Meet Angie Lofthouse

Angie Lofthouse wrote the short story, Broken Things. She also has a story, Shepherds and Kings, in the first collection, Stolen Christmas. Her first novel, Defenders of the Covenant, came out this year.

LDSP: I hear Christmas stories are a specialty of yours. Tell us about that.

Angie: When my husband was still in school we had no money for buying presents. My family members were always giving me handmade crafts and I thought, why couldn't I use my talents to create a gift for them? I wrote my first Christmas story, "Shepherds and Kings," (which appeared in the Stolen Christmas anthology) and gave it to my family that Christmas. A tradition was born. This year I wrote my seventeenth Christmas story.

LDSP: Wow! You have enough to publish your own anthology. I'll expect to see that next year. What is your favorite part of Christmas?

Angie: I like everything about Christmas, even shopping and wrapping! But my very favorite part is the music. I could listen to it all year round. (Confession: I DO listen to it all year round!)

LDSP: When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

Angie: Lets see. I was twelve and I wanted a first edition handmade Cabbage Patch Doll, which my parents absolutely could not afford. But on Christmas morning, there she was under the tree. That's when I learned that Santa is truly amazing! (I still have that doll, by the way.)

LDSP: What inspired you to write "Broken Things"?

Angie: I think we tend to beat ourselves up too much over the mistakes that we've made—at least, I do. I wanted to remind everyone that one of the main purposes of the Atonement is to make us happy! And isn't Christmas really a celebration of Christ's Atonement?

LDSP: Definitely! Do you have any other published stories or books?

Angie: Yes! My first novel, Defenders of the Covenant, came out in March. It's an LDS science fiction adventure about Mormon kids trying to save the world from an alien invasion. I also have a dozen published short stories in various print and online magazines (you can read most of them on my website), and three novella prequels to Defenders—Refuge • Renegade • Consecrated—which I put out as e-books this summer.

LDSP: I just skipped over to Amazon and those stories look amazing! I'll have to give them a read. Thanks for the interview, Angie, and have a Merry Christmas!