Maria
Ciampi
A noted legal author, law
school professor, and legal practitioner,
Ms. Ciampi has written fiction as a release from the
analytical world of the law. While writing a legal text
later used at Harvard Law School, she imagined what it would
be like to write a screenplay. Herself born on Christmas
Day, Ms. Ciampi chose to write a Christmas story. To her
amazement, her legal work has inspired her fiction writing.
It’s not coincidental, then, that Kris Kringle involves a
magical curse, an ancient contract, and one of the world’s
most famous lawyers, Daniel Webster.
In the first book of its genre, A Read-Aloud Movie for Kids
Young & Old, Ms. Ciampi invites the reader to actively
participate in the celebration of universal themes of love,
forgiveness, and finding one’s place in the world. She
welcomes the reader to Kris’s world and bids those who enter
to remain a “Kringle Kid” all year ‘round. Visit
http://www.kriskringlebook.com
About the Book:
This is the tale of Kris Kringle an awfully sloppy
toymaker who dreams of a tattered toy sketch and
loves a Claus named Evelyn.
It is also the tale of a devilish Mr. D who
has a vendetta against a Claus named Santa.
And it is also the tale of Santa who won’t let go of
his Rulebook
even in face of a karate-chopping Claus named Mrs.
C.
All of these characters are knotted together by a
magical curse and an ancient contract which can only
be unraveled with the help of a lawyer named Daniel
Webster.
Reader, A Read-Aloud Movie for You Awaits . . .
.
PageOneLit.com: Where did
you grow up and was reading and writing a
part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?
Maria Ciampi: I grew up in a poor section of the Bronx. My
neighborhood was very unsafe, filled with poverty, drugs, and crime.
An arsonist set fire to my apartment building when I was 16, and my
family and I barely escaped. On the night of my high school
graduation, one of my classmates was shot by the serial killer, the
Son of Sam. It was really tough.
But I had a special gift – I was born on Christmas Day. And my
family, despite our poverty, filled our home with the Christmas
gifts of dreams and hope and faith in oneself, gifts that lasted all
year ‘round. Armed with those gifts, I was able to become
valedictorian of my college class, a St. Thomas More scholar at my
law school, and, ultimately, a law professor.
Reading was a central part of my life from as early as I can
remember. I was the youngest of seven children, so there were always
books in the house from my older siblings, and I would snatch them
up and read them as fast as I could. It made me feel cool to fit in
with my older brothers and sisters and it kept me off the streets
and out of trouble.
The books I read also gave me a sense of hope. At that time, schools
focused on classics that were ennobling, something I really think
the schools today are losing. My influences were Charles Dickens,
particularly A Tale of Two Cities, and Harper Lee, To Kill A
Mockingbird. At the same time, I read a good deal of contemporary
literature that my older brothers and sisters were bringing home.
Writing was also a constant part of my life. I started with mystery
stories, but the first real work I wrote was a comic novel called
$50,000 Divided by 3 = ???. It recounted the capers of 12-year old
triplets from a poor neighborhood who won the $50,000 lottery and
sent their parents on an around-the-world trip.
PageOneLit.com: Briefly describe your new book KRIS KRINGLE. Where
did
the idea of this Holiday story come from?
Maria Ciampi: Kris Kringle is the tale of an awfully sloppy
toymaker who dreams of a tattered toy sketch and who loves a Claus
named Evelyn. It is also the tale of a devilish Mr. D, who has a
vendetta against a Claus named Santa. And it is also the tale of
Santa, who won’t let go of his Rulebook, even in face of a
karate-chopping Claus named Mrs. C. All of these characters are
knotted together by a magical curse and an ancient contract, which
can only be unraveled with the help of a lawyer named Daniel
Webster.
The idea for Kris Kringle came from several sources. First, in the
back of my mind were all of the Christmas classics, so I tried to
include comedy (White Christmas, Rudolph), romance (White
Christmas), buddy (White Christmas), and second chances (A Christmas
Carol).
Second, particularly because I’m a lawyer, I always loved the short
story “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and I thought the idea of
combining that story with the story of Santa would be great.
Another influence was The Odd Couple – what a great mismatch that
made for and still makes for great comedy!
But perhaps the greatest source for the story was the theme of the
misfit. The misfit is a central character in numerous children’s
tales and adult stories – just look at Curious George by Rey and The
Idiot by Dostoyevsky.
Virtually every character in Kris Kringle is a misfit from awfully
sloppy genius toymaker Kris Kringle to Jello-carving Evelyn Claus to
Rulebook-toting Santa to karate-chopping Mrs. Claus to green suede
shoes Elvis impersonator Elmer to red wing-tipped Mr. D to incessant
scratcher Old Scratch and so on. Yet, in the world of Kris Kringle,
all of these characters work great together and are believable.
PageOneLit.com: KRIS KRINGLE is told in the form of a screenplay --
Do
you have thoughts of turning this story into a play or something
more?
Maria Ciampi: Absolutely! Everyone who reads Kris sees his world and
the characters and I’ve had many people tell me that when they read
Kris they see a movie.
I want the story to be a tradition for families and friends. I’d
love to have it performed with loved ones each Christmas. Beyond
that, I’d love to see it as a play or a movie. I think it has the
quality to be on Broadway and the movie magic to be on the silver
screen. Its characters, plot, and themes are universal.
The story will touch people of all ages from young people who are
falling in love and who will take to Kris and Evelyn to older people
who are still in love but battling who will take to Santa and Mrs.
