Wednesday, December 7, 2011

25 Days of Christmas: The Purdy Family Christmas (and Giveaway) with Rebekah Purdy

25 Days of Christmas continues with Rebekah Purdy! The search for the perfect Christmas can sometimes be more...eventful...than you think it would be! Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of her YA paranormal romance novel My Dad's a Paranormal Investigator: Seeking Shapeshifters!


The Griswold Family Christmas…Er, I mean Purdy Family Christmas

First of all I want to thank Brea for having me on her blog! Okay, so when she asked us to talk about Christmas or traditions etc. the first thing that came to mind is our yearly tradition of cutting down the PURDY FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE…
So I should start off by saying, we have a big family. I’m talking 6 kids big! Every December we load up into the Expedition to go cut down our tree. Imagine frigid temps, thigh deep snow, frozen appendages, 6 kids, and well, you get the idea. We traipse through the woods, looking for that perfect tree. And of course we all have a different idea of what size tree we’re searching for.
A couple of years ago, I got it in my head that I wanted a really BIG tree. We have 14 ft ceilings in my living room, so I thought hey, why not go big. Er…big mistake (LOL). We spent several hours searching for said tree. Our feet were numb, it was getting dark, and all I kept picturing was the Griswolds out looking for their tree (you know the movie with Chevy Chase National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation).
At last, we found it and holy crap was it huge. It took all of us to get it tied down to the top of the truck. When we got home we had to move furniture out of the way so we could bring it in. We got pine needles everywhere, and the sap ugh! Then, it ended up being too tall (grr). So we had to cut some off the top. At last we got it stabilized and decorated it. A couple hours later, we were all downstairs when we heard a loud CRASH.
Yep, you guessed it. The tree had tipped over (OMG). We hefted it back up and ended up having to put a large hook in the wall and tie rope around the trunk to keep it upright. But yeah it looked really pretty. Needless to say, we decided to downsize after that year. What about you? Do you have any traditions?


In the spirit of Christmas, I’d love to give away an ebook copy of my YA Paranormal Romance: My Dad’s a Paranormal Investigator: Seeking Shapeshifters to one lucky commenter! Make sure to leave an email address…


Sixteen year old Ima Berry (pronounced I’m a) leads anything but a normal life. For starters, the ridiculous name her eccentric dad gave her is always the opening for a good joke. Not to mention the fact he makes his living as a supernatural investigator, which has them moving around every few months. It’s hard to hang out with new friends when she spends all her time trying to prove the existence of Bigfoot, ghosts, fairies and any other number of paranormal creatures. Unfortunately, the cases always end in disaster. That is until now.

On a whim, Ima’s father decides to move them to Point Hope, Alaska. Here, he plans to investigate the possibility of shifters amongst the Inuit tribes. Ima isn't thrilled with the move, until she meets an Inuit guy named Carsen. Not only is he hot, but he’s also a star basketball player, and he’s interested in her. Too bad his best friend, Talon, doesn't like her and takes every opportunity he can to discourage the relationship. Ima has no idea what she’s done to make him mad, but there’s no denying the strange connection between them.

As things grow more serious with Carsen, Ima uncovers a secret about him and some of the residents of Point Hope. A secret that will force her to choose between her father’s already dwindling career and her new found love. And with the knowledge of this secret comes danger…a danger that could cost them their lives.

18 comments:

  1. Gotta love all the different traditions that people have for Christmas. And the fun part is that it seems like every family has at least one that's just a little bit weird.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the story, Rebekah. Christmas Vacation (the movie) is a tradition for us. It's funny, I just commented on this to someone else on my blog and here you are with the imagery. Lol. I stick to the fake trees as I'm allergic to pines but that doesn't make it less imposing to put the perfect Christmas tree up. Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looneygrant and Traci,
    Thanks so much for stopping by! I love our family traditions! Another one is that we go to Bronner's Christmas store in Frankenmuth every year and let the kids each pick out a new ornament. Totally fun. And TONS of ornaments to choose from.

    And Traci, I love that movie, it always makes me laugh. I keep telling my hubby I want to put Christmas lights all over my house like in the movie (heheheh).

