Osiyo~

I’ve been tagged in the Next Big Thing blog hop. If you’ve wanted to get involved in blog hops but are a little scared to jump in, or aren’t sure how to get into one, here’s a great way for newbie blog hoppers!

I did this blog game a long while back so when the lovely and talented Mae Clair went looking for people to tag I decided promo for my new wip would be a fun idea, and maybe will push me to get it finished this year.

What is the working title of your book? Christmas Comes But Once a Year

Where did the idea of the book come from? I had just finished writing and submitting a book specifically for Mills & Boon Medical for their fast track initiative. It was just before Christmas 2010, literally– Dec 21^st–and the editor had briefly mentioned having something else to submit later now that this one was completed and while I waited for word, so I jumped into the season and came up with this story idea about a doctor who is running from his past and hates Christmas and anything about the holiday due to  the timing of a tragedy in his life. Fate lands him in the town of North Pole, Idaho where he meets a widow hiding from life and the season she once lived to celebrate before her husband died.

What genre does your book fall under? Sappy romance. With a touch of fantasy and miracles. Does anyone really know where Santa goes at the end of the day?

Who is Sapphire James?

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in movie renditions? I’m just horrible at this so I don’t know. A younger Debra Messing for Sapphire James, maybe…maybe not, though, the red hair would fit… I think I can envision Noah Wiley as Jace Ryder.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? After the murder of his unborn child during the merry season, Jace Ryder runs from Christmas and all it stands for, only to land smack dab in the center of The North Pole…with a not-so-Christmassy Ms. Claus included.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? That depends on if subbing it nets a contract I suppose, though I wouldn’t mind self-pubbing this one next year, and very well may go that route with it.

How long did it take you to finish the first draft of your project? I assume this means the first draft I’ve been writing since Christmas 2010? I plan to complete it this year so…two years. Have you ever tried to write an intensely-Christmassy story in any temperature less than 30 degrees? 😆

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre? Stories? None. Maybe a Hallmark Christmas movie would compare. 

Just add trees

Who or what inspired you to write this story? The setting was originally inspired by a movie I watched about a man who sold everything he had and moved to a little forest town that embraces Christmas all year, with a secret warehouse that has ‘little’ people working at it. His daughter, who doesn’t believe in Christmas, takes her son to ‘check’ on her dad and becomes a believer. Finding love is a bonus. So the setting inspired me to write one similar to it, but not the plot. The plot came from my own deep love and awe of the season.

What else about your book may pique readers’ interest? Take a little forest town set high in Idaho’s mountains and a belief in all the wonder and mystery of Christmas. This is a story about a woman grieving the loss of her own Mr. Claus and a man running from pain of the loss of his child, who find each other and healing through the magic of the season. Both must overcome guilt and let go of things they can’t change and embrace those they can.

Though not intended as an inspirational story, this prayer suits the story: 

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

–Reinhold Niebuhr

That’s all for Christmas Comes But Once a Year until I finish it. Thanks for checking it out!

So now I’m supposed to tag five people to join the NBT and the ones I found to play are:

Loretta Wheeler

Dodadagohvi~