Christmas Stories & Fairytales

by Charis Joy Jackson

Once upon a time, I wrote a short story about a girl who wanted a Father because Father's are good at providing for their families and because the girl needed to be provided for. It was allegorical and fantastical in nature. The girl travels to Faerie and finds a Wish Box and wishes her father into existence.

I wrote it because I'd forgotten what my Heavenly Father was like as a Dad. I'd conformed to the world's idea and my relationship with Papa God was suffering for it. Especially in the area of provision.

It was winter in Alaska, and we were a couple weeks away from Christmas. I'd been lying in bed, complaining to God, when a sudden stirring filled me to write. It was already near midnight, but I crawled out of bed, and the comfort of warm blankets, pulled out a notebook and pen and began to write:

Ava watched the hail pound on the thin sheet of glass and wondered if the window would hold against the relentless assault. Far on the street below fairy lights danced in the storm, silent reminders of the Christmas season. Ava tucked herself back under the covers but couldn't lie still, the events of the day filled her young mind with worry.

Today, more than anything, she wished she had a Papa. The landlord had come and Ava heard him tell Mama that they needed to come up with this month's rent by next Friday or he’d be forced to have them evicted. She’d seen the look on Mama’s face and knew unless there was a miracle, they would be spending Christmas on the streets.

Within a short time, The Fairytale Child was finished, and I settled back under the covers, escaping the chill of the room, and fell into a deep slumber. Dreaming of my story and the revelations God had taught me in those wee hours about Him being a Father, especially one who provided for His children.

All this happened about fifteen years ago now. Strange to think I'm on a similar journey, and needing, yet again, another reminder that Papa God is a good provider. Funny how we sometimes have to learn things over and over again. I think that's why Jesus told stories because we can read them again and again and glean new lessons each time.

Other than reading The Fairytale Child aloud to a small group of women about fifteen years ago, who wept and thanked me for the powerful words, this story has been buried under a mountain of snow, aka - lost in a digital field of white and blue folders in my writing files.

That is, until one Australian winter day ...

At the beginning of the year, God spoke to me about 2019 being a year of renewing hope. Renewing my understanding, giving me hope for the Big Story He wanted, and still wants, to tell with my life and pushing me to join the adventure of hope by joining the world of indie publishing.

So, I toyed with the idea of releasing my novel, The Rose Of Admirias, as an indie author. But as I researched how to do this, I was soon lost in a world of new vocabulary and technology. And overwhelmed by how much editing my novel still needed. The whole process became daunting. Terrifying. And I found excuse after excuse to not follow through.

But Papa God was whispering to me, telling me to be brave. To hope for the future He had for me. Reminding me of little Ava and the terrifying adventure she faced one lonely Christmas.

Then a friend of mine released a short book as a means to gain more readers before they release their book next year. Something about this stirred me to action, and the next thing I knew, I was piecing together a collection of original short stories to indie publish. And Too Bright: And Other Stories Inspired By The Dreamcatcher's Journal was born.

And ...  

The Fairytale Child found a new home. A new place to shine.

As I began to edit the collection together, I was reminded of the lessons learned along the way. Co-creating worlds and characters with Papa God, weaving space operas together alongside high fantasy. Each story a creation, each story inspired by life lessons. Especially little Ava's.

The Christmas season is one filled with joy and celebration. But life's obstacles don't wait for holidays to come and go before bringing trouble, and for many, this season will be filled with hardship, tears, and heartache for the closeness of family, among other heavy burdens.

While it would be easy to allow the weight of uncertainty pull us down, we can find hope in the stories around us. Whether that be in creating a new short story, novel, or watching a film. We can look for God in every word and ask Him to teach us the important lesson Ava learned:

That night after Mama tucked her in, Ava thought of Papa and his promise to take care of them. She smiled, knowing he'd shown up today. He really was faithful.

Perhaps it's because it's the holidays, but I'm reminded of the hardships another family endured long ago. A small family who shared the warmth of a stable, while a chorus of angels sang of Papa God's provision to the world. Despite their difficulties of having no room after a long journey, I like to think Mary and Joseph,  still smiled and rejoiced while shepherds came and angels sang.

Only God knew this story would end at a cross, and yet He still sent his angels to sing, still planted a star (a thousand years in advance to that day) to shine for wise men to come and celebrate the birth of the King of hope.

Whatever you face this holiday season, whether it's the joy of being surrounded by family or pushing through a season of heaviness, I hope these glimpses of stories, some true and some inspired by true things, help you find new hope and new reasons to rejoice. And new stories of your own. Imagined and dreamed and created with the Creator. Because through the thick and thin Papa God is right there and always will be, a faithful provider who gives good gifts to His children.



