“Then I saw it, coming up out of the fog like a ghost. I knew in an instant what it was, The Red Truck of Christmas; so close I could almost touch it. I suddenly realized everything I had ever heard about the legend of Red Truck was true. As it passed I saw the Christmas tree on its side in the back, the tops of brightly wrapped boxes and gifts beneath it. It passed by so quickly I only saw it for a matter of a few heartbeats, and then, like my grandpa used to say, ‘...poof...and it was gone,’ disappearing back into the fog.”

The Christmas season is many things, to many different people; but for the people of a small country town in the Midwest it comes with a legend and a mystery that has been passed down from generation to generation for nearly eighty years.

Everyone in these parts knows the stories of a blazing Red Truck that only appears on Christmas Eve--perhaps a ghost--maybe an angel, but no one knows for sure. And the mystery? Every time a sighting is reported, something amazing happens. A family on the verge of losing their home suddenly finds money in a box on their front porch. Medicine badly needed by a family with a sick child suddenly finds it on their front door step; toys for little ones whose families are too poor to afford gifts; boxes of food, clothing, even Christmas trees. Whenever something unexplainable appears on Christmas Eve, everyone knows... the Red Truck of Christmas has been there.”

But the unknown story behind the Red Truck of Christmas has never been told until now.
The heart-warming story of how one family overcomes its past to find a way to give back.

WRITING A NEW CHRISTMAS LEGEND: THE RED TRUCK OF CHRISTMAS

When I began writing The Red Truck of Christmas, I set out to do two things. I wanted to write a story that captured the real spirit of Christmas, and I wanted to write something that even my friends who don’t like to read, could enjoy.

For a lot of people reading is a commitment, and because of our evolving entertainment preferences and shorter attention spans, I believe the way you overcome that reticence as an author, is to create something that can be read in a short amount of time. And it is engaging from the very first sentence.

For a while now I have experimented with a new concept, something I call a “micro-book”. Essentially it is a short story, but unlike most short stories my micro-books are single, stand alone books, with their own covers. The difference is they are short (only 30 or 40 pages), someone can pick it up and read it in 20 or 30 minutes. And if it is good, they will likely read it over and over again.

It seemed to me that The Red Truck of Christmas could fit the bill quite nicely. Actually, The Red Truck of Christmas is not the first micro-book I’ve written. The first was a popular family classic entitled, “A Christmas Story: The Fourth King” which, at the time, defined for me an audience that I did not realize existed and a marketing concept that would eventually become part of my micro-books strategy.

ANOTHER UNEXPECTED MARKET FOR MY MICRO-BOOKS.

Shortly after my first Christmas book came out, a reader wrote to me and wanted to order twenty signed copies. Turns out she was sending them out in lieu of Christmas Cards. They actually fit nicely in a regular 9X6 envelope which can be bought at Walmart. Even if you just order them on Amazon (unsigned) they are about the same cost as a really nice holiday card, and at the same time a totally original, even elegant Christmas Card gift, that people will enjoy for many Christmases to come.

WHY THE RED TRUCK OF CHRISTMAS?

I first became intrigued with idea of The Red Truck of Christmas when I began seeing how popular they were becoming. Each year I saw more and more on the shelves, in pictures, on pillows, I could go on. And if you think about it, the Red Truck of Christmas--unlike many of our Christmas traditions--is uniquely American. It harkens back to a gentler day and time, when life was simpler, and maybe more genuine, perhaps even worthy of a Norman Rockwell painting, which I am convinced he would have painted had he seen it. So, it seemed to me there should be some kind of story behind it but spending a fair amount of time on “Google” I discovered there actually wasn’t.

And so the journey began. Why not write one myself? A story began to form in my mind, beginning with the question where all great fiction begins--“what if”. What if a Red Truck appeared only on one night of the year? Maybe a ghost, or even an angel? Leaving gifts, or maybe even answers to prayers for those who truly need help, but too proud to accept charity. But is there a day when such gifts could be given that no one would question its intent? Yes there is--”Christmas Eve”, the one night of the year when gifts could be given anonymously and no one would question where they came from? But why would someone have such an elaborate scheme to give gifts away? Could it be to anonymously right an old wrong?

Suddenly the story began to emerge, but I needed a setting. I come from a small town in Illinois called Glasford. William Faulkner (PULITZER & NOBEL PRIZE WINNING NOVELIST) once said, write what you know, which is why he used many of the settings and people in his home town for his fictional stories. So to add a touch of realism I decided to use my own home town as a backdrop for the Red Truck story, and though the story is fiction, I think many people there may recognize some of the people and locations. The three story farm house I mention in the story is real, and I believe it is still there.

SEEING THE REAL RED TRUCK OF CHRISTMAS!

When the story was almost finished I began thinking about the artwork for the book cover and I knew it had to have a Red Truck on it. The problem was I couldn’t find anything on the internet that I liked. So one day walking in the park (where my wife Joann and I go to get our exercise), I look up and coming down the road is a Red Truck, but not just any Red Truck...THE RED TRUCK I envisioned in the story.

That opening paragraph of my story is exactly how it felt when I saw that Red Truck for the first time. We caught up with the man and his wife about a half hour later on the walking path. Dan and Karen (owners of the 1937 Ford FI Red Truck) graciously agreed to let me use pictures of their truck for the cover of my book and I am including some of the ones that I did not use here in this article. The truck itself is truly amazing. It is almost like that Red has an aura around it.

And so the final stage was to put the book on Amazon. You can find it there and I also have signed copies that can be gotten on my website, just write a note to me.

So I hope you enjoy The Red Truck of Christmas and have a Happy Holiday Season.
km

 

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