First Line Friday — A Redbird Christmas

Happy Friday! Can you believe it, only 3 more Fridays until Christmas! I have yet to decorate — a lot of it is still in the attic — but I am determined to make some headway today. My husband put the wreaths up on the exterior of the house, so we don’t look like complete Scrooges. I do have most of my shopping done. I just need a few more and the stocking stuffers and I am DONE! What I have gotten to is my annual Christmas audiobook listening. Priorities, you know! Are you a Christmas book fan? I’d love for you to share your favorites.

Today, I am sharing the first sentence of one of my all-time favorites, A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. My church book club read this years ago. We loved its Southern flavor and the sweet story. If you haven’t read it yet, you need to.

Here’s the first line:

It was only November sixth but Chicago had just been hit with its second big blizzard of the season, and Mr. Oswald T. Campbell guessed he had stepped in every ice-cold ankle-deep puddle of the dirty white slush it was possible to step in, trying to get to his appointment.

With the same incomparable style and warm, inviting voice that have made her beloved by millions of readers far and wide, New York Times bestselling author Fannie Flagg has written an enchanting Christmas story of faith and hope for all ages that is sure to become a classic.

Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. Once you experience the wonder, you too will never forget A Redbird Christmas.

Fannie Flagg began writing and producing television specials at age nineteen and went on to distinguish herself as an actress and writer in television, films, and the theater. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (which was produced by Universal Pictures as Fried Green Tomatoes), Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, and Standing in the Rainbow. Flagg’s script for Fried Green Tomatoes was nominated for both the Academy and Writers Guild of America Awards and won the highly regarded Scripters Award. Flagg lives in California and in Alabama.

For more First Line Friday fun, head over to Hoarding Books.

Tags: Christmas fiction, Fannie Flagg