I Just Want to Write About Halloween; I Don’t Want to Answer the Door!
I don’t like holidays; I just like writing about them. Carving pumpkins and making gingerbread men (or, heaven help us, gingerbread houses) have no appeal for me. I dread the thought of holiday preparations – the shopping, the anticipation, the work – that’s it – the work! I don’t want to do it, I just want to write about it. As a children’s author of many holiday books, including five Halloween stories, you’d think I’d look forward to the actual holiday. But I can’t stand it. What I love is writing stories, playing with words, playing with kids (the idea for one of my Halloween books came from a tickling game I used to play with my daughter). But what does any of that have to do with people ringing the doorbell every two minutes? “Just turn off your lights and don’t answer the door,” one friend advised. But we live in a neighborhood where everyone knows each other. It would … Read on