Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Winner!  Winner!  We have a winner!!  Congrats to Brandy for winning an ARC for Blame it on Texas!  Contact me at Christie (at) Christie-Craig (dot) com to claim your prize.

A Fairytale, a Family Tradition, a Little Innocent Potty Humor, and a Three Year Old’s Laughter


Contest!  Contest!  Today, I’m giving away my first ARC to one lucky person who leaves a comment.


In a land far, far away, Prince Aa-choo searched for his princess, the love of his life.  Oh, how he longed to find that beautiful maiden who could laugh with him and who could love him in spite of his one BIG flaw— his frequent and extremely loud sneezes—sneezes so loud, the rest of the kingdom would run for cover, certain the sky would be falling soon.  Oh, he tried to keep the noise level of his sneezes down, but the need to sneeze would come on so fast, that he had no time to think of trying to quiet the noise.  Why, he barely had time to cover his nose.  Having a tissue in hands at all time was a must.

Prince Aa-choo met many beautiful maidens in his search for true love.  But after one sneeze too many, each girl would run from the castle complaining that his sneezes were downright frightening to hear and too much to bare.  It was almost enough to break the prince's heart.

Then after months of searching, of being lonely, he heard a wizard telling a story of a poor maiden in a land many miles from his kingdom.  What really intrigued Prince Aa-choos was that this maiden had been cursed with the inability to sneeze.   Oh, the inside of her nose would tickle and she could feel the sneeze at the tip of her nose, but then she just couldn’t follow through. 

Instantly, the prince had a thought.  What better person to understand his flaw than a princess who longed to sneeze?  So he packed his bags, readied his carriage, and off he went to find his sneeze-less maiden, whom he was certain would become his princess bride. 

After long days of traveling, he came upon her village.  It was late, but the prince could not wait until morning.  So he quietly climbed the tower to her room where she slept.  He walked over to her bed and gazed down at her. She was so beautiful he feared she could never love a sneezing man like himself.  But without thinking he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.  The collar of his shirt was covered in fur, and as he kissed her, the fur brushed across the end of her nose, and she drew in a big breath and then . . . and then she did the impossible.  She sneezed.  What's more, she sneezed all over the prince!  Covered him in boogers.

She woke up, startled by the prince’s presence in her chambers, but so happy that she had actually sneezed, she hugged him, and when she did, she sneezed again.  Then the prince sneezed and it was so loud it shook the walls of her tower.   They both started laughing.  They lived happily ever after and had children who could always sneeze.  And could sneeze as loud as they needed to.

The End.


Okay…I know that was a stretch from my regular blogs, but you see, hubby and I had our three-year-old granddaughter staying with us this weekend.  And my granddaughter, knowing her grandmother is a storyteller, is always saying, “Mawmaw, tell me a story.  Please, just one more.” 

Funny thing is, I may be the first published writer in my family, but being from Alabama, part of that Southern culture and my heritage involves storytelling.  Oh, the stories my family would tell around the kitchen table.  I can still remember asking my grandfather to tell me about the mean rooster he accidentally killed with his sling shot. 

Part of me, when I’m telling crazy stories—stories that instill laughter from my fairytale-loving granddaughter—knows that I’m carrying on a family tradition.  One that I’m sure began even before my grandfather started talking about mean roosters.   

Oh, I know the story of Prince Aa-Choo may not be one of my best works, but you see, Pawpaw, my hubby, is a champion loud sneezer.  When his granddaughter heard him sneeze while he was downstairs, and she was upstairs, she found it very humorous.   And then that evening, when the Little Wonder insisted grandma tell her a story. . .  Well, the story of Prince Aa-Choo just came into being.

And no matter how silly it was, that Little Wonder laughed with delight at my story.  Her love of princesses, her love of grandpa and his loud, thunderous sneezes, and her inherited love of potty humor from her grandma, all came together in one story.  And I have a feeling that someday down the line, she’ll look at her own granddaughter and start a story that begins, “In a land far, far way . . .”

So, now you know what I did this weekend.  What did you guys do?  Any stories or fairytales to tell?  And today, in honor of my next release, Blame it on Texas, a story that has love, laughter, and a little potty humor, I’m giving away my first ARC.  So make sure you leave a comment.

Mawmaw . . . Or AKA, Crime Scene Christie


  

25 comments:

krisgils33 said...

Great story! I am an extremely loud sneezer. Can't help it. I doubt it is my one and only flaw though. :-)

We spent the entire weekend at my daughter's last dance competition of the season. It was exhausting!

Sabrina Edwards said...

:) Funny story. Which most of your stories are :)

Sarah S. said...

You could have been telling that story about my husband! I don't know how he manages to rattle the entire house when he sneezes, but he does! The other day he sneezed while we were in the car and I wasn't sure if my hearing was going to come back.

My weekend was pretty busy since a friend came in from out of town and we spent the time BBQ'ing and then watching the annular solar eclipse on Sunday. It was pretty awesome!

