Christmas in Napa: Kissing Mr. Mistletoe (Wine Country Author Secrets)

(Portions of this post originally appeared as a guest post blog on Reading in Sarah's Corner. Thank you Sarah!)

Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is my first Christmas story. It’s a novella about a country music superstar named Trace Montgomery who comes home to Napa Valley to sell the family Christmas tree farm he inherited from his uncle. 

Although Trace doesn’t wear his grief on his sleeve, he's also  heartbroken over the loss of his parents.  While in wine country just long enough to settle the estate, Trace runs into his old flame Monique Jacobson.

Although fragments of this story had been simmering in the back of my brain for a while, I didn’t mean to write Kissing Mr. Mistletoe this year. On the surface, the tale seemed to just “come to me.” In reality, the story idea has many real-life connections:

Insider Secret #1: I lost my mother several years ago. My father died when I was fourteen.  

Insider Secret #2: Christmas is my favorite holiday. 

Insider Secret #3: I’m not a cool girl. I watch Hallmark Christmas movies whenever I can and enjoy them.

Insider Secret #4: Before I began writing professionally, I was disc jockey in San Francisco and spent many years on a country music station.  Anyone who knows me, knows I have a thing for country singers. I can’t remember one instance of a country singer being rude, or standoffish. Everyone I interviewed in my days on-the-air-was polite, extremely talented, and down-to-earth.  As bonus, most were gorgeous!  GRIN.  

Gingerbread house competition at Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood

Trace Montgomery, the protagonist of Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is a country music star. In my mind he’s a cross between Lee Brice, Alan Jackson and Luke Bryan. The idea of a superstar coming home to a small town for Christmas and longing for the past, is something close to my heart.  Although I’m not a singer or a superstar, I know what it feels like to miss the way things used to be at Christmas.

Insider Secret #4: I commute through vineyards.  I know just about every nook and cranny in wine country. From San Francisco to St. Helena, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Calistoga, Kenwood, if you can name a town, chances are, I’ve been there. 

Copyright: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_zhukovsky'>zhukovsky / 123RF Stock Photo</a> Used for editorial purposes only.

Secret #5: There actually is a bunny that turns into Rudolph in wine country.  A few years ago a piece of art stopped me in my tracks. As I drove through Yountville, a spectacular, gleaming sculpture seemed to leap out of the vineyards.  Yes, Virginia, there really is a Bunny Foo Foo and he lives at Hall Vineyards. Read his story here.  

In Kissing Mr. Mistletoe, the statue is smaller, named Bunny Fru Fru, and my heroine is decorating him for Christmas. The sculpture opens my story:

Kissing Mr. Mistletoe Excerpt:

Monique Jacobson climbed another step above the rows of Santino cabernet vineyards. She reached out as far as she could without losing grip of the ladder. Stretching another half inch, her fingertips almost touched Bunny Fru Fru’s gleaming metal nose. Frustrated, she loudly exhaled a breath of air.

After allowing only thirty-five minutes of her packed schedule to turn the massive bunny sculpture into Rudolf for the party, Monique spent fifteen minutes she didn’t have finding a ladder. Then, she’d used another twenty finding someone to help her drag the clunky sixteen-footer to the vineyard and situate it under the landmark.  Panic started to set in. The annual Santino Winery holiday party that Monique was in charge of for the first time started in six hours.

“Is he ever going to turn into Rudolf, Mommy?” Adele’s voice chirped from below. With her pink cheeks glowing and surrounded by grapevines shimmering in the sun, her daughter looked like a wine country cherub.  “Of course he will. Bunny Fru Fru always turns into Rudolf at Christmas. We can do anything we set our minds to, baby. Just you watch.”

In a few pages Monique will run into Trace Montgomery and their story begins.

Thank you for spending a little time with me today.  No matter which holiday you celebrate, I hope the coming days will be merry, bright and filled with good health and love.

Until next time,
-Kate

To learn more about me, visit my website: http://www.katekisset.com/  

Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is available on Amazon and  Free on Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2dD5Enm

Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/2f6T9Er

Amazon Australia: http://amzn.to/2eaE1kQ

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2fs2gRz

And add it to your Goodreads list here: http://bit.ly/2f6LKVG

 

Christmas in Napa: Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is Free today!

Happy Holidays to romance readers everywhere!  My wine country romance novella, Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is a free download today on Amazon as a gift to you. Links are below!  
May your days be merry and bright. ox-Kate 

Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is FREE Today (12-8-2016) on Amazon.

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2dD5Enm

Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/2f6T9Er

Amazon Australia: http://amzn.to/2eaE1kQ

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2fs2gRz

And add it to your Goodreads list here: http://bit.ly/2f6LKVG

BLURB: 

Ever since his last remaining relative died, Country music star Trace Montgomery has avoided California, specifically his home town of Napa Valley. Trace can’t stand the memories. But seven days before the holiday, he’s forced to return to wine country to sell the St. Helena Christmas tree farm he inherited from his uncle. 

