Hey There, It's Christa!

You Had Me At Banana Pudding...

While I still have a little TIVO envy, thanks to my sister, there really aren't that many TV shows I would "tape" week after week to justify the purchase anyway.

Sure, I still watch "LOST" (but mostly online since I'm usually at movie screenings on Wednesday nights) and "The Office" from time to time and have recently gotten into "Castle" (although the jury is still out since I'm not sure I really love it enough to keep up), but that's mostly it—unless it's NFL football season, of course.

With the exception of my Food Network shows, of course, which are more "educational" than anything, right? I absolutely love watching Giada, Ina Garten (a.k.a. Barefoot Contessa) and still tune in to Rachael Ray from time to time. On a side note, I think I'd like Rachael more if she didn't call the potatoes "kids." She always takes about "throwing the kids into the pot." And call me crazy, but I don't think it's nice to throw your kids into a boiling pot of water...good thing she doesn't have any, right?

And now there may be another show in my cooking repertoire. Before I tuned into Giada yesterday, I saw that they replaced Sandra Lee's "Semi Homemade" (thank goodness 'cause her elaborate tablescapes and cocktail time drove me absolutely crazy...just watch and you'll agree...promise) with Sunny Anderson's "Cooking For Real."

Maybe it's because she made banana pudding, an absolute favorite of mine, but I thought it was a really fun, informative show. Not only did the food look mouthwateringly good, but she had a pleasant presentation that wasn't annoying in the least. In other words, some pretty good TV that might inspire what I make for dinner...something Will won't mind in the least.

Reviews, Please?

To all the kind people who've already reviewed Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers on Amazon.com, BN.com, Christianbook.com, etc., thank you very, very much...

And now for those of you who haven't, would you please consider doing so? I'm looking for a few more reviews to boost my star rating, so I'd love to have the masses read your opinions...

Have a great weekend, and thanks as always for your support!
xo,
Christa

Blog Tour...The Latest Stop

Thanks to fellow romance author Tamela Quiijas (thank you Facebook for the introduction), Blessed Are the Meddlers is making a cameo on her blog. So be sure to check it out...and happy weekend!

P.S. Besides teen girls with huge crushes on Edward Cullen, anyone else excited that Twilight is coming out on DVD this weekend?

Yeah, I'm not usually the one to keep up with trends (I'd rather avoid them like the plague), but Twilight is a bit of a guilty pleasure, and I can't wait to watch it again. And for the record, no, I'm not quite dedicated enough to be attending one of the midnight release parties, just in case you're curious.

Rejecting Paris?

When you live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, you can't help (and in my case, routinely) but think about where you'd rather be living. I mean, St. Paul does have a few charms, but when it feels like winter almost six months a year, the good things aren't always easy to remember.

So I saw a quiz on Facebook titled "Where Should You Be Living?" and immediately went to work. And when it was all said and done, the verdict was—wait for it, Paris.

PARIS! City of love.

Now I haven't been to Paris yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. I mean, who couldn't love a place that's home to The Lourvre, Hemingway, everything Hermés and rich, butter-saturated delicacies at every corner?

But given the language barrier (yeah, I don't speak French), today's wretched exchange rate for our poor little dollar and the fact that I couldn't exactly thrive as a freelancer there, I'm thinking that Paris might not be the place for Will and I.
Now, California...that's another story.

Yeah, it's expensive and smoggy, and the traffic is definitely less than desirable. Plus, some people actually get sick of the perpetual sunshine (something I still can't quite fathom), but I think I could roll in a place that's just a stone's throw from the Pacific. Every time I've visited Cali, I've had an exceptional, exceptional time, and I couldn't imagine that being much different if Will and I actually called it home.

But since it looks like we're going to be stuck here for a little longer at least, it is fun to dream in the meantime. I mean, Paris or California...that's not exactly a bad scenario either way...

Yep, Even Judy Blume Blogs

As a child growing up in the '80s, my first fan letter should've been written to someone like Kirk Cameron, my main squeeze Simon LeBon or a fab hat wearer like Debbie Gibson. But I wasn't like all the other kids—never was—so I reserved my unabashed fandom for my favorite of all authors: the ever-enchanting Judy Blume.

