Author Post!
What inspired you to write this book?
When I was around 8 years of age, I realized I wanted to write books when I grew up. My mother was my biggest fan, and she encouraged me to pursue my dreams with one caveat: she made me promise that I write and dedicate one “kissing book” to her. Kissing books is what I called romance novels, but my mother preferred the steamier, so-called “bodice ripper” variety. I made the promise, but as I hit puberty, the idea of writing my mother a steamy romance novel didn’t sit right with me. And then, in 2002, she passed away after a brief battle with colon cancer.
Between my aversion to writing a steamy book for my mom and the grief over her loss, I moved away from writing to pursue other interests. But it was always in the back of my mind. In fact, I struggled to write creatively because I felt I needed to fulfill the promise first before I could move forward with writing anything else.
One afternoon, following a particularly grueling day of grad school, I came across Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas. I quickly became hooked. The movies were simple to follow, which was what my tired brain needed after writing academic papers and working full time as a paralegal. It dawned on me as I watched another sweet romance end in a kiss that I didn’t need to write a steamy book to keep my promise. It just had to be a romance novel.
Now, my husband likes to tease me about my love of Hallmark movies. He referrs to them as modern day mad-libs because the careers of the characters and the situations they find themselves in are sometimes a bit random. So, in that spirit, I used Reedsy’s plot generator and got a Marine and a flight attendant as the main characters. The Christmas setting was already in my head after binging so many holiday movies, and the rest just stemmed from there. I’ve since written two other sweet romance novels, but it all started because of a childhood promise I intended to keep.
Brad has just one wish this Christmas: to find a real home. Having lost his parents before joining the Marines, he misses that sense of belonging and family. When he meets an introverted flight attendant on his journey to start his civilian life, he wonders if this might be his chance.
After a messy divorce, Shelly has decided the only person allowed within the brittle walls of her broken heart is her daughter, Lilly. At least, until she meets a friendly man who hails from her hometown while working a routine flight. When she learns he needs a place to stay, she offers the apartment over her garage out of the kindness of her heart – and her desperate need for extra cash.
Even as Brad endears himself to Shelly by saving the town's Christmas pageant, she attempts to keep her distance to protect the fragile stability she's built since her divorce. But Brad's willingness to walk the fine line between what Shelly's heart wants and what her head allows slowly wears down her resolve. And when Brad receives a job offer near the only family he has left, Shelly must decide whether she's willing to risk her heart again before he leaves her home, and her life, for good.
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Debut author, Katie Eagan Schenck, writes sweet romance that warms the heart and gives all the feels. When she's not writing fiction, she's either working on regulations for the federal government or binging Hallmark movies. She lives in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and their three cats.
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