20 days until Christmas

 Remember – all entries go into one big “bowl” for the drawing, so more entries improves your chance of winning!

Melissa has had many imaginary friends (and enemies) since she was a child. Her vivid imagination had her writing stories and jotting down book ideas for years until she finally sat down and finished a novel. She is married to an awesome man and the proud mother of three fun, sassy, lovely daughters. Melissa is a graduate of the University of Utah and currently resides in the Salt Lake area.

Connect with Melissa: BLOG | WEBSITE | Twitter | Facebook

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LDSWBR: What Christmas-related activity would you like to do this year that you have never done before?

MELISSA: I would love to go on a vacation for Christmas rather than give presents. Especially if that vacation involves a warm beach in Mexico or a cozy cabin in the Swiss Alps. So much of Christmas is meaningless; being somewhere isolated with nothing but the people I love most sounds like a real Christmas celebration.

LDSWBR: If you could find one book under the tree this year, what would it be?

MELISSA: I’d love a first edition collection of Charles Dickens’ books. It’d be even cooler if they were delivered by Charles Dickens’ ghost, or maybe Scrooge’s. If I had to choose just one, it would be a first edition of A Tale of Two Cities.

LDSWBR: What is your favorite childhood Christmas memory?

MELISSA: We had a horse pasture and every so often we actually had a horse in it. I remember my dad taking me out for a ride one Christmas morning and that was far better than presents. When my siblings and I were older we would always camp out in somebody’s bedroom on Christmas Eve and that brought a lot of fun memories as well as a tight bond before we all started moving out of the house. We went sledding at night when the moon reflecting on the snow created a place between night and day. My most memorable Christmases have come when my focus was on giving to others of my time and especially if they were people in great need.

LDSWBR: Thank you, Melissa. Have a wonderful Christmas!

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Buy Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon

CEDAR FORT | DESERET BOOK | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

 

 How have you and your family helped others during the Holiday season?

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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) – Tell us in your comment what your favorite fairytale was in your childhood. Is it still your favorite?

• 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: