Kate Kisset -Romance Author in Wine Country: Christmas in Napa: Kissing Mr. Mistletoe (Wine Country Author Secrets)

Kate Kisset, Kissing Mr. Mistletoe, Christmas in Napa, contemporary romance, standalone, holiday read

(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/