Hee. That amused me. 😉 Today as you see we have HelenKay Dimon here talking about her novella coming out soon. (She was supposed to talk about the Navy SEALS charity anthology last time, but life got in the way. Mean life!) Anyway, I’m really excited about the contemporary romance themed Carina Anthology – I read last years’ and really enjoyed it. So I have high hopes for this year too!

Thanks for having me here today and letting me talk a little about my new Christmas novella, It’s Not Christmas Without You  in the Holiday Kisses anthology from Carina Press.

When I was asked to contribute to this anthology, I knew exactly what the plot of the book would be. I’d long had this idea about a dating-since-high-school couple who find each other, lose each other and then find each other again. I didn’t want the story to be a guessing game about whether or not they fall in love. This is about people figuring out how to work through tough issues like living in different states and wanting different things from life. The concepts felt very real and contemporary to me.

Really, much of this book is made up of pieces that were familiar to me.

1. The main setting for the book is Washington, D.C. and I lived there for seventeen years (with a three year break in North Carolina for law school). I love the city and wanted to capture a piece of it in the book.

2. The location of Carrie’s (the heroine) apartment is in a building where a friend once lived, right on the edge of Georgetown. I remember the building, the road, the grassy area in front of the apartment. And there used to be a Christmas tree lot on the corner in front of the building every year. Since my hero, Austin, runs a tree lot, this location was perfect.

3. Carrie works at the National Museum Of Women In The Arts. I remember touring the building and being stunned by how pretty it was inside. In fact when it came time to pick a location for my wedding years ago, I looked into holding it at the museum…then I heard the cost and decided no.

4. A dear friend from high school now works for the National Forrest Service and lives in West  Virginia. When creating Austin and his family I thought about this friend and her love of the land and tried to bring those feelings to life in Austin. Also, Carrie and Austin come from a town much like where my friend lives now.

I’ve always thought romance novels are, at their heart, about hope. If that’s true, holiday romance novels are the ultimate in hope. The holidays usher in the New Year and deal with renewal and gratefulness. Writing IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU gave me a chance to explore all those feelings and issues with a couple who clearly love each other but need to learn to get out of their own way and find a future together.

Happy Holidays!

HelenKay is going to give away two kindle copies (obviously to two different people) of her novella. Note – Carina Press books are only available digitally. So what do you think about Holiday Themed Romances? Or DC? Or when you read about books centered around “what you know”?