From my first read of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, somehow I felt like Judy got me, even though I lived thousands of miles from New York City and didn't have an annoying kid brother named Fudge. And when Superfudge finally released a couple of years later, my adoration only grew. In fact, I checked the book out from our school library so many times that the librarian finally took pity on me and gave me the library's only copy.

Trust me, that was an exciting, exciting day in my world.

And when I figured out that she actually got paid to make up stories for a living,I knew I simply had to write to her and let her know that I planned on doing the same thing when I was old enough. Then after penning what I knew was the letter of a lifetime and mailing it off, I patiently waited. And waited. And waited some more.

While my Mom gingerly pointed out that there was a chance I'd never hear anything back, (Judy was a busy woman, after all), I knew she'd be so impressed with my letter that she'd have to write back. And a few months later, that happened with a cheery form letter, complete with her Xeroxed autograph, not that it mattered much to me. I proudly hung it on the bulletin board in my room and told all my friends that I'd heard back from Judy Blume.

Needless to say, they weren't exactly impressed. Maybe if it had been Kirk Cameron...

My love of Judy's work continued through adolescence and beyond, and I still consider her one of my biggest influences today. So imagine my sheer joy when I stumbled across her blog.

Not only does she offer a few choice anecdotes from her life, but provides lots of great tips for novelists (like me...hurrah!) and aspiring writers alike. I especially connected with how she described the up-and-down journey of writer's, namely because of the solitary existence: "For me, writing has its ups and downs. After I had written more than ten books I thought seriously about quitting. I felt I couldn't take the loneliness anymore. I thought I would rather be anything than a writer. But I've finally come to appreciate the freedom of writing. I accept the fact that it's hard and solitary work. And I worry about running out of ideas or repeating myself. So I'm always looking for new challenges."

Well said, Judy. Well said.

Return to Stars Hollow

Like most TV shows that rank high on my small, highly elite list of series I'd watch again and again, I didn't watch much of "Gilmore GIrls" when it was actually on TV. An episode here and there, sure...But it wasn't until Will got me the first season for Christmas back in 2007 that I was properly initiated into all things "Gilmore Girls."

As addictive as the show is with its crazy coffee-obsessed protagonists, Friday night dinners with the girls' elitist family in nearby Hartford and the antics of cooky townspeople like Sookie, Kirk (!!!) and Miss Patty, it probably comes as no surprise that Will and I zipped through seven seasons (TV on DVD rules!) in no time flat.

Once Rory graduated from Yale and made her way into the world outside of Stars Hollow (campaigning for Obama long before he was president...who knew Rory was clairvoyant?), I must say that I really missed all the Stars Hollow shenanigans. Whether it was those daily visits to Luke's for java (not to mention the burgers and fries that Loralei and Rory never really ate much of, but sure liked to order), the countless, over-the-top Stars Hollow town festivals, and of course, the inevitable twists and turns of the characters' respective love lives, you felt like you were there, right along with them.

But all good things must come to an end, right? I'm sure if the series had gone on, it would've only deteoriated significantly...seven seasons is a good, long run—especially in today's A-D-D culture.

After some distance from all things Gilmore, however, Will and I recently started watching again and are currently about 2/3rds of the way through season 1. While it's a good fun in the absence of many good TV shows (aside from "LOST," "The Office," my favorite Food Network fare and newbie "Castle"), it's also a great time for me to tune in since I'm in the beginning stages of writing my third Sydney Alexander novel.

Since the Gilmore Girls (and the rest of the Stars Hollow crew) are characters I actually cared about for hundreds of episodes, it's not a bad place to take a few chick-lit writing cues from. Oh and the dialogue is an absolute hoot, too! I'm sure that drinking games were established just for the pop culture references alone...

Apparently, It's Easy Being Green

Maybe it's the "Saint" in our fair city's name, but I never knew that St. Paul was so into Saint Patrick's Day until, well, today. I was doing my normal walk through the skyways in pursuit of my morning coffee when I noticed hundreds of my neighbors, all sporting head-to-toe traditional green, congregating on 4th Street below. It was like 9:00 a.m. and the Guinness drinking and March 17th merriment had already commenced in anticipation of the big parade that would follow.