With his sidekick guitar Lola nearby, a past love — the one that got away — falls into his arms while trying to turn a vineyard bunny sculpture into a reindeer. Now Trace can't stop thinking about her. He's making up naughty lyrics to Christmas songs.

Single mom, Monique Jacobson doesn’t have time for a bath, never mind a romance. She’s working hard to secure a promotion and pay raise from Santino Winery that will allow her and her daughter to move out of Nana’s little B&B.

St. Helena and Napa Valley hotels are booked for the holiday, and Monique finds Trace holed up with her and her daughter at her gran's Napa B&B for a Christmas in wine country. Will they rediscover the love they lost and rekindle Christmas magic under the mistletoe?

Christmas in Napa: Kissing Mr. Mistletoe (A Single Mom meets a Country Star)

If you're looking for a short, sweet and sexy read that will get you into the holiday spirit pronto, I'd like to suggest my latest wine country romance, Kissing Mr. Mistletoe.  

The novella is set in beautiful St. Helena and features a little girl named Adele Jacobson. Although she isn't a main character, many readers have found her to be the star of the book. I loved writing Adele!
In this excerpt, Adele is helping her mom decorate a gigantic bunny sculpture, (inspired by Hall Vineyards Bunny Foo Foo), in time for a Christmas party.  They're in the vineyards, attempting to turn the bunny into Rudolph. Here, Adele and her mother Monique meet the protagonist of the story, Trace Montgomery. 
Happy reading.

Blurb: A successful country singer home just long enough to sell an inherited Christmas tree farm.  His old flame, now a single mom struggling to make a life for herself and her little girl. When they're thrown together for a wine country Christmas, a sprig of mistletoe may just rekindle love.
 (c) Kate Kisset

Adele didn’t wait for further instruction and hurled the plastic nose cover into the air. Spinning, the snout missed Monique’s outstretched hand and continued its path of projection several feet over her head and to the right.

Rudolf’s schnozzle caught the light and sparkling in the sun, made its descent. Monique shifted her weight to grab it. Almost there.  She reached up and over feeling the ladder sway and rock beneath her.

“Mommy!”

Quickly seizing her perch with both hands, the sole of her boot slipped sideways on the metal step. Instead of regaining her balance, Monique skidded down one rung, and then another with her left foot and then another and another, until she found herself rappelling backward down the ladder, desperately grappling to hang on to whatever she could and praying for a soft landing.

“Mommy!”

She missed the last step and hit the ground, landing flat on her back.

“Oh no!” Adele scampered to her and laid her soft chubby hands on Monique’s cheeks. Snuggling close, her sweet breath touched her skin. Adele inspected her eyes from an inch away. “Are you hurt bad?”

“I’m okay, baby.” Reaching behind her back, Monique found the rock digging into her spine. She plucked it out of the dirt and flung it.

“You shouldn’t be climbing on top of something you can’t handle.”

Every cell of Monique’s body froze. Her heart paused mid-thump.  The familiar drawl of the deep, sexy, voice coming from above propelled her back in time at warp speed to six years ago. But it couldn’t be him. Not in a million years. She wrapped one arm tightly around Adele, and shielding her eyes from the glare with the other, looked up. Shit.

Trace Montgomery towered over her. He folded his arms over his chest making his smooth, muscled biceps bulge under his navy T-shirt. Wearing jeans that fit him as precisely as a fireman carries a hose, and with his swagger apparently still intact, he leaned back on the heel of his boot and tilted his face, rubbing his jaw. His unmistakable green eyes sparkled down at her.

“W-what are you doing here?”

“You’re hardly in a position to be asking questions.” He reached with a powerful hand and lifted her up off the ground, along with Adele.

After removing a twig wedged between her legs and butt cheek, Monique attempted to get her bearings. Her brain stuttered, stopped and skipped over the right words to say. Her libido, however, operated flawlessly. Tingles charged from her neck to her toes and she broke into a sweat.  Steadying her gaze on his preposterously handsome face, a result of mixed genetic magic, her heart beat out of her skin. Trace opened his arms for a hug. Before she could think, he wrapped them around her and squeezed, smelling like—well, smelling like Trace, a combination of clean, fresh and help me now, Jesus.

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you so much for reading! 
Until next time, 
-Kate xo

Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is available on Amazon here:

(Free on Kindle Unlimited.)
 

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2dD5Enm
Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/2f6T9Er
Amazon Australia: http://amzn.to/2eaE1kQ
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2fs2gRz
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2f6LKVG 

                                     

For my social media links and to reach out to me, go here: www.katekisset.com