C. And for those who are just looking to sit back and laugh again
with the childish sense of wonder, there’s loads in it for those
people too.
PageOneLit.com: KRIS KRINGLE is inspired by Charles Dickens -
Explain.
Maria Ciampi: I don’t hold myself out as an expert on Charles
Dickens, but even I know what wonderful characters he created. He
was expert at them because he lived with them in his mind and then
tested them out in his private study where he acted out each and
every scene and pretended to be each and every character before he
would allow his work be submitted to the public.
All movies are first stories acted out in the mind of those who
conjure them, then pen them, then ultimately paint them for us.
Certainly the best stories and the best movies are. I want through
Kris Kringle for people to experience and come to know the
characters as close to how I think and feel about them as possible.
I want them to be in my study as I act out the story – which is what
I’ve tried to reflect in the book.
PageOneLit.com: In KRIS KRINGLE one of your characters is a lawyer
named Daniel Webster who in real life was a leading American
attorney and statesman during the nation's Antebellum Period.
Explain thischaracter as it relates to KRIS KRINGLE.
Maria Ciampi: The Daniel Webster we know was an elegant, eloquent
orator and statesman, who has risen to be a mythical American
figure. His mythic quality is reflected in the fact that, one-half
century after his death, Stephen Vincent Benet wrote the story of
”The Devil and Daniel Webster,” which has become a classic.
Kris Kringle takes the myth of Daniel Webster and turns it on its
head. The Daniel Webster character in the story is Old Scratch and
he, ironically, is the polar opposite of his ancestor, a lawyer
ousted from the courtroom who hides in his cubicle and scratches all
day. But Old Scratch has Daniel Webster inside of him and we root
for Old Scratch to be able to let the real Daniel Webster out.
I included Old Scratch and Daniel Webster in the story to let
everyone know that, while they may be an incessant scratcher on the
outside, they sure as heck have Daniel Webster inside of them as
well just waiting to come out.
As a side note, the last lines of the book are a play on the last
lines of “The Devil and Daniel Webster.”
PageOneLit.com: What was Christmas like for you as a child? What's
Santa bringing you this year for Christmas?
Maria Ciampi: As a child, Christmas was joy. First it was my
birthday and my family celebrated as though it was the most special
day of the year. Second it was a time when my older brothers and
sisters who had gone off to college and graduate school came home.
Even though many times the presents I received were hand-me-downs,
each present was like a nugget of gold for me.
I still have that same feeling today. Santa always brings me
wonderful presents but the greatest present that I receive every
year is the renewed ability to wonder and marvel at the joy and
magic that still exists in this world in people, animals, nature,
imagination, hope and love. Finally, I hope Santa will bring me the
knowledge that many people were touched by Kris this year.
PageOneLit.com: What did you learn from writing KRIS KRINGLE ?
Maria Ciampi: I learned to believe in inspiration. I learned to
believe in perspiration. I was inspired to write the story, but
getting it written and written well took months of perspiration.
I believe that each of us has the power to be creative in infinite
ways and that we should listen to the voice of creativity calling us
because each of us has fantastic gifts to give to the world.
PageOneLit.com: What do you hope to achieve with KRIS KRINGLE ?
Maria Ciampi: I hope of course for success for the story. But, well
beyond that, I hope it touches people in a way that perhaps they
haven’t been touched in a long time. For those people who once
believed in the promise of Christmas but no longer do, I hope they
believe again. For those people who never believed in Christmas, I
hope they will for the first time. And for children in particular, I
hope it keeps the wonder of Christmas alive for one more year.
PageOneLit.com: What's next?
Maria Ciampi: Even though I’m a lawyer by day, I find time to
work at writing. I have two short children’s books that are ready to
be submitted to publishers, one called “Footprints on the Beach” and
a second called “Tree-Pickin’ Day.”
I also have several more “Read Aloud Movies” outlined and ready to
take to a pre-draft stage. I believe I know which story is next --
along the lines of cats versus dogs -- but whichever story I chose,
you can bet it will be magical and joy-filled as well.
PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?
Maria Ciampi: I usually read a couple of books at the same
time. I just read the first Percy Jackson book, The Lightning Thief,
at the same time as The Many Faces of Snoopy, at the same time as
one of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Bertie Wooster books. The last
two are classic comedy.
PageOneLit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they
enhance your writing?
Maria Ciampi: Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time as I’d
like to relax, but I do have a few hobbies. Believe it or not, I
love Mario Kart and some of the other Nintendo and Playstation
games. I also spend a good deal of time trying to learn to play the
cello – notice I said trying to learn! It’s a darned hard
instrument! I’ve put in a lot of perspiration, believe me, and I
hope inspiration is right around the corner. I also enjoy baseball;
I grew up in the Bronx with the Yankees just a short ride away on
the Grand Concourse bus and was thrilled to be in the Stadium to see
Dave Cone’s perfect game.
I believe everything enhances my writing. A couple of years ago, I
had blocked out a comedy – inspired in part by Topper – called
“Curse of the Bambino.” Unfortunately, shortly thereafter the Red
Sox beat the Yankees and won the World Series and I didn’t have the
heart to finish it, but, of course, my life-long love of the Yankees
consciously, semiconsciously, and unconsciously, inspired me to come
up with that story.
One thing I have learned is that a writer absorbs all of his or her
influences and experiences, which sit in a pot in the back of the
writer’s mind, boiling. When the pot reaches a boil, the most
fabulous ideas emerge, for me, often fully cooked.
