With winter quickly approaching, romance novels are turning
to holiday stories. Readers get heroes and heroines finding their
happy-ever-afters during the Christmas season. In anticipation of the
celebrations, we asked authors Tracy Brogan, Jamie Beck, and Cindy Kirk what
holiday movie they like the best.
Tracy Brogan, author of Jingle Bell Harbor
My favorite holiday movie is Christmas in Connecticut. It’s
an old black & white classic starring Barbara Stanwyck. (Anyone remember
her?) Anyway, she’s a career-girl journalist forced to masquerade as a Martha
Stewart-esque homemaker to entertain a World War 2 hero. She’s also pretending
to be married, so when she falls for the soldier, well, it’s complicated – and
hilariously adorable.
The heroine in Jingle Bell Harbor is suffering from a severe
aversion to all things Christmas so I don’t think she has a favorite holiday
movie. But if she’ had to choose, I’m guessing she’s go with National Lampoon’s
Christmas Vacation! She works at a Christmas store so she can relate to Clark
Griswold.
Jamie Beck, author of Accidentally Hers
This is tough to answer because there are so many winter and
holiday movies I adore. I suppose, if pressed, the romantic in me would have to
choose Love Actually and/or The Holiday. Both films hit all the emotional beats
I need to feel satisfied: humor, warmth, melancholy, hopefulness, and of
course, love. My favorite scene in Love Actually is when Colin Firth goes to
Portugal to propose. The entire scene is hilarious until it turns touching when
he finally proposes in front of the massive crowd. In The Holiday, I love “Mr.
Napkinhead” and the scene where Jack Black is touring Blockbuster with Kate
Winslet and talking about the movie scores. Both movies never fail to make me
smile, which is something we all enjoy, especially at the holidays.
Avery, the heroine in Accidentally Hers, will have a
different answer because she’s notoriously unromantic (at least, she is until
Grey comes along). Her favorite holiday movie is more likely to be something
less romantic but yet uplifting and humorous, like Elf, or possibly something
quirky, like the cult classic, A Christmas Story.
And while this doesn’t qualify as a “movie,” Avery and I
both might still enjoy watching Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and singing
“Holly Jolly Christmas.”
Cindy Kirk, author of Christmas in Good Hope
My favorite holiday movie is It’s a Wonderful Life. I enjoy
the way this movie shows neighbors helping neighbors, as well as showing us how
one person can have a positive impact on so many others without even realizing
it. My very favorite scene in the movie is when George Bailey comes home at the
end of the movie, and is greeted by so many family and friends who are there to
show him how much they care by helping him out when he is in need.
Ami’s favorite movie is Coming Home for Christmas. She loves
how this movie has such a focus on family reconnecting (especially sisters), as
well as how it embraces the magic of the season. Her family home has so many special memories
for her, and this movie shows how meaningful a house can be for a family, and
how it can help them connect over the holiday season and make Christmas even
more magical.
About The Books
Jingle Bell Harbor by Tracy Brogan
As assistant buyer for the world’s second-largest Christmas
store, Kelsey Parker feels like a holiday harlot. She’s contractually obligated
to promote the yuletide season. All. Year. Long. And it’s taking a toll on her
spirit. But when her clueless, self-absorbed boyfriend goes on their
long-anticipated romantic vacation—without her!—Kelsey is beyond disappointed to
find herself tromping through the Bell Harbor snow instead of lounging on a
tropical beach.
Drew Hampton is considered quite a catch among the Bell
Harbor bachelorettes, but when his high school dream girl, Kelsey Parker, shows
up at his grandfather’s Christmas tree lot complaining about her love life, he
decides it’s long past time to get her under the mistletoe himself.
As things heat up between the two, a surprise visitor
arrives, making Kelsey an offer she can’t quite believe. Now she must decide what
matters most, and she just may discover the key to her happiness.
Christmas in Good Hope by Cindy Kirk
Amaryllis “Ami” Bloom’s cheerful smile greets everyone in
Good Hope, Wisconsin. But her merry facade hides a dark secret she won’t ever
forget. Still, she throws herself into celebrating Christmas—and convinces her
handsome, and stubborn, new neighbor to join her.
Beckett Cross, however, is determined not to celebrate the
holidays. He moved to Good Hope to leave behind reminders of how he’d had it
all…and lost everything. But it’s hard to resist adorable Ami, the designated
keeper of the small town’s holiday traditions, when she asks for help with the
Twelve Nights celebrations. And Ami has a hard time resisting Beck’s soft
Southern drawl and gentle eyes. Will a Christmas miracle give them a second
chance at love and the hope to heal both of their hearts for good?
Accidentally Hers by Jamie Beck
When ruggedly sexy backcountry guide Grey Lowell moves to
Sterling Canyon, Colorado, after buying the ski-expedition company Backtrax,
his plans don’t include romance. Still, it’s fun to look—especially across a
crowded restaurant at a beauty he dubs “Bambi.” But all his plans change later
that night when he’s injured by a drunk driver.
Physical therapist Avery Randall is shocked to learn that
Grey’s the man her brother struck with his car, and even more stunned when he
arrives at the clinic expecting her help. Despite her reservations and Grey’s
silly new nickname for her, Avery agrees to work with him, and passion begins
to simmer. Yet with his livelihood at stake, Grey must make tough decisions
that could hurt Avery and her family. Before long, Avery’s loyalties are
tested, and the choices she and Grey each make may cost them their chance at
lasting love.
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What temptation! You know I love my Christmas romances.
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