🎁 About the Book

Lighting Up Christmas has been described as “Hallmark after dark” — love that tagline! What inspired you to blend cozy small-town charm with a touch of spice?

I’m a sucker for a sweet and sexy holiday romance. Last year when my writer’s group Portland Romance Writers put out a winter holiday anthology I decided to try my hand at writing one. I had so much fun that I knew I had to write a longer one for this year. Tasting Her Cookies in the anthology Sugar & Spice, Naughty & Nice is the first installment of the Cascade Falls winter holiday romances. They are interconnected standalones and don’t need to be read in any kind of order. I didn’t come up with the term “Hallmark after dark” but I heard it for the first time last year and totally ran with it.  

What was the spark for this story — a scene, a character, or maybe a personal holiday memory?

Two years ago I went to a birthday party for a friend of mine, her birthday is right around Christmas so she had a holiday themed birthday party. She decided to make us all participate in a talent show. I, on the fly, wrote a big part of Tasting Her Cookies and read it to the whole party, who loved it. Then when I had the opportunity to participate in last year’s winter holiday anthology I took that silly story and fleshed it out and made it a 50 page novelette. I had so much fun writing all the characters that I knew I had to write a longer book this year and choose another Cascade Falls resident to fall in love.  

Your main characters share a history full of heartbreak and second chances. What was it like writing that emotional tension and rediscovered chemistry?

 It was an emotional roller coaster. Second chance romance is one of my absolute all time favorite tropes to both read and write. I’m such a sucker for reconnections and second chances. There were legit times that I started to cry when writing Lighting Up Christmas, that is how real the character’s heart ache felt to me.

Cascade Falls sounds like the perfect festive backdrop! How did you create the small-town holiday vibe that readers will fall in love with?

 I love a small-town holiday festival. Any small-town holiday festival, no matter the time of year. I took inspiration from Stars Hollow, I love Gilmore Girls. As well as the Grape Festival in Naples, New York, Spirit of Halloweentown Festival in Saint Helens, Oregon, the Hood River Harvest Festival in Hood River, Oregon, and the Bavarian Christmas Festival in Leavenworth, Washington. And all the other small towns I have visited and small-town festivals I have attended. I put them all in the blender and added a dash of the exact kind of small town I wish I lived in and came up with Cascade Falls. 

What do you hope readers feel when they turn the final page?

I hope they will feel warm and fuzzy and fully in the winter holiday spirit. I had one of my ARC readers tell me that this book encapsulated the exact kind of town they wished they lived in and that Crystal’s (the FMC) family was the exact kind of family they wished that they had. And that is what I want to give all my Lighting Up Christmas readers. That warm and fuzzy feeling you get after you read a book that puts you in your feels.

 

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💕 Writing Journey

How did Lighting Up Christmas come to life — was it a longtime idea or a sudden holiday burst of inspiration?

I have been thinking about this since I wrote Tasting Her Cookies last year. I couldn’t wait to head back to Cascade Falls and give Crystal the kind of romance that she deserved. 

Do you have any favorite traditions or rituals that help get you into the holiday writing spirit?

Not yet, but I am coming up with some, since I plan to release another Cascade Falls holiday romance again next year. I was writing Lighting Up Christmas over the summer and it was really hard to get into that Christmas spirit when it was 90 degrees outside! When my first alpha reader was reading the manuscript she pointed out that the characters can’t all drink diet coke in a Christmas book, that I needed to incorporate festive beverages. I’ll write the next Cascade Falls book over the winter when things feel more festive. 

What was the biggest challenge (or joy!) of writing a Christmas romance with a bit of heat?

 The biggest challenge was trying to write a Christmas romance in the summer. The biggest joy was writing a rockstar Christmas romance. The MMC is a rockstar and I had to come up with song lyrics that he sings at the Christmas Tree Lighting Festival. I also loved coming up with fun holiday traditions for the characters.

Do you see this story becoming part of a series or staying a standalone?

This will absolutely be part of a series. Who do you think should be the characters for next year’s book? I plan on putting a poll on my website and newsletter asking all my readers that question. 

If your book were turned into a holiday movie, who would play Brennan and the heroine?

 Ooooh, that is a tough question. Hmmm…I’ve put so little thought to it that if I were approached I’d be so thrilled that the book would be made into a movie I don’t think I’d care who played Crystal and Brennan!

 

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🎄 Themes & Inspiration

The book blends love, forgiveness, and holiday magic. Which of these themes resonated most deeply with you while writing?

 All of them. I think that they go hand in hand. A lot of folks take the time over the holidays to practice forgiveness. There is something special about holiday magic that makes people want to go into the new year without bad feelings or regrets. I also think that love is the reason for most things. We can’t be upset with folks that we don’t have feelings for. The opposite of love is apathy.

There’s something special about reconnecting with a past love — what do you think makes that trope so irresistible to readers?

 I think because we readers are looking in from the outside and we can see the silly reasons that keep people apart. It’s comforting to see those reasons stripped away and for love to win.

 

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✨ Rapid Fire Round – Holiday Edition!

🎅 Favorite Christmas movie?

It’s a tie between Scrooged and Dash and Lily, which I know isn’t a movie but it’s one of my favorites. 

☕ Peppermint mocha or gingerbread latte?

Gingerbread latte

🎁 Real tree or artificial?

Real

💋 Mistletoe moment or snowball fight?

Snowball fight

📖 Favorite holiday romance book (besides your own!)?

 My Favorite Holidate by Lauren Blakley

🎶 Christmas song that always gets you in the mood to write?

 Holiday Road the Kesha version

🔥 Hallmark cozy or Hallmark after dark?

😉 Both!

 
🕯️ Describe Lighting Up Christmas in three words.

 Festive, cozy and fun