Alison said...

What a cute story!

The highlight of my weekend was the Dave Matthews concert I attended. Otherwise my weekend was all about reading and laundry.

lizzerd87 said...

Loved this story... i read it to my 4 year old.. and now i am going to be reading it to her every night...
My weekend was spent was spent listening to fairy tales... i spent it at my Grandparents 50th annv, they are two people who have tradition and keep it, a tiny bit of an innocent potty mouth when they use it and a great and vast humor.. They are the kinda of couple that you hope you end up like at 50 years... So when i saw your title "A FAIRYTALE, A FAMILY TRADITION, A LITTLE INNOCENT POTTY HUMOR, AND A THREE YEAR OLD’S LAUGHTER" I thought of my weekend with my whole family, my kids and all the storiess and laughs.. And i am betting that your "blam it on taxes" is going to be just as good as my weekend.

Reneec23 said...

Sweet story!

My nephew turned 11, so we had a birthday party for him. Fun times!

Amy said...

Thanks for the story - I forget that little ones love stories like that. My kids are getting a little older (10 and 8) and I love reading the stories they make up in school. So much of their personality comes out in stories. I cannot wait for Blame it on Texas to come out. I have read all your others and love them! Congrats on this one!

Tara Tech said...

Love your story of Prince Aa-choo!This past weekend was time spent with family and friends relaxing and laughing. I love laughter! God bless!

Terri Osburn said...

This is so fun. I can hear the sneeze and the little 3 yr old giggling.

I spent Saturday afternoon hanging with new writers friends I only recently discovered. We're all set to meet again in two weeks. So excited to find this bunch.

Zita said...

I loved it! Tell us another one, MawMaw! Oh, okay. You can send me the ARC instead. Yes, yes, I'm very gracious, just send it already :-)

catslady said...

Funny lol. My grandmother use to be able to make any story funny and I seem to be the only one in my serious family to do the same :)I went to a tupperware party - didn't know they even still had them. My nephew's wife is finally pregnant (after 3 miscarriages) and she had the party. They have the cutest things for kids now adays and it was a fun time with just women. All the husband's ears should have been burning lol.

Philippa Lodge said...

I'm just an average sneezer, though Dh gets pretty noisy.

I had a friend in college who would aa-aaa-aaaa very quietly and then her sneeze would be a completely repressed and restrained "peep". More than once, classes (small ones, anyway) would grind to a halt as someone would ask her what the heck that was.

I'm not good at making up fairy tales, though I love reading to my kids! (and seeing them learn to love reading, too)

Anonymous said...

I would love to read some of your other books. I work all weekend so I really do not feel like I have a weekend anymore, but I did get off work earlier enough watch the eclipse, my brother-in-law who is a professor brought the telescopes. My picture on facebook is the picture I took it was awesome watching it! Have a great week!

gds said...

Very cute! And the stories have to be silly so the little ones will love 'em. After cleaning up the house, we sat quietly and waited to see if someone would show up to see the house. It's for sale but we have an agent who isn't doing a lot of actual selling. Ah well. Contract is almost done. Anyway, LOVED the story! And can't wait for the book to come out.

petite said...

A wonderful and special blog post today which lifted my spirits. It was lovely to learn about your weekend. My was spent awaiting treatment. best wishes.

Desere said...

What a cute story ! My weekend was filled with work that needed to go out other than that it was quite.
Thank you for the amazing giveaway and for the chance to win your the best!

Desere

Terri Osburn said...

I forgot to say Kiddo finished the latest Shadow Falls yesterday. Read it in a matter of days. She's already pestering about the next one and continues to sing your praises. :)

Layla said...

cute story cheered up my otherwise gloomy day. Thank you I love your work :)

Layla said...

Cute story great pick me up while Im sitting here sick. Love your books and cant wait for the new one :)

Brandy said...

My husband sneezes so loudly he scares out cats and they scatter, so your fairy tale hit home. *g*
With a storyteller like you for a grandmother you may just be sewing the seeds for another writer in your family!

Christie Craig said...

Hi Guys!!

Thank you so much for stopping in. I love sharing my crazy weekend and crazy stories.

It sounds as if my hubby isn't the only super sneezer. LOL.

And Terri, I'm thrilled your girl loves the Shadow Falls series.

Thanks again to everyone for stopping in!!!

CC

Shawnna said...

Super story, Christie. Could've been telling it about my dad -- or Pop Pop as the kiddos call him. Can't wait to read another soon! ;)

Kristi said...

Christie, my husband sneezes so loud that every time he does he scares the dog who runs up and sits on my chest. It's a good thing he weighs less than 7 pounds.

Barbara E. said...

Great little story, I'll bet your granddaughter just loves to hang out at your house.
I spent the weekend doing chores and relaxing, more relaxing than chores though. :D

Brandy said...

Ooh, THANK YOU!