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