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Hi! I'm your secret Santa this year! It's been fun to message you and chat with you, and I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas with your family!

You can’t be my CSS, you’re famous! I’ve heard all about you! Now I need to back and read all your messages again. Thanks so much for your notes in December, they always made me smile or laugh. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas (and that your parents enjoyed their gifts!). Merry Christmas!

Sorry I didn't message you yesterday-- family came in to town. We usually go to them, so it's nice that they came to us this year! As for gift I'm excited to give, my siblings and I are teaming up to give my parents a new washer and dryer. I'm excited about that one. What are some of your favorite Christmas foods? -SS

Hi CSS! Sorry for the delay, been cooking, cleaning, and wrapping all day! Favorite Christmas food? Probably the meal we have every Christmas day: rib roast, oven potatoes, green beans, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, and enough pies to have the table creaking beneath the weight! How about you -- anything you’re looking forward to eating or cooking?

The gift for your parents sounds really cool -- that’s a great surprise and it’ll mean even more that they’re kids coordinated and combined efforts. Nice one, Santa!

It's almost Christmas! What did you ask for this year? And what gift are you the most excited to give? --SS

Hi CSS! Just a few more days! I’m anxious for Christmas to arrive, more for the relaxation than than the gifts!

Gifting is odd this year. My kids mostly know what they’re getting (phones & clothes), and my wife wanted a renovated living room in time for Christmas, so we had to start that weeks ago (the new couch arrives in two days, just in time!). I’ve got some nice jewelry for her, though, too, so that’ll be a nice surprise. And a few video games for the kids, so they should be happy, too.

As for me, my best gift is really bizarre. When I grew up in the midwest, there was a terrible fast-food chain we’d visit after school. They have shrunk since then and there’s none on the east coat. But my brother lives in the west and has a tortured connection to the restaurant (one of those friend’s-girlfriend’s-brother’s-buddy’s-tenant’s-sister kind of things). So, he’s managed to procure a few bags of the secret spice mix they used in one of their dishes and he’s sending it to me! Ha ha! Now I can cook the horrible food myself!

How about you? Anything interesting you’re looking forward to giving or hoping to receive?

My family went to NYC right after Christmas last year, and it was fun! But cold, haha. We really enjoyed it. And sorry I didn't message you yesterday. :/ Random question of the day: does your family know that you write fic?

Hi CSS! Yeah, New York can get a little cold. It was freezing here yesterday (literally, with a big ice storm), but we’re warm again. Which is a good thing, as we’ve got friends coming over and I’ll occupy the kids by putting more Christmas ornaments on the tree outside.

As to your question, my family does know about my unfortunate writing habit. I got into it with my eldest daughter, but she couldn’t keep up with the reading and then drifted out of the fandom. My other kids know, but don’t read. My wife knows, too, but dislikes Castle and refuses to read anything! But I still have fun, and can coax my daughter into reading my stories when we take long road trips!

You've been writing about as long as I have! That's fun. And yes, Laura is amazing! I know of a couple of others who read her old X-Files fic before Castle, too. So, question for today: what's your favorite Christmas memory?

Hi SS!

Favorite Christmas memory, eh? There are many, but the one that stands out to me is from ten years ago. I grew up in a pretty rural area and was never much of a New York City guy, but that started to change when we took the kids there for Christmas. We did all the touristy stuff -- the Rockettes show, the Macy’s windows, Times Square, carriage rides, even FAO Schwartz (which was still around then). The kids were young (1, 3, and 5) so they loved it, even if getting us all around the city was a bit of a challenge. It was a perfect little trip.

I'll check out the Stan Kenton stuff! I bet it's good. I'm a fan of instrumental music like that. Question for the day: how long have you been writing fic? How did you get started writing?

Hi CSS!

I started writing in the spring of 2015, so almost two years ago now. I lurked for a bit before then, reading stories and posting a few reviews. I got into writing because I’d thought about it back in school, when I was into the X-Files. I never got around to it back then, but years later I decided to give it a whirl. You know the crazy thing? One of the writers I read back then now writes Castle fic as chez chuckles! That still blows my mind.

I LOVE Arcadia! One of my all-time favorites. And I've actually not read Seeing is Believing, so I'll go check that out. I'd rec my own Christmas fic, but then you'd know who I am, so I'll save that for later. :) As for TV, I don't have cable, so I don't watch anything. I love Gilmore Girls, though, and Arrow is also pretty good. Question for today: what are some of your favorite Christmas/holiday songs? I love Christmas music.

Hi SS!

Okay, stay with me here, because here’s a total sales pitch. Several of my favorite Christmas songs are on the same album. Not sure which is *the* favorite because there are several good ones. If you have the chance, I’d highly recommend the Stan Kenton Christmas Carols album by the Boston Brass. It’s fantastic. I heard them when they came to DC and my daughter was involved with a related act. I look forward to every Thanksgiving because it means I can start listening to the album again! Other favorites: I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Dave McKenna, You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch by the Whirling Dervishes, or the Christmas albums by the Candlelight Choir or Diana Krall. Good stuff all!

Did I message you yesterday? I can't remember... I certainly hope I did. So sorry if I didn't! Anyway, what are some of your other favorite TV shows besides Castle?

Hello again!

