By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA—Fans of holiday cheer and tales well-told will want to earmark Tuesday, December 6, 2022 on their calendars as local author John Passfield will present his newest novella, John and Santa; The Cowboy Shirt, at the Cayuga public library at 1:30 p.m.
Passfield has lived in Cayuga with his family for over 40 years. He taught English and Drama at Cayuga Secondary School for many years and retired as Head of the English Department.
“Since that time, I have been writing novels and novellas,” said Passfield on his post-career success. “My novel, Saturday Morning, was short-listed this year for the ReLit Award. I have posted over 100 videos on YouTube, in each of which I do a short reading from one of my books and discuss an aspect of the skills of writing and reading.”
He touched on his latest work, and where he came up with the idea: “The Second Thursday Book Discussion Group meets in Cayuga once a month. In December 2021, we all brought Christmas items – such as cards, gifts, and family letters – to discuss. On the drive home, I thought of the many elements that go to make up the Christmas season and realized that I had the makings of a story.”
John chose to focus his Christmas tale around a cowboy shirt that he was supposed to receive one year for Christmas during his youth, but never would, as the shirt mysteriously went missing before it was ever placed under the tree. In the story, John quizzes Santa for details on what happened to the shirt.
The summary on the back cover of the published book reads, “As the writer, John Passfield, is driving home from a December book discussion meeting and thinking about the Christmas topics that were discussed – in particular, Dickens, who wrote a novella which transformed the world’s conception of Christmas – he suddenly finds himself sitting in a sleigh pulled by Rudolph and eight tiny reindeer. What an excellent opportunity to ask Santa about a seventy-year-old puzzle – the mystery of the missing cowboy shirt!”
Passfield spoke about the message of his story, and what he hopes readers will take away from it, explaining, “Santa and the main character – me, John – travel the world a few weeks before Christmas Eve. During the trip, John recalls the Christmases that he has enjoyed as a child, a boy, a young man, and a father over the years. In turn, Santa shows John some of the places in the world that mean the most to him.”
He continued, “While doing so, Santa explains that he is the spirit of good in the world, and although he cannot end wars or human suffering, he can give gifts and suggest that people give gifts – not only physical gifts, but the gifts of compassion and kindness – to others. In this way, Santa not only makes the world a better place, but he also encourages people to do the same and, in the process, make themselves and others into better people.”
In addition to reading the novella, Passfield will also take part in a discussion group as part of the library presentation, wherein participants will be welcome to share their thoughts about “Christmases past and present.”
If you are interested in checking out more of Passfield’s work or ordering a copy of one of his books for yourself, find him Amazon, through his publisher at rocksmillpress.com, or at his personal website, johnpassfield.ca.
