Randall Teacher Authors Holiday Horror Tale
"The Coal Elf" is about the darker side of Christmas.
This time of year, children around the world fall asleep to joyous tales of Santa and his merry band of toy-making elves. But what about the other side of Christmas -- the darker side? It's this aspect of the holiday season that Maria DeVivo of FishHawk Ranch explores in her book for teens and tweens, "The Coal Elf." A Randall Middle School seventh-grade language arts teacher since 2005, DeVivo said she came up with the concept for the book while teaching at a Catholic school in Long Island. "I'm not your conventional teacher," she admitted. "I have tattoos, I wear lots of black and I'm into horror movies." The Catholic school was hosting its annual Christmas party. DeVivo found a black Santa's hat and wore it to the party in 2004. "The …
