Monday Mentions Welcomes Laura Strickland

Chatting today with author Laura Strickland about special holiday memories and Snowdrop Cookie Wishes, newly released as part of The Wild Rose Press' Christmas Cookies Series. 

Welcome to the blog today, Laura! Let's get right to the questions because I know lots of people are looking forward to getting to know you. 

Is there a holiday tradition or event that you particularly enjoy?

I always enjoyed baking Christmas cookies with my mom. The kitchen was her element and she was descended from a long line of fine British bakers. Some of the recipes we made together came down from them, like Date Crumbles. Other recipes, she cut from the newspaper. The scents, warmth of the kitchen and the learning experience as she very patiently taught me how to bake, have lived within me ever since. My mom has been gone for over 40 years now, but I still bake many of her cookies and when I do, it’s as if I can feel her hands stirring the contents of the bowl, right along with mine.

Do you have a favorite holiday cookie?

Oh, my goodness, there are so many! How to pick a favorite? Actually, one of my favs is a recipe of Mom’s that I grabbed and adapted to submit for this year’s Wild Rose Press Cookie Recipe book. I can’t remember what Mom used to call them. I’ve added Guinness stout to the date filling, so I’m calling them Stout Little Date Men. You know, I haven’t had those cookies in some 30 years, but they taste just as good to me now as they did way back when!

I've read, and loved, Snowdrop Cookie Wishes. It is a heartwarming holiday story that is sure to become a favorite with many readers. Let's give everyone a taste of what awaits between the pretty covers.

The blurb:

It's been a difficult year in Lissi Johansen's sixteenth-century Danish village. As Christmas approaches, she longs for holidays past when her parents visited their neighbors, distributing cookies and good wishes to all. She hopes to bake a single batch of her mama's Snowdrop Cookies and tuck a gift of magic wishes inside. But she will need help to make the miracle come true.

Miller Ole Andersen is barely hanging on after the loss of his wife and child to the plague. When Lissi begs him for a measure of flour, he's won over by her warmth and generous spirit. He never suspects the events that follow will teach him about the limitless capacity of the heart, or that wishes given away can sometimes be the most magical of all.

Thank you for stopping by today, Laura. It's been so much fun chatting with you!