-reader Christmas novellas for .99! (buying options at end of interview)
The reason I wanted Susan on my blog is so you could get to know her. She is quite delightful too!

Susan shares her Favorite Christmas recipe:
Probably Butterballs aka Mexican wedding cakes – mostly because they are easy! (and all that powdered sugar – yum!) Sugar cookies are always good, but I like them crunchy, and you lose that when you frost them and for all my creative skills I have not mastered cookie decorating and have not intentions of correcting that flaw.  (There are thousands online!)
 
Susan shares her favorite sacred Christmas song
I love “Go Tell it on the Mountain”, but usually I don’t like the way it is sung – as it is often sung more like a dirge when the lyrics indicate it as more of an urgent call and celebration. Zach Williams gets it right I think: https://youtu.be/mXBzrutelZA?si=lb16gsBPl8xe7QNC
I also love the “O Come All Ye Faithful” mashup with “Sing to the King” done by 33 miles. https://youtu.be/TKiYSO83mFA?si=FeoCDAEaDqk0m3YN
 
Susan shares her favorite secular Christmas song
This is fun! “Frosty the Bluesman” by Denver and the Mile High Orchestra. I loved playing this in the car when my kids were little, and we all laughed at poor Frosty! (and they never saw the old show about Frosty the Snowman). https://youtu.be/4BdEgnHN-xA?si=ntsLvmDVKlzJCNQu
Another favorite is by Erin O’Donnell, “Christmas Kiss” because it is sweet, and I am a romance author, so there is that:  https://youtu.be/KfqbdH8fZnc?si=owGblOyegCHiaLx0
  
Susan tells about her Favorite Christmas Decoration
First up is always the Christmas tree. I actually have two now (skinny small one in the master bedroom). Sometimes it is decorated with a more romantic vibe, soft pink gold and with pearls garland, ribbons and white lights. This year it is my Seussical tree: jewel-toned bulbs and silly candy decorations and lots of colored lights. I got the idea from visiting the Paine Nutcracker in the Castle one year. It has a whimsical, colorful Dr. Seuss feel to it. I made my own ornament garland to go on it with big and little bulbs. It took a LOT of bulbs to make that! Still, it is colorful, fun, and I love it. We often keep the tree up well into February but transform it into a Valentine’s tree. I love the lights of Christmas during the dark days of winter. This year the tree has a mild barricade to keep my puppy from filtching and destroying ornaments!

Susan shares her favorite Christmas story
God wrote the best Christmas story of them all in The Bible so that’s got to top the list even though it is not fiction. It is after all, the reason we celebrate. Beyond that it is hard because I edit so many wonderful stories by great authors! The sad reality is I often don’t get to read much else between my writing and editing lately.
            I would say A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a must read. I ordered The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford because I loved the movie but usually the book is better (behind the scenes of writing A Christmas Carol). I look forward to trying to read that during this season.
 
Susan shares what her gnome name might be if she were a gnome
That’s a hard one! I always wanted my real name to be Stephanie and my parent’s almost named me that but were afraid I’d be nicknamed Stevie. (I have an Uncle Steve), so I ended up Susan. Then a doctor said I should be Priscilla. Not sure why but I was a little precocious as a toddler, I guess? (That’s what happens when you read to your babies!) Still, I’ve been Susan so long… and there are so many gnome names to choose from. Here are three. I can’t seem to decide. What do my readers suggest?
Luzi Quirkysnap
Snarkles Flufferbe
Tansi Squigglediggles
I guess I’m open to suggestions but don’t plan on making it legal.
 
Susan confesses the limits of gnome lore research
I didn’t do a lot of research on lore because gnomes are magical fantasy creatures that can be mischievous and since I write Christian fiction, magic isn’t going to be a factor in my characters. Mischief? Maybe. Gnomes can be protectors (aka garden gnomes) of treasures. I opted for the more whimsical side of short, human-like creatures and made them real life people with silly names.
 
Susan admits she wishes gnomes were real
They aren’t? I know a few. Prove me wrong.
 
Susan explains why we should read her book
If you like a sweet Christmas story with a dash of wit this is a good story for you. I had a gnome friend who enjoyed I’ll be Gnome for Christmas, but missed some of the suspense of some of my other stories, and it’s quite possible that the next one might have a bit more of that in it. If you want suspense for THIS Christmas, then they’ll need to read The Lady with the Alligator Case. 😊 However, If you are in the mood for a light escape with a sweet romance, then I’ll Be Gnome for Christmas might meet that need.
 
What Susan hopes we will take away from the story
Christmas can be dark and lonely for so many people. We remember those we’ve lost. We might be re-evaluating the past year and as is natural, we focus on the negative. In this story there is that childlike faith and hope in Christmas miracles and dreams coming true, even if they seem like impossible pie-in-the-sky types of dreams. I think we lose much of that as we grow older and face the challenges of life. In this story I think HOPE is what the reader will take away. Anything is possible if we trust in Jesus and make Him first in our lives, and in this season.
                                                  
Susan dishes on her favorite scene in I’ll Be Gnome for Christmas
I have a few favorites and don’t want to give away any spoilers but anytime Bingle Twinkle and Fez Ponderosa face off it tends to be a little bit fun, at least it was for me as a writer. Of course, the happily-ever-after ending is always the best part.

If you love a good holiday romance with multi-dimensional characters, please pick up Susan’s book. Available at Amazon, or at Pelican Book Group for only .99!

https://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=68_41