Favorite TV shows? I’m afraid I don’t have many. Aside from Castle, the only show I regularly watch is Game of Thrones, though I’d never write for that. With a crazy job and three kids, I don’t have much time for TV, so usually I watch whatever’s syndicated and on late at night (that’s how I got into Castle). Any recommendations for me?

I bet they're lots of fun. :) Do you have any Christmas fic recs for me? -SS

Hello SS!

Sorry for the late reply! You know, you’ve hit on an embarrassing gap in my fanfic knowledge. I actually don’t know many Christmas fics. My favorite is Seeing is Believing by bravevulnerability. Seilleanmor wrote at least one good one (I liked Arcadia but have fallen behind on her current postings, which I’m sure are fantastic). I also need to get into chez chuckle’s Advent stories, since she’s also a fantastic writer. But if you have any recommendations, please let me know!

My family decorates the day after Thanksgiving, too! It's fun. I love lit-up trees-- I bet your cherry tree looks awesome! The images of ornament pole-jousting are making me giggle. How old are your kids? And I'm sorry you sprained your ankle, hope it gets better soon! --SS (who totally almost signed her name initials instead of SS, oops...)

Hi SS!

Our cherry tree looks great. Our neighbors get a kick out of it. One guy walking his dog gave me trouble about it thouh, wondering why I’m so slow in getting all the lights up this year!

I’ve got three kids -- two girls (15 and 13) and a boy (11). They are great kids and they keep me very, very busy!

So what are some of your favorite holiday traditions? -SS

Hi SS!

We’ve got a bunch of traditions, but they kind of got delayed this year. Usually, we spend the day after Thanksgiving decorating. We start by getting the tree. While that’s relaxing in the stand and the limbs are dropping, we do the outside: lights around the roof, the front poles, the bushes, and the cherry tree. Then we add huge ornaments to the cherry tree. That’s usually dangerous -- three kids running around with long poles to reach the high branches. After mending the jousting injuries, we go back inside and decorate the tree By then we’re pretty tired, so it’s Christmas movies until bedtime.

This year, though, we were away for Thanksgiving, so we had to wait until we got home. And I sprained my ankle running a couple weeks ago, so I haven’t yet braved the roof but I’ll give it a try this weekend. If you don’t hear from me after that, you’ll know I fell off!

Oh, you're Peter! I remember you from the stream con. I was mostly there to see the season 9 panel, but I watched a few others. Are you reading season 9? -SS

Hi SS,

Yep, I’m that Peter. The stream con was a blast -- it was a good way to put names with faces and just to get excited about writing. Esther’s a saint for organizing it. As for S9, I’m reading it but I’m *way* behind -- not even halfway! I’m hoping to catch up on my reading over Christmas break.

Hi... I don't know your name. I'm just going to call you Spex until you tell me otherwise. :) I'll be sure and check those fics out! I'm super busy both today and tomorrow with work and don't have loads of time, so I'm just popping in to say a quick hi! -SS

Hi SS,

I was outed as Peter in the first stream con, so you can call me that. I hear you on work -- two presentations today, a report due Friday, and traveling four days this week! Not a good schedule for finding writing time! Good luck!

You met authors for lunch? That's fun! There are lots of "classics" that I haven't read, either. I'm way behind on reading. And I didn't realize you wrote fic! What's your favorite of yours that you've written? -SS

I did! Can’t remember if I mentioned who, but I got together with GeekMom, Garrae, WRTRD, and Pen to Paper Writer. We had a grand time talking about stories, reviews, and whatever else we could think of. Not sure I can remember the last time I had a six hour lunch, and most of them were still going when I had to catch my ride back to DC!

And I do! (write fic, that is). With another chapter (maybe two), I’ll finish my tenth story. My favorite? I’m not sure: Running Water is my most original, by far; One Quarter is probably the best for plotting; Coming Clean has two of my favorite individual chapter (maybe three) and maybe my best OC. But if you’re looking for a short example, I’d go with The Goddess Wants to Play. That was a short, fun little story.

I started watching out of order, too, so I was confused for a while! But I'm all on track now. :) So how long have you been a part of the Castle fandom? -SS

That’s a great question. I guess a little more than two years ago, now. My profile says I started in January of 2015. I probably lurked for a little while before I started writing -- I remember stumbling on stories by RedGrayBall and Liv Wilder and that got me hooked. Then it was Aalon’s A Different Road Taken. Then it was off to the races!

It’s funny. I came to the fandom late, so I’m still catching up on many classics that people revere. And, embarrassingly, there are stories by authors I like (and met for lunch yesterday) that I still haven’t gone back to read! In fact, now that I think about it, I haven’t read all of the stories of anyone who was at lunch yesterday -- WRTRD, GeekMom, P2PW, or Garrae. Time to get busy! But the problem is that time spent reading is time not spent writing. Hmmm.

Hi from Secret Santa! I'm glad you made a tumblr- this will make my job a lot easier this month, haha. So, tell me, how did you find/start watching Castle?

Hi SS!

I work a lot, often late at night. It helps to have some noise in the background, so I usually turn to a station that has decent shows and leave it on. I did this with Castle and it became a problem because I kept getting drawn into the shows instead of doing my work!

It also messed me up a little because it meant I was watching the syndicated shows, which are often shown out of order. So, while I’ve seen almost all the episodes, I saw quite a few of them out of order. They made more sense the second time around! But I’ve had to check the online transcripts when writing my stories to make sure I had things lined up the right way!

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