Day 2 of BOGO 12 Days of Christmas!

Hey Lovelies!
Today is day 2 of my publisher's 12 Days of Christmas!  Today and tomorrow will be more children books before you get more into the Young Adult and Adult.  Today is The Star of Christmas by Bruce Sarte.  Bruce is not only the owner of BCP, but author of a few different stories!  He also filled out my questions for the authors for the 12 Days of Christmas!  So you'll get to know this author!

The Star of Christmas
For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son... but how did He choose the star to announce the birth of the Savior? Through this moving story of humilty and service to something bigger than ones self a holiday tradition is born! This fully illustrated story of God's servant is sure to become a staple in your holidays for years to come! 

Interview:

1. how long have you been writing?

I've been writing since I was eleven or twelve.  I started out writing lyrics for songs, then learned how to write music and moved on to short stories and novels.

2. where did you get the idea for this book?
The idea for The Star of Christmas came about when I was invited to read out loud at the bonfire at Overly's Country Christmas in Greensburg, PA.  Overly's is avery family oriented Christmas Village so I thought that I should come up with something reasonably short and family friendly that fit well with a Christian family crowd.  Thus The Star of Christmas as a simple story was born.  When I left, Stephanie at Overly's invited me back to read again and I thought that I should expand on the story somewhat — try and give folks something they can take home with them.  I recruited my brother-in-law, Jason Gerick, to do some illustrations and the illustrated holiday story that you see before you is the result.

3. what is your favorite thing about writing?
The same thing as reading… I love escaping into different worlds, different times and different places… and even some fantastical imaginings on events.  Being able to transport myself is the first part of transporting the reader.
4. what is your favorite TV show?
That's a tough one… I think it is either Psych or The Simpsons.
5. what did you do when you got your acceptance letter from BCP?
I proof read it. :)
6. Growing up what was your favorite book?
I think that the first thing that I read that made me want to re-read it over and over again was probably The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
7. What is one thing that you are asking for this year for christmas?
A Star Trek Captain Kirk Bathrobe (in yellow of course — see think geek.com) :)
8. Are you working on another story now? If so what about.
I am currently finishing final revisions before editing on Philadelphia Story, a hard boiled detectible thriller.
9. what is your favorite genre that you write?
I've written vampire, paranormal, children's and now detective… and I think the detective genre is my favorite.  It allows me to create heroes and villains in a believable — and unbelievable way.  I find that is thrilling and fun in its own right.
10. what is your favorite dessert?
Crème Brûlée
11. if you can bring any character from a book to life who would it be and why?
Elvis Cole from Robert Crais' novels.  Well, his name IS Elvis after all.  And, more importantly, he has a great sense of the situation within the stories which allows him to be funny and tough at the same time.

12. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I love decorating the tree each year.  My children get bigger every year (as they should) but watching what the ritual of the tree is to them and how it changes every year is just a lot of fun.


Books by Bruce that are on the FREE list.

Towering Pines Volume One: Room 509 is the story of a teenage basketball star who feels his life is over when he is sent to military school to commute an aggravated assault charge. Liam Rider's star quickly falls as he finds military school to be far more than he had bargained for. He finds the cadets harsh and abrasive; and the staff less than welcoming. When the guidance counselor tells him that he is going to be held back a year because of his remedial classes at public school, he feels like life couldn't get any worse. When he meets Lisbeth Harrington, he feels like the tide may be turning in his favor. She is assigned to help him acclimate to his new surroundings in the middle of a semester and he quickly realizes that she is the only friend he has at the school. And when he begins having disturbing dreams of kids killing each other and seeing people in his room that aren't really there, he enlists he help to find out why no one has been assigned to room 509 for twenty years — and why he is being tormented by the ghosts of cadets past. Suddenly pulled into the past of the historic school by nightmares of his own suicide, Liam and Lisbeth are catapulted forward into a secretive society of a long history of ghosts, suicide and murder. Can they solve the mysteries of the military school before Liam becomes the next victim of the ghostly murderer? Or will the administration and cadets conspire against them to their ultimate demise?

In one tragic moment, Sam Shepard's family was gone.... His wife and children are taken from him in a tragic accident following a bitter argument. Sam is left alone struggling with the mountain of guilt and the chasm of grief that he can only fill with alcohol. When a young, attractive woman comes to stay at his Inn, Sam thinks his luck might be changing. She brings him comfort and a kindred spirit suffering through her own loss. Is she the answer everything he has been suffering through for all this time? Soon after, Sam begins to have dreams about his dead wife and hallucinate her speaking to him. Has the alcohol finally gotten the best of him... or is it really the hands of death reaching out? ** This is a special, enhanced edition of this popular novel, Sands of Time. It includes a sneak-peak at Bruce's second novel -- Towering Pines Volume One: Room 509 as a bonus! **