From an interesting "cyber-flier" that came in my e-mail from Books-A-Million (everybody's trying to move Christmas shoppers off the dime) comes some quick Q&A sessions with authors whose new books the company is pushing. There were 12 authors they enlisted in the game but I was only interested in one. It was Clive Cussler and his answers are printed below.What is your earliest holiday memory?
Waking up Christmas morning after being brought home from the hospital after nearly dying from pneumonia when I was six years old. My father carried me out into the living room and there was a Lionel train chugging around beneath the tree. It had three red cars, a tunnel and a house with a little man who came out and waved a lantern when the train went past.
What was the best holiday gift you received as a child?
That Lionel train.
Did you have a favorite holiday book as a child?
The Night Before Christmas. I made Dad read it every night at bedtime. He later joked at how he skipped entire sections until he came to "And to all a good night."
What are your favorite books to give as gifts?
My own.
What books are you planning to give as gifts this year?
None. It seems presumptuous to give them as Christmas presents.
What are you reading now?
A book on the Battle of the Bulge.
What would you like to get from Santa this year?
A 1932 supercharged Duesenberg. (It's a Duesy.)
