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Nanaimo author pens an instant-Christmas classic with a modern twist!

Christmas is a time of tradition. Most children look forward to enjoying family and cultural traditions—but what if there was an unexpected change? What would happen to Christmas if Santa came down with a bad flu on Christmas Eve?
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Ms. Claus Rescues Christmas, by Marilyn Jackson, explores what might happen to Christmas if Santa came down with the flu on Christmas Eve.

Christmas is a time of tradition. Most children look forward to enjoying family and cultural traditions—but what if there was an unexpected change? What would happen to Christmas if Santa came down with a bad flu on Christmas Eve?

Ms. Claus Rescues Christmas, by author Marilyn Jackson, answers that question with humour and style! This delightful story sprang from the voiced concerns of young children that Christmas could be cancelled if Santa got sick—so much was cancelled last year — Jackson knew this was a real fear for kids and had a great idea!

Ms. Claus Rescues Christmas is a story for the times with a positive message about finding ways to deal with things that seem too big at first. Jackson’s titular character teaches life lessons about stepping outside of your comfort zone, dealing with the doubts of others, and finding the inner courage to see things through—even if they seem too hard at first.

It’s a lot to pack into a Christmas poem that follows in the tradition of Clement Moore’s well-known Christmas tale, T’was the Night Before Christmas. Breaking with tradition, however, Jackson tells her story in the modern vernacular, challenges stereotypes, and teaches a positive lesson about self-belief—all with a big dose of humour. Find out how Ms. Claus handles her own fears and doubts and the doubts of others when Santa is sick at such an important time of year!

Experience guides imagination

Jackson, like many writers draws from a combination of imagination and personal experience to tell her tale of personal reinvention, after all, it’s something she’s done a few times in her own life. Jackson downplays her lifetime of accomplishments, but when she talks about her new children’s Christmas book, there’s an undeniable, infectious enthusiasm!

Jackson understand kids well. After completing a degree in English Literature at the University of Wisconsin, she began her career as an elementary school teacher in what was then referred to as a Chicago ghetto. It was a tough job, but one she loved despite the stresses. She later married and had a son, intending to raise a family with her husband. Fate played her a very difficult hand when her young husband died in a train crash when her son was only two.

Wanting to be around more for her son, Jackson says that “I retrained as an actor, photographer, and artist, acting on the Chicago stage for seven years.” She remarried, and had a daughter (who became the inspiration for Ms. Claus) and the young family travelled for a while. When this marriage ended, it was time to try something new and so a move to Canada and retraining at the University of Victoria as a journalist and a then on to study theatre marketing at the Banff University were the next accomplishments. She was, however, to endure the tragic loss of her son at the age of 20.

She took on the role of theatre manager at the Shaw Festival, Theatre Calgary, and at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre, a position she loved and held till retirement.

Now that she’s retired, she’s taking it easy…which means trying new things. Now, when Marilyn is not writing (she has several things in the works), she’s creating glass art and enjoying living in her adopted home town of Nanaimo. She chats daily with her now-grown daughter who was the inspiration behind Ms. Clause.

If you are looking for a new story to tell over hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night, or a new story to share as a Christmas gift, Ms. Claus Rescues Christmas is sure to please young and young at heart alike. Order your copy today (and don’t forget some for gifts for all the elves!) by clicking on any of the bookstore links at www.marilynjacksonauthor.com.