I expected everyone to be long gone by the time I'd enjoyed my caramel macchiato and sped read through USA Today, (it is a normal Tuesday work day, after all, not a national holiday) but the crowd had only grown much larger and rowdier. So that got me, who is probably only 1/8th Irish, but still Irish all the same, thinking, "Did all these people actually take off work for this?"

Before I could belabor the point in my mind, however, I marveled as a guy passed by with spray-painted green hair (and matching eyebrows to boot). As if that wasn't enough to solidify his commitment to Irish pride, he was walking a fluffy white dog that had also been dyed green for the special occasion. Kids passing by ooohed and aahed as the green pooch passed by, much to the guy's obvious annoyance. Being the sarcastic girl that I am on occasion, I wanted to snidely remark, "Hey, if you don't want attention, maybe don't dye your dog green!" But I refrained and made my way back to my apartment, feeling like a sorry excuse for an Irishwoman in my green warm-up jacket—my lame attempt at avoiding getting pinched for not sporting something green today.

Q&A with Yours Truly

I just did a really fun Q&A with author/blogger extraordinaire Amy Wallace about my lack of matchmaking abilities, my funny writer quirks, etc. So without further introduction...here's what I had to say.

Care to share any real-life matchmaker stories?

You know, I wish I could. I've been even less successful than Sydney in the whole matchmaking department. I always try to be really thoughtful about who I set up, but it still always backfires somehow. Once I set up two friends who I thought would really click for a casual getting-to-know you dinner with my hubby and I and another friend, and he ignored the potential love of his life all night. I mean, he didn't speak to her—AT ALL. When I asked him later on whether he was interested in my friend (as if his ignoring her completely wasn't indication enough), he said "there wasn't any chemistry." Perhaps, if he'd actually talked to her...Oh well, I tried, right?

How much of Sydney is there in Christa?

Sydney and Christa are definitely simpatico in many ways—their spiritual gift of sarcasm, their need for an IV of Diet Cokes and caramel macchiatos, a shared faith and their quirky turns of phrase. But I will say this: Sydney dresses far, far better than I do. She's a regular fashion plate, while I usually opt for something way more casual.

What's the biggest challenge in writing contemporary fiction?

Like many authors (I'm guessing anyway), it's definitely having enough hours in the day to dedicate to it. To get everything just right requires a lot of time and effort, and there's always a million distractions, not to mention that pesky freelance writing day job (ha ha).

Share a little about your life's passion and how you live it out.

When I was a 10-year-old kid reading Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge, I knew that if Judy Blume could get paid for making up stories, that's exactly what I wanted to do. So from a young age, I started cultivating my love of writing by learning as much as I could about the craft and working at it.

Along the way, I had some great teachers and mentors who encouraged me in my pursuit, and once I hit college, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life—become a music journalist for CCM Magazine, and eventually, write novels. So I packed up my hideous Buick Century with anything that would fit and moved to Nashville, Tenn., right after college graduation. After a year and a half of slaving at odd jobs, (and odd, they were!), my dream finally came true back in 2000.

Then after working in various capacities there for 5 1/2 years, I ventured out on my own and started freelancing full-time, which I still do today. I took the novel writing plunge back in 2006, (thanks to the encouragement of several friends), signed with NavPress, and my first novel, Around the World in 80 Dates released in 2007. After having my second novel hit store shelves last August, I'm avidly promoting both books while working on my third novel. It's definitely not an occupation for the faint of heart, but I enjoy spending many, many, many hours with my MacBook, writing until I can't anymore.

Do you have any author quirks? (come on, be honest here ;-)

I'm a really, really talented procrastinator. I also write everything in order and edit as I go, which isn't really a quirk, but definitely not the recommended course of action. I've been told countless times to "just get it down," but I can't move on until it's exactly how I want it. Maybe it's more of a Type A quality than quirky, but there you have it.

What word of encouragement would you share with singles and newly-weds?

No matter what place you are in life, enjoy the journey. When you're single, it's so easy to put your life on hold by focusing on finding "The One" and being married. And once you're married, it'll be like two seconds later, and people will start asking you when you'll settle down and have kids already. So really, it's a never-ending cycle. While it's definitely not a bad thing to look forward to the future, living in the present allows you to fully enjoy the moment and all the joys and life lessons that come with it, knowing that God really does have everything in control. After all, as I've discovered again and again, His clock and my clock aren't always necessarily in sync. But yet, His time is the perfect, even if you may not see it that way at the time.

