Where did Santa Claus come from and why do we have to be asleep when he comes?

My siblings, cousins, and friends asked this when we were growing up, but no one had a consistent answer.

     My husband and I had recently moved to Milwaukee when I had begun pondering the question. We just had a little girl and we were expecting another child. If our little girl was awake she was crying, and when she did, neither she nor we would not sleep much. As it was late fall, commercials for the holidays had begun. Attempting to sooth her, I began to tell her the stories of Saint Nicholas my Grandparents used to tell me. To our amazement, she seemed to delight in the stories, with cooing and smiling instead of crying.

     Abruptly, things changed. She had breathing issues and her health suddenly declined. Sadly, she died at four months old. Distraught, empty, and pregnant, we decided to return home to Chicago. The doctors said I had to stay in bed through the pregnancy or we would loose the baby. I had lost one baby, but I had not lost the stories I told to her. Estranged from my family, I had some time to think. I had begun writing down the stories of Saint Nicholas from my childhood, but with a twist.

     For about thirty years, while we raised our family, studied, and improved our writing skills, How Nicholas Became Santa Clause had been in the works. I submitted the first four pages of the story to several publishers. After four years of no response from publishing houses, Author House called in October 2011. They said they were interested in publishing How Nicholas Became Santa Clause, but they wanted it ready by December 2011. Although it far from ready, I told Author House I would try to meet the deadline. Urgently in need of a completed story, I had asked my husband Darrell if he would help. Until Author house had called, he had been unaware of my writing a story. Darrell read the several pages I had of How Nicholas Became Santa Clause. Impressed with the story line and my invented magical creatures, he said yes. We used a program called Dramatica Pro to organize and finish the story. We met the December deadline.

     Since then, How Nicholas Became Santa Clause has gone live. We traveled to Pitch Fest in Hollywood, California. There, we spoke to representatives from fourteen movie studios; two have requested a copy of the book. Subsequently, we were interviewed on Author Talk with Steve Jorgenson of TAGINE Internet radio and we’ve taken part in an Online Book Signing. As of this reading, How Nicholas became Santa Clause shall have been included in the Ingram Publishing Catalog, ForeWard magazine, and Asimov’s Magazine. In spring we expect How Nicholas Became Santa Clause to be available in audiobook form.