5 days until Christmas
Kimberley Griffiths Little is the author of five novels, and the winner of the Southwest Book Award. The Healing Spell (Scholastic) was chosen as a Bank Street College Best Books for 2011 and won The Whitney Award for the Best Youth Novel of 2010. Circle of Secrets just released and received a starred review from School Library Journal. Two more novels are forthcoming from Scholastic. When the Butterflies Came will pub January, 2013.
Kimberley adores research trips, anything ancient and mystical – which will manifest itself in deliciously romantic ways in her recently sold YA trilogy to HarperCollins, pitched as the YA version of The Red Tent, and will begin publication in 2013. Kimberley lives on a dirt road along the Rio Grande in an adobe solar home with her robotics husband and three sons.
Connect with Kimberley: WEBSITE | BLOG | Twitter | Facebook
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LDSWBR: What Christmas-related activity would you like to do this year that you have never done before?
KIMBERLEY: Not buy as many presents! Okay, I’m being a bit facetious, but it’s actually true. Every year I spend days and days buying and wrapping and driving all over Albuquerque, and I am really *not* a shopper! (Walmart? Scary. Toys-R-Us? Terrifying. The Mall? Please Just Kill Me Now!) Plus this year I had a book deadline just last week, and nine days of unexpected company and some very ill family members, so instead of killing ourselves at various stores and trying not to get tackled for that last minute Toaster Oven (True Story ;)) we decided not to go so crazy with gift-buying. I’ve purchased 2-3 small things for under the tree, and we plan on having a family day after Christmas and go on a shopping spree to let everyone choose what they want and make a day of it with lunch out, and just enjoy each other instead of hanging out with a Homicidal cashier.
LDSWBR: If you could find one book under the tree this year, what would it be?
KIMBERLEY: An autographed copy of The Book of Mormon. Wouldn’t that be awesome! Nephi’s signature, Mormon’s, Moroni, Alma, Wow! I love that book and it makes me cry nearly every time I read it, the words and spirit are so powerful.
On a more realistic note, this is actually very hard to answer. Lately, I just buy every book I want to read because I don’t want to wait for them – and I want to support other authors!
LDSWBR: What is your favorite childhood Christmas memory?
KIMBERLEY: I’ve always loved Christmas Eve, both as a kid and as an adult. Growing up in San Francisco, it was the night all my cousins and aunts and uncles came over to our house and we talked and talked and read/acted out the Christmas story from Luke and the Book of Mormon and sang all the Christmas carols and ate desserts until we popped. We also got new pajamas!
Now, living in New Mexico, my husband and I adopted the lovely Southwestern tradition of Lighting the Way for the Christ Child by setting up hundreds of sand-filled bags with candles called luminarias. Our entire neighborhood glows spectacularly all night long. There are luminarias on the rooftops and fences, along the road and driveways. After our New Mexican dinner of tamales and bean dip and Spanish rice and sopapillas, we bundle up in warm coats and walk among the luminarias in the chilly night air and go caroling to the neighbors. We usually have the missionaries (sisters this year!) over for dinner and festivities, too. It’s probably my very favorite night of the whole year. I could stand at the living room windows and gaze out at the luminarias for hours. And I do!
LDSWBR: A few things under the tree and a shopping spree after Christmas is genius! All of those luminarias would be beautiful to see. Thank you, Kimberley. Merry Christmas!
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Buy Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little
Watch the Circle of Secrets book trailer.
Watch The Healing Spell book trailer.
Have you ever decorated for the holidays using luminaries? If so, did you make them or buy them?
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To enter the Countdown to Christmas 2011 contest, complete the following and then tell us what you did:
- **Required entry (+1) – Leave a thoughtful comment on this post. (More than just “Great contest!” please.) You must leave a comment on this post for your other entries to count. If you are reading this post through email or an RSS reader, please click through to leave a comment.
- Bonus entry (+1) – Go watch the trailers for The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets (links are located just below the cover art for Circle of Secrets in the post above), then leave a comment telling us if you have read either of them and if not, which one you would read first and why.
- Additional entries (one time +1 entry each) – 1) Subscribe to LDSWBR through email 2) Follow @LDSWBR on Twitter 3) Like LDS Women’s Book Review on Facebook (all found at the the top of the right sidebar on the LDSWBR blog). NOTE: If you already subscribe through email, follow us on Twitter, or Like us on Facebook you must tell us in a comment for the extra entries to count.
