Making a book is hard. Doing it independently is even harder. These are the stories I want to share behind making “Merry Chrissy and the Naughty or Nice Truth.”
When I began writing this story, I had a very light framework of what Chrissy’s world would be. I knew early on we would go back and forth between the real world and the fictional world of the North Pole. Much of Chrissy’s life in the real world is focused on her everyday life in school and at home, mostly dealing with the relationship with her mother and friend Tyler. In the North Pole, Chrissy is highly controlled by her mentor and trainer Mistletoe and the company in general. With Chrissy being 9 years old and very talented magic-wise, “North Pole Incorporated” is hesitant because a similar person that was a little older caused some “issues” several years ago.
I envisioned the North Pole as a small city state, completely independent of the world. The entire city’s economy is dedicated to Christmas and related industries making Christmas possible. NP doesn’t answer to the UN, they answer to a higher authority that’s even more secret than NP. That organization being simply known as “G.I.F.T.”. “Gratitude International Friendship Trust” is the parent company that controls much of the purse strings of NP. By the namesake, you may easily figure out that G.I.F.T. is the company that is responsible for all holiday celebrations big and small. There’s a division for Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day, and the list goes on and on. NP is the most important division for G.I.F.T. and is the the most expensive. The costs of doing Christmas is a major issue with North Pole Incorporated, particularly with one key factor it making it all possible – Christmas Magic.
In the world of NP, Christmas Magic costs money to produce and acquire. Mistletoe makes Chrissy aware of this early on, but Chrissy’s inexperience in “listing” (checking on kids naughty or nice) makes her use a lot of magic. As the story unfolds, dealing with magic will become a serious issue for Chrissy and will affect her emotionally and physically. Not everyone can handle so much Christmas Magic, even for a girl who has the Christmas spirit year round.
Chrissy’s real world interactions as I said before are mostly focused on school, home and the town that she lives in. At the start of the book, Chrissy observes her town riding on her bike, looking for Christmas spirit…in July. Chrissy’s elementary school in 4th grade is the most hostile environment outside of the North Pole. The themes of acceptance, bullying and dealing with an indifferent faculty who indirectly enable her adversary Charlotte are dominant in these chapters. Of course, it’s not all mundane and unwelcoming for Chrissy. Her home, particularly Chrissy’s bedroom is her “safe space”, naturally full of Christmas wonder…and a giant Christmas special collection. Her mother, while distant at times, respects her interests in Christmas year round. However, she realizes that Chrissy doesn’t have any friends and from the very start she forces her daughter to begin socializing.
In the real world, Chrissy’s best (and only) friend is a quiet, well-mannered boy named Tyler Dirkelson. The two kids don’t have the same interests, but forge a bond when the bullying gets rough. The relationship is not perfect. Chrissy often at times is a little too enthusiastic about Christmas and Tyler is often a pacifist that avoids conflict as much as possible. The two kids need each other in a turbulent environment and the friendship bond grows stronger as the story goes on. Does he or does he not believe in Santa? That is the question going forward.
Merry Chrissy and the Naughty or Nice Truth is a middle-age grade novel designed for ages 9 and up that is now available. Go to www.merrychrissy.com to purchase the book. You can also follow Merry Chrissy on Twitter and Google Plus.
Ronald Hennessy 