Nora St. Laurent runs two book clubs near the Atlanta area and is the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Book Club Coordinator. She currently writes a Book Club Column for Christian Fiction Online Magazine. You can read author interviews on her Finding Hope Through Fiction blog, located at http://www.psalm516.blogspot.com, and reviews around the web at The Christian Pulse Mag, Title Trakk, Novel Reviews, and Suspense Zone. Nora and her husband run The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org

When do you start decorating your house for Christmas? When do you take everything down? If you could be a kid again at Christmas what would you like to experience one more time? If you had all the time in the world and just as much money, what is something you’ve always dreamed of doing at Christmas?

These are a few of the questions we asked our members to answer in December during The Book Club Network’s largest ever giveaway contest. We had a blast and learned things about our members that warmed our hearts, made us smile, and brought a few giggles as we remembered some childhood Christmases. We also got to know our authors and their books as they answered my daily questions too. Thanks to everyone for getting the word out about our party. With your help TBCN’s membership grew in December to over 1,600 members!

Many members said that they had enjoyed driving around at night to see the outdoor decorations. Some members said that people started stealing their outdoor Christmas lights so they stopped decorating the outsides of their homes. Others like me find no extra time to decorate both the inside and the outside and just concentrate on the inside.

I enjoyed hearing about various family traditions, when everyone decorates, and what decorations they put up first and why. I also liked how this group dreams, about the things they’d like to do if time and money were not an issue. Most of our members wanted to do something that included their immediate and extended family members.

I also discovered some surprises when I asked, “What was your favorite Christmas story you read as a child?” Hands down The Night before Christmas was adored by many and The Christmas Carol came in a close second. Who knew? Like me, many members had memorized this as a kid. My grandfather said that if I memorized it, he’d give me money. Many parents read this story to their children and teachers to their students!

Then I asked, “What’s your favorite Christmas novel now that you’re all grown? The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens won by a landslide.

I did a Snoopy dance when I saw the variety of books the authors donated to our huge online book party than ran from December first to the twentieth. Authors gave away over 100 fiction and nonfiction books. Of course our avid readers where doing the Snoopy dance too at the chance to win these amazing books. Dan Walsh with Revell Publishers kicked off the event by giving away five hardback copies of his newest book, Remembering Christmas. I was equally excited when Suzy Flory gave away five signed hard back copies of her new book Thunder Dog, an amazing story of Michael Hingson and his seeing eye dog, Roselle. It was about Michael’s life and how Roselle helped him survive his escape from the Twin Towers on September 11.

This huge Christmas book party was made possible through many generous authors and publishers. Not only did the authors give away books, they helped spread the word about this event, stopped by, and answered the fun questions I asked daily.

I discovered several things at the party:

1. We have people who love to read
2. We have book clubs looking for fun and interesting books that will fit their group
3. We have generous authors and publishers—and authors who aren’t afraid to share their thoughts and experiences

This was the first time we’ve done a month-long event. Usually we have our “live” chat giveaways on the third Monday night of each month at 9 p.m. Eastern time. December’s B & H featured author was Tricia Goyer with her new book Along Wooded Paths. B & H and Bethany House Publishers are monthly sponsors of TBCN. They help make it possible for international members to win books.

Authors who contributed and participated in this huge Christmas party were Pam Hillman, Maggie Brendan, Tricia Goyer, Vannetta Chapman, Lena Nelson Dooley, Martha Rogers, Elizabeth Ludwig, Jan Kern, Dianne Matthews, Melanie Dickerson, Pamela Ewen, Jenifer Hudson Taylor, Margaret Daley, Jennifer Erin Valent, Jeff Dixon, WhiteFire Publishing, Christine Lindsay, Roseanna M. White, Karen Whiting, Jocelyn Green, Robin Hatcher, Kathi Macias, JeanetteWindle, Tiffany Amber Stockton, Trish Perry, C.J. Darlington, Donn Taylor, Miralee Ferrell, Sandra Byrd, Richard L. Mabry, M.D., Laurie Alice Eakes, and Rebecca Ondov. Thank you all for making this possible and so much fun.

Yes, we had book fun and so much more. We were able to get to know one another, share memories, discover new authors, learn about new books, and make new friends. I’m looking forward to our next year’s book party. Everyone is invited!

Until next time.

Nora St.Laurent