- By leaving a comment and entering the Countdown to Christmas 2011, you agree to the contest information found here.
***If you haven’t read the contest rules and info, read them here.***
Book prizes donated by their authors:
- Winners choice of Divinely Designed, Luck of the Draw, or Minor Adjustments by Rachael Renee Anderson
- Winner’s choice of Secret Sisters, Dearly Departed, or Hang ’em High by Tristi Pinkston
- Montana Summer by Jeanette Miller
- Ribbon of Darkness by Julie Coulter Bellon
- Not My Type by Melanie Jacobson
- Cinder & Ella by Melissa Lemon (ebook)
- Pride & Popularity by Jenni James
- The Kissing Tree by Prudence Bice
- Rearview Mirror by Stephanie Black (paperback or Kindle)
- The Next Door Boys by Jolene B. Perry
- Winner’s choice of one of the books in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series by Josi S. Kilpack (including Banana Split which will be released in February 2012)
- Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden
- Obsession by Traci Hunter Abramson
- Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little (autographed hardcover!)
- Indelible by Lani Woodland and a swag bag!
- Identity by Betsy Love
- The Hainan Incident by D.M. Coffman (autographed copy)
- Count Down to Love by Julie N. Ford
- Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett
- The Breakup Artist by Shannen Crane Camp
- Seers by Heather Frost
Don’t forget to comment! Merry Christmas and happy reading!
15 Responses to “Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little – Countdown to Christmas 2011”
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We did one year as a neighborhood decoration. All the neighbors put luminaries out. Our bags burned :)
I have read The Healing Spell and LOVED loved loved it!
I have seen luminaries but I have never decorated with them before. I want to have her New Mexico Christmas Eve dinner of tamales and sopapillas (so yummy!) I can’t believe that I haven’t heard of these books before! I want to get them both, read them, and then put them in my classroom library.
Ooohh, an autographed copy of the Book of Mormon would be awesome!! :o) I grew up in Albuquerque, so we had luminarias every year. On Christmas Eve, we would find neighborhoods that had luminarias all through them, and drive through with our lights off. Magical!
We’ve never decorated with luminaries, although, one of our neighbors makes luminaries for their neighbors every year. They set them out and light them on Christmas Eve and they are just beautiful!
I have seen luminaries used along the driveways of some houses in our old neighborhood, but we have never decorated with them ourselves. I think one of the high school kids made them and sold them as a fundraiser.
I enjoyed the book trailers! We own both books, but so far I have only read The Healing Spell (which I loved!). My daughter (age 10) just finished Circle of Secrets and told me it was great as well, so I’m looking forward to reading that next.
I watched both trailers and read the reviews on Amazon. I have not read either and they both look equally great. I was so excited about these books that I bought The Healing Spell tonight when I was at the bookstore.
Oh, wow! I’ve never heard of luminaries, but they sound incredible. Now I wish I could see it, too!
Both trailers were intriguing! Do either of them have any romance? If so, that would swing the vote. :)
I loved reading all of your comments! Thank you! Taffy, how funny that your luminaria bags burned. Yeah that’s happened to us before, too. ;-) I’ll try to take some pictures this year and maybe Shanda can post them after Christmas if she’s got space when she announces her winners. :-)
And SO glad y’all liked the book trailers, too! I filmed them on location. And some good friends of mine wrote the original music for them as well as doing the sound design. They’re amazing (and LDS!). Heidi, yep, The Healing Spell has a bit of *romance* in it.
Hope you enjoy reading the books – and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Kimberley
I love how you do the luminaries……………..that would be so neat to see!!! Also, I like your comment about the Book of Mormon and having signatures of the prophets. I’m guessing those humble men would pass on signing a Book of Mormon………….after all, it is a book of scripture!!
I haven’t read either of the books………….but watched both trailers and would choose to read circle of secrets first.
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I’ve never decorated with luminaries. We have about 13 steps upto the front of our townhouse, and we could put them on each step, but white Christmas lights on the railing are easier to manage. I do think luminaries are very pretty. My father spent part of his childhood in New Mexico and used them to decorate one Christmas in Maryland.
I watched the book trailer for The Healing Spell earlier this year which led me to buy the book, but I haven’t read it yet. I wish there was an audio version of both of these books. Comparing the trailers, The Healing Spell appeals to me more than Circle of Secrets, but I think I’ll like them both. I just need to work on my “to-read” pile.