Charis Joy Jackson works as a full-time missionary with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Queensland. During the day she mentors young adults, teaches on several topics including worship, intercession, and how to makes movies. In her spare time, she spins stories of speculative fiction and captures her crazy dreams in print. 

 

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Too Bright: And Other Stories Inspired By The Dreamcatcher's Journal ebook is now available on Amazon, the paperback will be available in February 2020

Meet Our Members: Charis Joy Jackson

Each Thursday in 2018 we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder
– to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals. 

Today's interview Charis Joy Jackson

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from.

I am a missionary filmmaker, author, and actress. I am from the US and grew up in several places, but have lived in Australia for ten years - which is actually the longest I’ve lived in one place my entire life.

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc). What do you write and why?

I love to write anything in the speculative genre. My novel, The Rose Of Admirias, is a fantasy. But I also have several sci-fi and dystopian books in the works too.

I've also started a little blog called The Dreamcatcher's Journal, where I capture all the crazy adventurous dreams I've had. I started it because I used to show up to work and tell everyone about my dreams. They couldn't believe how well told the stories were - like full novels or movies, so I thought, I've got to start keeping these written down somewhere. 

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?
 
Friends and family that I know of, but my novel was just released at the beginning of this month as part of a limited release of 22 novels in an ebook box set called On The Horizon. Besides the fact that I’d love EVERYONE to read my novel ;) I’d love for two of my favorite authors to read it. Robin Hobb and Stephen R. Lawhead. These two have really inspired my own work and I’d love to get their feedback on my writing because I want to keep growing as an author.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?
 
I’m the worst when it comes to having a process. Each story I write seems to have a process of its own. Most of my stories I know where I want my characters to end up, but I don’t often write out a whole process of how they’re gonna get there. I have a vague idea of where I’m going, but there are a lot of things that happen along the way that surprise me and that’s my favorite. If I can surprise myself, then hopefully I can surprise the audience.

Because I am one of those writers who doesn’t plan a lot this can sometimes be an obstacle I need to overcome. I’ve written myself into holes I don’t know how to get out of, but thankfully I’ve always been able to find a way out in the end. I think a big reason for that is that I am co-creating my story with the Creator or story. With God there’s no such thing as writer's block - instead, they are the adventures we get to find our way out of. 

I think it was C.S. Lewis and Tolkien who said they wrote what they wanted to read. I’m the same, I write what I want to read and that is the thing that helps me the most. It keeps the passion of the story alive and I hope that translates better to the reader too.

Question 5: What is your favorite Writing Craft Book and why?

I really enjoyed Stephen King’s On Writing. While it didn’t cover as much story craft as I thought, it actually opened my mind up to more stories and possible adventures in the future. It taught me a lot about living the life of a novelist and not just dreaming about being one.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who
would they be?
 
There’s several I’d like to give a shout out to - but Jeanette O’Hagan is definitely someone I want the world to know about. Her books are phenomenal. Excellent storytelling and amazing world building. She’s a huge inspiration to my own writing and has been one of my champions. My novel wouldn’t be published yet if it hadn’t been for her. It was because of her encouragement that I finally finished The Rose Of Admirias after writing it for four years! Please read her books. You won’t regret it!

Buy all her books!!!

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?
 
My writing goals for the rest of 2018 are to publish The Rose Of Admirias as a paperback. I’d love to write the sequel this year and also finish up the novel I’ve been writing based on the film I produced in 2016 called Out Of The Woods.

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?
 
As I mentioned earlier it’s a huge factor. I consider every story I’ve written to be co-written by the ultimate Creator. When I get stuck, I talk to God about how to get the character out of a situation. Sometimes, the best ideas come to me during a time of worship, so I often bring a journal so I can write them out. My passion, tenacity, and creativity are a gift from the Lord and I want to honor him by using it to the best of my abilities.

KEEP UP TO DATE ON WHAT CHARIS IS WRITING. SIGN UP TO HER NEWSLETTER NOW & RECEIVE A NEVER BEFORE SEEN SHORT STORY - FOR FREE!

Charis Joy Jackson is working as a missionary with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) a non-profit organization & is part of The Initiative Production Company. She loves creating stories & her first novel, The Rose Of Admirias, was released this May in a limited release box set called On The Horizon - 22 authors, 22 novels.

Here's to a life lived in awe & wonder.
Welcome to the adventure.

www.charisjoyjackson.com

CWD Member Interview - Adele Jones

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from.

1)      I grew up on a farm on Queensland’s Darling Downs.  As such, I spent a lot of time fencing, horse riding and handling cattle as a girl.

