HOLIDAY CHARACTER INTERVIEW - KAREN E. MARTIN (MODOGAMOUS)

Hi, Tracie & readers! So glad I could drop in and share a cup of Christmas cheer with all of you. One thing I’ll tell you, though, is that after 19 days of blog hopping, I am really tired of talking about myself. [Laughs.] That’s why I decided to interview one of my characters for you guys today instead. Kate Adams is the young lady in question, and I thought I’d ask her a few Christmas-themed questions in keeping with the spirit of the season. Here’s what Kate had to say…

[Lights come up. KAREN and KATE sit opposite each other in leather wingback chairs in a home library. A very small PUG is draped across KATE’S lap, sleeping. KATE pets PUG throughout the scene.]

Karen: So, let’s start off with your favorite Christmas movie, Kate.

Kate: (enthusiastically) :  Oh, that’s an easy one. Holiday Inn, with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It’s elegant and charming—almost like visiting some magical getaway, where everyone is an old friend and no one is a stranger. And what could be dreamier than “White Christmas” sung by the ol’ Bingster, right?

Karen: [Chuckles.] I guess that answers my next question, which is what’s your favorite Christmas song? But what about this one:  if there was one Christmas song that you could wipe off the face of the Earth, what would it be?

Kate:  Ugh! “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” It was funny the first time, but after that…not so much. Pardon me while I gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon.

Karen: Oh, I love that song! [Sings.] “Grandma got run over by a reindeer, walking home from our house…”

[KATE glares at KAREN with the death-stare of some God-forsaken soul being tortured by an endless reading of Vogon poetry.]

Um, okay…moving on then. [Looks down at notebook.] Christmas treat you can’t resist?

Kate (mollified):  Well, I’m a sucker for peppermint bark and peppermint ice cream—really, anything with peppermint in it. My mom makes the best Christmas treats on Earth, though. Just ask Mitch. Mom’s something of a cheesecake maven. She makes an absolutely ridiculous eggnog cheesecake with gingerbread crust and crushed peppermint on the top. The whole thing is drizzled in white chocolate, decorated with those red and green sugared gumdrops, and whip-creamed within an inch of its life. It sounds revolting, but it’s actually quite sublime. Goes perfect with a mug of hot buttered rum, too.

Karen: That does sound good! You must be really looking forward to getting home for that this year. What else are you looking forward to this Christmas, if you don’t mind me asking?

Kate: Ooh, that’s a good one. I’ve got a new boyfriend this year, so it’s always exciting to do things together as a couple that first Christmas. You know, drive around and see the lights, go ice skating—that kind of thing. Of course, I also have this long-standing tradition with my friend Mitch. Every year, we go to the Chester Historical Village and strap on the feed bag for their Holiday dinner at the Inn. It’s just decadent, omigod. Then we wander around and enjoy the sights and sounds in the Village. Christmas carolers in Victorian costumes, a reading of “The Night Before Christmas”…they even have chestnuts roasting on an open fire, literally. We’ve been going for nine years now, and it’s one of my favorite nights of the year. 

Karen: Nice. So if that’s your Christmas Present, let’s imagine your Christmas Future. If you were visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future, what would you hope to see?

Kate: [smiles softly, petting PUG and looking into the distance dreamily]  Me, cuddled up with my sweetie under the down comforter on the couch, watching old movies and drinking hot cocoa with just a tipple of butterscotch schnapps. Maybe there’s even a rugrat or two already asleep, doin’ the dancing sugarplums thing in their dreams. [Aside:] That’s a few years down the road of course. [Shakes head and returns to daydream already in progress.] Anyhoo…the fireplace is crackling with a low, glowing warmth, and the stockings are stuffed full of goodies to be opened on the morrow, Christmas morn. The whole place is lit up with the sparkle of Christmas lights, and there’s a live tree in the corner, draped with silver tinsel, ropes of popcorn and cranberries, and all of the old-time ornaments we’ve collected together over the years. It’s so beautiful…

[Lights fade.]

Author Bio:

Karen E. Martin, M.Ed. is a full-time freelance writer/editor. She has been in the publishing business since 2004, working on books and publications for major and independent publishers, universities, businesses, and private individuals. Prior to entering the field of publishing, Ms. Martin worked as a Senior EFL Fellow (English as a Foreign Language) for the U.S. Department of State in Romania, a Junior EFL Fellow for the U.S. Department of State in Jordan, and a teacher-trainer for the U.S Peace Corps in Mauritania, Jordan, Romania, and Morocco. Ms. Martin served as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years, teaching English in the Errachidia Province of Morocco. This is Ms. Martin’s first novel.

Book Blurb:

Kate Adams has it all figured out. Five years out of college, she’s got a steady job, a home she loves in the big city, and good friends who always keep her laughing:  her stylish but nosy roommate Evette, happily-married Cecie, and of course, good old Mitch, her seriously cute co-worker who’s been stuck in the Friend Zone since the day they met.

Everything is going just fine—until the night Kate crosses the line with Mitch, and the boundaries between friendship and love begin to blur. Things get even more complicated when hunky JP enters the scene. What’s a girl to do? Add to the mix a spunky little pug Kate never expected to fall for, and her neatly-ordered life is starting to look more like a dog’s dinner.  Maybe her roommate has the right idea after all:  forget the men, and stick with a canine companion instead.

It’s time for Kate to figure out what she really wants in life. But can she dig her way out of the mess she’s created before she ends up permanently in the doghouse?


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