Festive Fun with... Jadi Campbell

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Jadi Campbell back to the blog to take part in the latest Festive Fun with... feature post. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m American and have lived in Europe since 1992. I’m past President of the group Writers in Stuttgart. I read my original work at theaters in Stuttgart, Germany, appearing with the writers and with projects produced by New English American Theater (NEAT). 

I’ve self-published four books. Tsunami Cowboys was longlisted for the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Award. Broken In: A Novel in Stories was a semi-finalist for the 2020 Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award from Hidden River Arts and is a Finalist for Greece’s 2021 Eyelands Book of the Year Award (Short Stories). My short story collection The Trail Back Out was an American Book Fest 2020 Best Book Award Finalist for Fiction Anthologies and was just selected as a Finalist for the 2021 IAN Book of the Year Award (Short Story Collection) by the Independent Author Network!  The title story The Trail Back Out was longlisted for the 2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Award.

What are you most looking forward to this Christmas? 
With COVID roaring back, it’s going to be another quiet at-home holiday. Luckily, my husband and I enjoy our time together. I look forward to rewatching some films and reading the books I’ve been saving for long stretches of reading luxury.   

Do you have any favourite family Christmas traditions?  
Trimming a Christmas tree. I have ornaments passed down through my family, and many I’ve picked up during our travels, including impossibly fragile handblown ornaments from Bulgaria. The kitty cat still has her tail intact, and the sailor boy’s nose is as yet unbroken…. Another tradition is sending out Christmas cards with a letter and a recent photograph. I have to begin at the end of November if I want to get them all sent by Christmas! 

What is your best Christmas memory?
Hands’ down to do with meals. We always had steak and wild rice for dinner on Christmas Eve. The next morning Mom cooked a Christmas breakfast feast that included homemade sour cream coffee cake with pecans, scrambled eggs, cheap champagne, fresh orange juice, bacon, and trout. Dad would catch fish and promptly put them in the freezer so we kids could enjoy fried trout when we came home for the holidays. Christmas Day dinner was a turkey with all the trimmings. We Campbells like to celebrate with food! 

Describe your ideal Christmas 
One sister lives in Mexico, the other in Oregon, my nephew is in Hong Kong, and I’m in Germany. To have my family together, all in one place for the holidays, would be a dream come true.

If you could choose one person, dead or alive, to celebrate a one-time special Christmas with, who would you choose and why?
My mom, because she made every day feel like Christmas. 

What is your favourite festive book of all-time? 
Do short stories count? I always loved The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.

What Christmas book would you like to see turned into a film? 
Any version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is fun to watch. 

What is your favourite Christmas song?
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow, sung at full volume! Whenever it begins snowing here, I am known to corner my husband and sing it as he winces in pain. 

What is your favourite Christmas film? 
Miracle on 34th Street 

And finally, what are your hopes for 2022? 
That our world realizes we’re all in this together. Climate change and deadly viruses are ample proof that we’re connected and need to find solutions that work for the good of all. 

Quick-fire questions

Mince pies/Christmas cake or Yule log? Pie 
Turkey or ham? Turkey! How is this even a question? 
Brussel sprouts or roast parsnips? Sprouts 
Gravy or cranberry sauce? I have to choose? 
Fake or real Christmas tree? Real 
White or coloured lights? Colored  
Giving or receiving presents? Let’s be honest: receiving…. 

Blog: http://jadicampbell.com