Have a Whimsical New Year!

Writers can be odd creatures at times. Our minds drift from angst to whimsy, and our flights of fancy can be dizzying.

Recently, with the deaths of Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, George Michaels, and the year-end summaries reminding us of other beloved celebrities lost in 2016, things have been a bit sad. The best antidote I can offer going into the new year is a glimpse into the madcap minds of Penna & Silbrith.

We’ve been playing with the characters of our series for a few years now, portraying them in a wide variety of scenarios. We’ve written about their childhoods and imagined what their lives will be like in the future. Almost exactly two years ago, I envisioned a cross between a young Neal and a bear cub and called the resulting sweet, grumpy creature Baby Bear. He still follows me around expecting to be invited to every Christmas story.

Later I imagined my plot bunnies as three stuffed animals with distinct personalities. Silbrith took my inspiration up a notch, selecting a set of stuffed animals to represent the innocent, outrageous, child-like aspects of some of our favorite canon characters. Since then they’ve gathered friends. They’ve become so real in our imaginations that sometimes I’ll open my email to find a message from a giraffe who ADORES glitter and uses lots of ALL CAPS to express her excitement. Other times Silbrith receives email from a purple duckling who can only spell “quack,” and who therefore dictates her messages to a patient owl who interjects his own thoughts and style. Those messages are sometimes interrupted by a plot bunny who wants to organize everyone and sighs a lot when she feels put upon.

Have you ever read the old stories about Raggedy Ann and Andy and all of their toy friends coming to life? They’re something like a precursor to the Toy Story films, and that’s what our animal friends remind me of. Thanks to the magical owl in my home and a pterodactyl in Silbrith’s home, sometimes our animals take flight to visit each other’s homes. I hosted the Animal Crew for Christmas, and Silbrith has been filling me in on their New Year’s plans.

What a party the Animal Crew will have for New Year’s! They're gathering for a masked ball in Venice. They will wear fabulous gowns and costumes, drink fancy beverages with cherries in them, and dance to an eclectic playlist of songs. Ever generous with their merriment, they have invited their human character counterparts along, so the canon and OC characters have been scrambling for costumes (for instance, Tricia Wiese is going as Princess Leia and her sons will be Ewoks – yes this is absolutely a kid-friendly event, being hosted by toys after all). Silbrith and I are also invited, and have promised to join the party in Venice in our dreams. We’ve already selected our gowns. For treats I’ve selected bunny Peeps in honor of the plot bunnies who dreamed up the party. (Bad pun alert: The party will be hopping!)

If you don’t have plans for New Year’s, feel free to join us in your dreams. All readers are welcome to the revelry! You don't have to be as crazy as we are, but it helps. Now that we've introduced time travel in A Caffrey Christmas Carol, it doesn't matter if you read this post after New Year's. Mozzie will help you get to the party.

And here's a small taste of what to expect when you get there: