By Mary Korte [email protected]
“Captivating from beginning to end . . . A real eye-opener about how other cultures view Santa Claus . . . It challenges people’s thinking and illustrates the gift of giving transcends all races . . . A fun, creative and humorous read that confronts us with an unconscious ideology of racism without lecturing or judging . . . An engaging story that would make Dickens proud . . . Unlike any book I’ve ever read. Great story. Kaleidoscope Lodge—BOOK 1: Legal Lie, BOOK 2: Assumptions Awry and BOOK 3: Tricks To Ply. Intended for youth 12 to 18, this trilogy easily holds adult interest and offers its readers many insights. It will touch your heart, make you laugh and may even bring tears to your eyes.
In her uniquely different, metaphorical trilogy, Korte sets out to, and does, create a new world-view of everyone’s favorite holiday character, Santa Claus.
As we know, Dickens’ Christmas Carole—a dichotomy of miserly hoarding and generous giving—pulls at our heartstrings as it goads its main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, into willingly sharing a bit of his fortune with those less fortunate. Korte’s Kaleidoscope Lodge trilogy, on the other hand, exemplifies the need to search inwardly—to identify, confront and overcome one’s self-imposed limitations. In short, the premise underlying her story is to accept and honor one’s self and all humanity “just as we are” and to rise above and redefine life’s adversities as gifts.
Much like Dickens, Korte brings present-day social issues, such as child abuse, bullying and women’s issues, to the fore in her characters. However, rather than a plot centered on a miser, she exposes the long-kept secret of a giver—the beloved holiday icon, Santa Claus. He, the gift-giver, trapped in a web of ideals imposed on him as a child, feels cursed by the gift he inherits through his parents’ combined genes. Actually, he spends most of his adult life fearing rejection and ridicule if his phenomenal “curse” were to be revealed, i.e., that he was born different than everyone else in the world. As Korte skillfully weaves fantasy with reality, she changes this man’s image without discrediting anything previously written about him.
Korte’s strong supporting character, Misty Claus, Santa’s wife, goes through her own identity crisis. Fiddlin’ nutcrackers! She turns into a Mrs. CLAWS. Why? And why does she run away? Is she running to or from something? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Korte’s amusing, outside-the-box holiday trilogy, Kaleidoscope Lodge—BOOK 1: Legal Lie, BOOK 2: Assumptions Awry and BOOK 3: Tricks To Ply at www.havetpress.com. All three books are available in e-book and paperback format.