Where can readers find you on the web?

Readers can check out all things Christa Banister-related at my personal Website (www.christabanister.com). Not only can you sign up for my newsletter there, but you can click on links to my personal blog, Facebook page and other random goodness.

What Happens Next?

I was recently asked by the fabulous Amy Wallace, author and blogger at Heart Chocolate to write a little something about what inspired Blessed Are the Meddlers...so here's what I had to say (and yes, it involves Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks).

Faith, Hope and Why I Wrote Blessed Are the Meddlers
What if a couple of months after that fateful meeting in the park with slobbery ol’ Brinkley by their side, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s characters in You’ve Got Mail ultimately decided their relationship was way better in cyberspace and eventually broke up?

For those of us who love our happy-ever-after endings that the bulk of romantic comedies reliably serve up, that’s a possibility we’re often okay with leaving unexplored.

After all, it just feels better to assume that everyone is happy—no questions asked.

But what does happen after the couple we’ve been rooting for actually gets together? It’s something I’ve always wondered about and something I finally had a chance to explore in my second novel, Blessed Are the Meddlers.

Since Sydney and Gavin are really, truly enjoying their new wedded bliss, I wasn’t shy about it. And I think seeing a couple happily adjusting to newlywed life is a refreshing change of pace, especially when marriage is portrayed in such a bad light in so many TV shows and movies. I mean, once the wedding is over and married life seems about as appealing as the requisite root canal, it’s not surprising that so many people get the wrong idea about God’s amazing gift.

At the same time, however, I didn’t want to abandon some of the singles-specific themes of the first book, which is why the always-helpful Sydney makes it her life’s mission to ensure that her friends and family are as happy as she is—whether they want her help or not (doesn’t every single know someone like that?). But as anyone who has ever played matchmaker knows, meddling in someone’s love life can have some serious complications, something Sydney learns all too quickly, especially when she transforms into love advice guru, Lucy for the Lovelorn.

While I had so much fun writing Sydney per usual, I also loved the journey that Sydney’s sister Samantha was on. Once she finally (!!!) starts dating the oh-so-dashing Eli, it doesn’t seem to make sense that Samantha wouldn’t be happy as a clam. I mean, c’mon, she’s dating the cutest, sweetest guy, and yet she’s still holding a torch for an old flame that’s about as promising as anyone’s chance of guessing all the right Powerball numbers. And while Samantha eventually made some choices that garnered a few groans from readers, I loved how she refused to settle—something I hoped would resonate deeply with anyone who’s been tempted to do just that.

Continuing the trend of the “most unlikely person” getting married from my first book, Around the World in 80 Dates, Sydney’s boss Lucinda is also embarking on an eye-opening journey of her own as she realizes what’s really important not only in a guy, but in life. Sure, she’s still got a pithy one-liner for everything, but she really is growing, a process that everyone can relate to.

And I feel that I grew a little in the writing process, too. Not only did I have the newfound confidence of an author who’s been through the process once before, but I really felt God’s inspiration during the long, long weeks and months it took to come together. When I was short on ideas and so tired I could hardly see straight, I was forced to trust Him for the strength, creativity and energy I needed to complete the work in a way I could be proud of. And relying on Him, rather than my own strength, is something I’m always having to learn—again and again. It’s so easy to rely on your own resources, your own talents, and yet God calls us to rely solely on Him. So I was thankful to be His student yet again as I penned Blessed Are the Meddlers.

 

Newsletter 2.0...You Know You Want It!

Greetings from Chicago's lovely O'Hare airport...I'm here (again) because I'm en route back to Minneapolis from Nashville, so I thought I'd make the best of it and write a little something...

I'm going to be sending my new and improved newsletter out very, very soon (the jury's still out on what I'll name it...any suggestions?), so if you haven't already, make sure you sign up via the "Newsletter" link on my illustrious website.

And if the thought of having something fabulous from yours truly—sent straight to your Inbox—wasn't exciting enough, I'm going to be giving away some pretty cool stuff, too. And really, who doesn't love some cool free stuff?

But if you're on the fence, know that you'll only get a chance to win if you're reading my newsletter, so....

You know what to do (and if you're more of a visual learner, look left for inspiration).