2)      As a young reader, I loved animals, especially horses. Many of the books I read for years were horsey stories, both fiction and non-fiction. (And I still love a good horsey story, like those by CWD members Cecily Anne Paterson and Jenny Glazebrook.)

3)      As a young person, my career goal was to either become a vet or a professional musician. I did neither of these. 

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc).  What do you write and why?

My interest in writing stems from being raised in a family that valued stories. Presently, I’m primarily writing young adult novels, and have published a technical thriller YA trilogy (Blaine Colton trilogy). Many years ago I was focussed more on writing historical fiction and I also write poetry. My coming release, Porcelain Dream, a time-slip YA science fantasy, brings together the historical and YA genres.

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

My YA novels have a fairly broad readership, but the scientific elements tend to attract readers who have an interest in sci-fi. It's probably useful to note I write near science fiction, so my stories are written in the real world, in Australia, and the technology seems like it could be feasible in our current age. (Based on the 'What if science could?' premise, some readers expect something quite different.) I aim for a target age of 13+ though the youngest readers I know of are 11 and the most mature 'young adult' reader I know of is 98. 😊 As any author can attest, the best compliment is when a reader contacts you to say how much they loved your work, and to ask when the next book is being released. My aim is to share my stories with a broader readership, and I’m currently working through a variety of online features via my blog to showcase the different aspects of my novels.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

I used to say a lack of quality writing time was the greatest challenge to my creative process, but lately I’ve had a great deal happening in my world. My head is overflowing with many things, few to do with writing, and when I do get those mini-writing opportunities, it’s much harder to generate purposeful creative thought to make the most of those times. Just like any other area of life, writing is also subject to seasons of change (like this current one!). For this reason I think it’s important to have a flexible approach to writing, and even if you can’t get actual writing done for a few days … weeks … keep jotting down ideas and engaging the imagination in story development. That way when an opportunity does arrive to get writing, it’s much easier to get back on track.

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why?

I’ve read quite a number of quality writing craft books, and I found those by Writers Digest, Kate Grenville, James Scott Bell particularly good, but based on the conversations by other writers, there’s one book I’m SUPER keen to read: Story Genius by Lisa Cron.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

That’s a really hard question! There are so many amazing writers in CWD, with diverse gifts and writing styles. That said, if I were to base my criteria on the active encouragement and promotion of other writers, there are some stand out authors, including Jeanette O’Hagan, Anusha Atukorala and Nola Passmore. Not only are they talented writers, but these gorgeous humans also have a generous heart for seeing other writers succeed. I'd also love to give the 2017 Omega Writer's CALEB prize finalists a shout out. This names some fabulous writers and CWD members, including long term advocates of Australasian Christian writers (speaking of gorgeous humans seeking the success of other writers), Anne Hamilton and Ruth Bonetti. It's definitely worth checking out the authors in the 2017 prize finals. (Seriously, this shout out list could go on all day!)

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?

2018 holds some exciting opportunities, including release of my next novel. Porcelain Dream, through Rhiza Press, is due out mid-year. It's been a long-term project, rewriting a story I penned over a decade ago. Much editing and revision has been needed, but it's  been satisfying finally seeing the novel come together. There are also some exciting Omega Writers events in store: the Toowoomba Chapter Writer’s Retreat in May; the annual Omega writers conference in October; and the Omega Book Fair in March. I’m also hoping to attend another pop-culture festival as a stall holder with fantasy/sci-fi authors, Jeanette O’Hagan and Lynne Stringer. We had a blast at our first ever pop-culture event, it would be a shame to not make the effort again in 2018.

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

Faith shapes our perception of the world, our values, and our responses to each situation we encounter in life. If a person is living out their faith, I think it’s impossible to separate those beliefs from who we are, even in our creative pursuits. Personally, my writing probes some pretty key issues of life, including self-worth, the value of life, bioethics, relationships, faith and more, and these perspectives are intrinsically informed by whatever belief system we hold. I try and put a face to these issues through my characters, and let the reader journey with them as they try and work out what they think/believe, and why.

Adele Jones is an award-winning Queensland author. She writes young adult and historical novels, poems, inspirational non-fiction and fictional short works, along with juggling family responsibilities and a ‘real job’ in the field of science. Her first YA novel Integrate was awarded the 2013 CALEB Prize for unpublished manuscript. Her writing explores issues of social justice, humanity, faith, natural beauty and meaning in life’s journey, and as a speaker she seeks to present a practical and encouraging message by drawing on these themes. For more visit www.adelejonesauthor.com or contact@adelejonesauthor.com