| As noted here, I’m commenting daily on the WMG Holiday Spectacular—which is a great project that releases a story every day. These might be reviews. Or not. They might be interesting. Or … um … not. They will be fun, though. For me, at least. Here’s the next story. |
“A Different Christmas Experience”
Chrissy Wissler
As of today I have come to completely appreciate the entire concept of getting a story a day sent to my in-box. There’s an anticipation that builds, you know? With this being the tenth story, I admit there are some I’ve enjoyed more than others, but that’s the nature of the thing. But each has been interesting and valuable, and each has come wrapped in an aura of anticipation.
So, as I had expected, there’s fun in the basic idea.
What I hadn’t expected is this: Beyond the story itself is the joy of anticipating the writers.
I know several of them, but not all. I hadn’t considered the idea that each name would mean so much. The writers who I know show up and I get an immediate sense of connection. Oh, good! What did they come up with this time? It’s like opening the front door and seeing them standing there with this little present wrapped in paper and topped with a bow and you wave them in and want to get them coffee while they take a seat in your living room. Writers I don’t know show up and I’m suddenly intrigued. A curiosity comes. Welcome aboard, me matey! Let’s see what you’ve got!
To know I’m going to get to read something by someone “at random” is quite fun. I find myself wondering who will show up in my in-box next.
Today it was Chrissy Wissler, and to put it bluntly simply seeing her name I nearly cried in joy.
Chrissy wrote “Coming Home,” which is in my pantheon of most singularly great stories of all time. You can find it in last year’s Holiday Spectacular #2 (along with several other great stories). For my money the book is worth the price for “Coming Home” all by itself. I had literally just pulled it out and read it again a few weeks ago. In fact, I was kicking myself for not e-mailing her to let her know how amazing I still think that story is.
So, yes, Chrissy Wissler fell into my in-box yesterday afternoon and I nearly cried in joy, and then I opened “A Different Christmas Experience” and nearly up and cried again.
There is something deep in Chrissy’s writing. She has this thing around her stories. At times, anyway. I mean, no one is all one thing all the time. But when she’s in a particular zone you can feel things underneath her prose that go down deep into story. It’s a sense of patience, I think. A sense of care. Maybe it’s just a feeling that she’s trying understand things that are too hard for any of us to ever truly understand, and that her work can make me feel like it’s okay if I can only get just a little piece of it. Finding joy in struggle can be tough, but there are ways. Human beings are magical things at their core.
I don’t know—maybe that’s too woo-woo (he says with the joy that comes with an inside joke), but in the end I don’t care.
All I know for sure is that Chrissy Wissler fell into my in-box today and I feel better because of it.
Highly recommended.