Crystal Caudill is the author of “dangerously good historical romance,” with her work garnering awards from Romance Writers of America and ACFW. Her debut novel Counterfeit Love was a 2023 Carol Award finalist. She is a stay-at-home mom and caregiver, and when she isn’t writing, Crystal can be found playing board games with her family, drinking hot tea, or reading other great books at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio.

Let’s start with something fun.

1. Since we’re discussing a Christmas book today, what is your personal favorite Christmas tradition?
   
2. As a writer, do you have more fun developing the characters or the plot for a story?
   
3. Your bio mentions you’re a stay-at-home mom. What do you think is the most important thing you’ve learned about parenting over the years?
   
4. Is there anything especially interesting you haven’t covered in other interviews that you could share with us, or perhaps something God has laid on your heart to share with your readers?
   

Now let’s take a moment to talk about your latest release, Star of Wonder, a novella in the collection titled, We Three Kings: A Romance Christmas Collection.

Best-selling romance authors Caudill, Putman, and Strong follow three generations of the Weise family in this third collection of Christmas novellas from Kregel.

“Star of Wonder” by Crystal Caudill

The Christmas-themed maiden voyage of his family’s grand steamer ship was supposed to be Aldrich Weise’s chance both to instill investor confidence and to romance Celestia Isaacs. Instead, he must foil a criminal and leave his lady love behind forever.

“Beauty Bright” by Cara Putman

Lieutenant Charles Weise served as a Monuments Man after World War II and now works to restore stolen art to rightful owners. Captain Lillian Thorsen pairs up with him not only to return treasures but also to fix the war-torn lives around them.

“Perfect Light” by Angela Ruth Strong

Essential oils mogul Brendon Wise is drawn to Lacey Foster, the event planner for his huge Christmas lights festival. But when he inadvertently makes a spectacle of her on television, Lacey wants nothing to do with him. Will a chance to give gifts to those in need at Christmas be the key to discovering common ground–and maybe love?

So your story is the one set farthest back in history of these three novellas, and we are exploring a steamer ship–one that hides some dangerous secrets.

1. It’s so interesting to see how people celebrated Christmas in the past, so what sort of festivities did Aldrich Weise plan for his grand Christmas voyage on a steamer ship?
   
2. The blurb doesn’t give us any hints, so can you tell us a little about Celestia Isaacs?
   
3. What was your favorite tidbit of history you ran across while researching for this story?
   
4. What’s next for your writing?
   

Crystal is offering a copy of We Three Kings: A Romance Christmas Collection. You can enter to win below.

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