On the ‘Net With Author Rochelle Alers
By APOOO • Dec 13th, 2009 • Category: Author of the Week •
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For me Christmas is that wonderful sacred season that evokes joy, wonder and sadness. It is that magical time for children to unwrap a toy or electronic gadget they’ve been pining for. It is the time to trim trees and put up decorations that have become as much a part of Christmas as the reason for the season. It is a time for family get-togethers and prayers for peace on earth and goodwill to one another.
It has also become a time when parents find themselves spending more than they have to give their children not what they need but what they want. But on the other hand, the joy on the faces of the faces of their children is worth the mountain of credit card debt that will take a year to pay off before the revolving door of gift-giving and escalating debt begins again.
Celebrating Christmas as child is very different than the Christmas I celebrate as an adult. Growing up in the Northeast and before the advent of global warming, I always looked forward to a white Christmas. There were the vendors who lined a city block with real trees, and the closer it got to December 24th the prices would drop exponentially. My widowed mother would wait until Christmas Eve to buy a six-foot tree for as little as a dollar, and my brothers and sisters would spend hours decorating it.
I don’t have a live tree – haven’t had one since childhood, but an artificial seven-foot one I’ve had for the past twenty-plus years that looks incredibly real. I purchased it from a store chain that was going out of business. The lifelike branches are stowed away in canvas bag along with beautiful ornaments worthy of those seen on the Rockefeller Center tree. And, once it’s lit and positioned in the second-floor living room under the cathedral ceiling it is a sight to behold. There is no smell of pine needles but the trade-off is that I Go Green by recycling the same tree year after year.
I can’t remember when wishing someone “Merry Christmas” and not “Happy Holidays,” became politically incorrect. I cringe every time someone greets me with happy holidays. Isn’t the word Christ in Christmas? The secular trappings for Christmas may change over the years, but I’m thankful the true reason has remained sacrosanct.
After the exchange of gifts, followed by dinner and prayers for those fighting in war zones, living in homeless shelters or confined to hospitals, I watch my favorite Christmas-themed movies: A Christmas Story, National Lampoon Christmas Vacation and Polar Express. I laugh hysterically over scenes and dialogue I seen and heard countless times.
This Christmas will be more poignant for me, because it will be the first wherein I will not have my mother. She celebrated more than ninety Christmases, many more than she’d believed she would, but what I will remember most about her this Christmas is the sacrifices she made with her widow’s mite to give her children not so much wanted they wanted each year, but what they needed: a mother’s love.
About Rochelle Alers
Rochelle Alers has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today’s most prolific and popular African American authors of women’s fiction.
With nearly two million copies of her novels in print, Ms. Alers is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.
Sweet Deception Book Description
Law professor Myles Eaton knows a lot can happen in ten years. A decade ago, Philadelphia’s finest bachelor was a hotshot attorney engaged to a woman he swore he’d love forever—until she left him to marry a powerful politician. The only thing more difficult than forgiving her has been forgetting the searing heat they shared. And just when Myles is sure he’s over her, Zabrina Cooper arrives back in his life.
Nothing could stop Zabrina from loving Myles, not even when she was blackmailed into becoming wife—in name only—to another man. And as her secrets are revealed, Zabrina has one summer to convince Myles that beyond their incredible chemistry is a soul-deep bond that never faded.
Rochelle’s latest book is Sweet Deception and can be purchased at amazon. For more information about Alers, visit her Web site.
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I really like Rochelle Alers. Thanks for the web address.
Rochelle Alers is one of my favorite authors. Like her, I cringe whenever someone says “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. And like her, I remember my widowed mother making many sacrifices over the years to ensure that my Christmas was merry. Although my 92-yr old mom is still alive, she is living with Alzheimers and doesn’t recognize me. So although it’s poignant to see her, I am still blessed that she’s here. Thank you Yaz for sharing this with us.
@ Tea–U r welcome.
@ Edwina blessings to you and yours doing this holiday season and esp. your mom. Having dealt with an elderly aunt who had dementia…I can empathize with what you’re experiencing with your mom.
xoxo