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've always liked Clark's on again off again lights scene. As long as you don't have long lost loud & obnoxious cousins pop in, all's good, right? :D

    (not entering the contest since I already have the book )

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kit,
    LOL, I know, I love cousin Eddie, even if he's really sick (heheh). And Clark's aunt who puts cat food on the jello. Luckily, I don't have any relatives like that coming over...

    Thanks for coming by!

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOL, that made me laugh. :) Funny story. We don't do real trees. I prefer the fake, just cause I'm lazy like that. I was JUST telling my son that my favorite part of Christmas (other than Santa) are the lights. We have multi-colored ones on our tree and around our living room. I don't use garland or tinsel and our ornaments aren't balls but unique pieces that we've collected over the years. The lights add a warmth and comfort that makes me feel like a kid again. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jenn,
    Thanks so much for dropping in! I LOVE the lights too. We don't have all traditonal ornaments either. When we take the kids to pick out ornaments we normally get quite an array of "themes". We've got Irish stuff on the tree, medieval, light houses, animals, musical things, crystal, hunting themes (don't ask--LOL). But it's fun. And we don't do the garland anymore either, just the lights and some decorations.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very funny, Rebekah. We have a similar situation every year traipsing around looking for "the" tree--somebody always ends up in tears because we didn't pick the tree they wanted. We also always go too tall--we haven't been able to have a tree topper in years because there's no room. There is, however, a sap stain on the ceiling in that corner!

    ReplyDelete
  9. My dad always did it the easy way and we liked it. Went to one of those road side places that sell Christmas trees. Like you we had a tall ceiling so the tree had to be tall to match the height. At least it never fell over.
    Your story does sound interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  10. ROTFL!! Hilarious, Rebekah! I remember finding all those pine needles through the summer after Christmas. Yeesh. Even though I live in Michigan (where LOTS of tree farms are) I have a fake-o. Easier!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great story, Rebekah! Our holiday mishaps usually center around food. Too much, too little, too burned, too raw, etc. But they're all special - that's why we keep celebrating them!

    ReplyDelete
  12. My family and I watched this movie not that long ago! I think that is soooo funny that you guys actually did that! :)

    You don't have to enter me in the giveaway. I've already read your book and it was fabulous. :)

    Have a great holiday.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my, what a great story. here in the UK, we'd be 'done' if we simply went to the woods and cut down a tree, so I love hearing about you guys over there doing that. Great imagery.
    Your story sounds hilarious, and I'd love to win it.
    Have a great holiday. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tess,
    We've got 6 kids so everyone wants to "pick" it (LOL). But normally my hubby gets the final say. But it's something I know the kids will look back on and cherish. Thanks so much for coming by!

    murderandmysteries,
    My parents did that too. We'd go to one of those road side ones and my dad would pick one out. And I remember we always had issues with the old stand we had (as in it took forever to get it to even out). Most of the time my dad would have to brace it with something (LOL).

    So glad you stopped by...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Meg,
    I live in Michigan too! Woohoo...LOL and OMG, yes we find pine needles way after the fact too (poking into my socks). So glad you could stop in!

    Patricia,
    LOL--I can totally relate to the food thing, I totally CAN'T cook. My hubby does most of it (yeah, I'm the one who accidentally broiled a frozen pizza--so not good).

    Thanks for visiting!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Felicia,
    Hey girl--thanks for dropping in! I LOVE that movie. It's so funny...and I swear every year when we watch it, it reminds me of my family (minus the crazy cousins--LOL).

    Sherry,
    One of my critique partners lives in the UK (East Sussex). I took a trip there a couple of years ago and it's absolutely lovely! Although, London was SO huge--LOL. It took me a bit to figure out the bus system. Thanks so much for stopping by, so good to have you.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sorry I'm drawing the contest a little later than I intended, but the winner of My Dad's a Paranormal Investigator: Seeking Shapeshifters is...Tess Grant! Tess, please get your email to me and I will send you your prize! You can email me at brea(at)breaessex(dot)com if you prefer to not post it on here. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks, Rebekah and Brea. I'm really excited.

    ReplyDelete