[A Holiday Blog Tour Stop #2]
Christina Coryell

Welcome to Mountain Brook Ink’s 2018 Holiday Blog Tour! We’re so excited you’ve decided to join us on this journey of family, friends, traditions, and memories over the next month. You as our reader have done so much to pour into our lives, and this season we want to give back to you with insight into our lives AND some giveaways. The more days you follow, share, comment, and engage with us, the more entries you’ll have toward a Kindle Fire Grand Prize or one of three Amazon Gift Cards!

Since we’re nearing the last day of October, I thought it might be appropriate to give it a little attention. I have a confession to make: The older I get, the more I like trick-or-treating. That sounds backwards, doesn’t it? As a child, I enjoyed dressing up like someone else and playacting. I didn’t mind the candy that came along with the tradition either, even though my dad liked to spread it out and look through the pile for his favorites as payment for room and board. Then there was the almost euphoric feeling the day after, still nursing a candy hangover, when I realized the holiday season was officially beginning.

My kids love dressing up like I did as a kid, but more specifically, they love putting costumes on our dog. Let me introduce you to Prince Charming, aka Prince for short. The poor guy has been doomed from the start, because he’s exactly the same size as the standard Build-A-Bear. Unfortunately for him, that means there are an abundance of Prince-sized clothes in my house that already come with tail holes sewn into the fabric. He’s about a pound shy of being the size of the average newborn baby, and he fits perfectly in strollers, baby carriers, and car seats.

Here is a rare photo of him loving/not loving the car seat.

Prince Charming might be the reason I wrote a pint-sized dog into my story in Finding Love on the Oregon Coast. In my experience, any situation feels lighter when there’s a little dog involved.

As an adult, I still enjoy seeing the costumes, the ingenuity, and the creativity on October 31st. But each year that passes, I appreciate another aspect of trick-or-treating even more: Community. In a world where technology has connected us in ways we’ve never known before, as people we’ve never been more isolated and insulated from one another. That one night every year, with princesses and cowboys ringing my doorbell, I’ll talk to my neighbors.

No, I’m not that person who doesn’t speak to her next-door neighbors during the rest of the year. I’m talking about the other neighbors – the ones that live a couple of streets over. The ones who live halfway across my town. The ones who don’t say hi to one another on a normal day, because we’re all too busy with our faces in our phones or in a mad rush to finish our errands or focused on whatever else steals our time. That one night, smiling at strangers and handing out food just because, I get a glimpse of the face of Jesus.

Whether or not you see the face of Jesus in random people ringing your doorbell is up to you, but if you happen to ring my doorbell on October 31st, you’ll be met by this guy. He might be dressed as a cow, a hot dog, or even a rapper with his little hat on sideways. Feel free to say hi to him and compliment him on his outfit, but please don’t give him chocolate.

Stop #1: October 28 – Kimberly Rose Johnson
Stop #2: October 29 – Christina Coryell
Stop #3: October 30 – Mary Davis
Stop #4: October 31 – Angela Ruth Strong
Stop #5: November 1 – Susan Page Davis
Stop #6: November 2 – Amy K. Rognlie
Stop #7: November 3 – Gayla K. Hiss
Stop #8: November 4 – Christa MacDonald
Stop #9: November 5 – Linda Hanna & Deborah Dulworth
Stop #10: November 6 – Richard Spillman
Stop #11: November 7 – Annette M. Irby
Stop #12: November 8 – Miralee Ferrell
Stop #13: November 9 – Jeanette-Marie Mirich
Stop #14: November 10 – Anna Zogg
Stop #15: November 11 – Teresa H. Morgan
Stop #16: November 12 – Kelsey Norman
Stop #17: November 13 – Barbara J. Scott
Stop #18: November 14 – Patricia Lee
Stop #19: November 15 – Linda Thompson
Stop #20: November 16 – Janalyn Voigt
Stop #21: November 17 – Cynthia Herron
Stop #22: November 18 – Trish Perry
Stop #23: November 19 – Heather L.L. Fitzgerald
Stop #24: November 20 – Sara Davison
Stop #25: November 21 – Taylor Bennett

USA Today bestselling author Christina Coryell was born and raised in southwest Missouri, where she lives with her husband and two children. She had plenty of people tell her that her degree in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing would be useless. They were probably right. Added to her dual major in History, she became the least likely candidate for nearly every career on the planet, save being a writer. That suits her just fine.

Christina has written from the back hatch of an SUV, in a lawn chair while at soccer practice, in the front seat of her car, with kids climbing on her, and often with extremely loud noise in the background. At least half of her books have been written during baseball games.

She believes great fiction mirrors life, and great life contains a little humor, so it’s difficult not to sprinkle a little funny business throughout her work. Oh…and character is everything.

Learn more about Christina at christinacoryell.com

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