Christmas is coming, and with that holiday season comes more Christmas romances. If you don’t now, I love Christmas and Christmas romances. So, to fill out the rest of the Thursdays this year, I’m hosting fellow authors and their Christmas novels. Today I’m featuring Christen Krumm and her sweet YA Christmas book It Happened at Christmas . I Read on for the fun and an excerpt. Christen is willing to give away 1 e-copy of the book to a reader. Leave a comment and your email to be entered to win. Please type email as name(@)domain(dot)com to protect your email from robots.
Welcome, Christen
Thanks, Catherine!
It Happened at Christmas was never supposed to be a novel.
It started last fall. I had a goal last year to make something happen with this writing thing — I would have liked to have gotten representation for my first novel (a dystopian … I’ve promised my mom I’ll still do something with that story …), but by the fall that wasn’t happening. I knew that needed to start working on something else. But the problem was I couldn’t get the characters from my first book out of my head. Maybe it was that the book I was trying to work on—a superhero meets Aladdin on a dying planet story—was a little too close to my dystopian. It was frustrating, and I wasn’t getting any traction on it—even though I loved the story.
There was still the matter of making something, anything happen with this writing thing. I started to look at different publications for short fiction. I thought, and rightfully so, I just needed a “palette cleanser” since I had been working on the dystopian story for way too long. Publications were starting to work on submissions for their Christmas editions, and I thought it might be fun to take a scene from one of my favorite Romantic Comedies and write it as flash fiction.
I jumped on a vox with one of my critique partners to chat back and forth about story. And the story grew … and grew … and grew! To the point that I knew I wouldn’t be able to limit it to just a piece of flash fiction. Instead I decided to write a Christmas novella to release later the next year. As I was writing I quickly realized that it was going to be slightly longer than the typical novella, and by the time I finished it and grew to a full-length novel.
So, what’s next? I’m still working on getting my dystopian story agented (the story of my heart), but I’m also working on my next fun rom com to release (fingers crossed) next summer! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter (http://christenkrumm.com/newslettersignup) to keep up on all the latest news!
And Now for the book!
“A sweet and funny YA twist on a beloved movie.” —Emilie Hendryx
In this enchanting YA spin on While You Were Sleeping, Christen Krumm delivers laughter and Christmas sparkle through a swoon-worthy story of first love and belonging.
Life at Iverson Preparatory Boarding School isn’t easy when you’re basically the maid. Murphy Cain spends her days cleaning up after her upper-class peers in exchange for tuition while dodging their cutting remarks. All of that changes when she rescues her crush, the popular and hunky Tripp Harrington, after a near-fatal accident and is mistaken as his girlfriend.
Murphy finds herself struggling with the choice to reveal the truth or play along. As Tripp’s girl, his wealthy family will offer Murphy something she’s been craving her whole life—a chance to be one of the “in” crowd. A chance to belong. Without it, she’ll be right back where she started.
It only gets worse as Tripp’s brother Hank enters the picture. He’s handsome, down to earth, and seems to understand Murphy better than anyone else. The only problem? She’s supposed to be dating his brother.
As Christmas break draws to a close, Murphy must decide if telling the truth is worth losing it all or if the risk will bring a greater reward in the end.
Excerpt:
If she never saw another piece of Bubblicious bubble gum, it would be too soon.
Murphy Cain flexed her hand before picking up the paint scraper. She’d been hacking at the dried gum on the bathroom wall for over two hours and had hardly made a dent. Why Claire Bentley insisted on creating her own gum wall “just like that one in Seattle” was beyond her. It was disgusting.
Claire Bentley. The Iverson Queen “B.” Her daddy’s money kept her from being expelled from Iverson — well, that and the fact that no one was outing Claire as the orchestrator of this mess. And Headmistress Kingfisher couldn’t very well let go of every girl on this floor. Oh, no. Too much money would be lost.
Murphy cringed at the sound of the scraper chipping away two more pieces of the hardened gum, hundreds left staring her down. The mere fact it was multiple girls’ saliva and germs stuck to the wall—and probably a few of the boys’—made Murphy’s stomach tighten with nausea. The saddest part about it was she wished she was a part of creating it. Because that would mean she was one of the elite. Not the Cinderella of Iverson Hall.
Another chunk of gum landed on the floor. The piece looked fresher than most. She told herself she wouldn’t throw up—then she’d have to clean that up too. At least they had found this mountain of gum now, midway through the year, instead of at the end. She wasn’t kidding herself. She knew there’d probably be another gum wall up by then. One wall for now was a small bit of relief.
The bathroom door opened with a whisper and then clanged shut. Murphy caught a whiff of expensive perfume. Keeping her head down, she swallowed the groan fighting to get out.
Amazon Book Links:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2MZTDwj
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2nV9LW2
About the author:
Christen Krumm is the author of It Happened at Christmas. She lives with her real-life superhero husband and three barefoot wildings in small-town Arkansas. Coffee is the lifeblood, books are her drugs, and creating stories is her favorite. Find her online at christenkrumm.com
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristenEKrumm
Instagram: http://instagram.com/ChristenKrumm
Newsletter Sign up: http://christenkrumm.com/newslettersignup
An avid reader since birth (her parents claim she often kept them up late begging to hear just one more story), Laurie Lucking discovered her passion for writing after leaving her career as an attorney to become a stay-at-home mom. She writes young adult fantasy with a strong thread of romance, and her debut novel, Common, released on February 14, 2018, from Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing. Laurie is the Secretary of her local ACFW chapter and a co-founder of Lands Uncharted, a blog for fans of clean young adult speculative fiction. A Midwestern girl through and through, she currently lives in Minnesota with her husband and two young sons.
Today on Wednesday Writers I have something a bit different for my readers. I’m hosting Tessa Emily Hall, author of Unwritten Melody, on her blog tour. Tessa will be talking about the inspiration behind the book and offering readers a chance to win a special Prize Pack, which will be discussed farther down in the post. So be sure and read to the bottom to get your chance to win. So, Tessa, tell the readers about the inspiration behind Unwritten Melody.
Tessa Emily Hall writes inspirational yet authentic YA fiction to show others they’re not alone—and because she remembers the teen life like it was yesterday (or a few years ago). The debut novel she wrote at 16-years-old, PURPLE MOON (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas) was a Selah 2014 Finalist. Her second novel, UNWRITTEN MELODY, releases with Clean Reads November 2016. She’s the Founder of PursueMagazine.net, a magazine that inspires teens to embrace their calling. She also enjoys helping writers achieve their dreams through her internship at Hartline Literary Agency.
Author Stacy Renée Keywell lives a life of fabulous clichés. She enjoys asking rhetorical questions, and speaking redundantly. Stacy works hard at telling bad jokes, dancing oddly yet awesomely, and making up amazing new words in hopes that they will one day find their way into the dictionary. She strives to love without labels. She vows to bravely stand by the sides of those who need her, especially her two daughters. Stacy, her husband, and her children live in Michigan in a quaint house in the woods. You can connect with Stacy at:
Today Wednesday Writers Welcomes back D.R. Grady, author of The Dragon Chronicles, YA fantasy romance series. Today, D.R. will be talking about a subject all romance readers and writers revel in—love, and the different journey love took her in her latest book Healing. Be sure to read to the bottom of the post for the excerpt from Healing, the third book in her Dragon Chronicle Series.
D.R. Grady lives with her husband near Hershey, PA. She adores chocolate, laughing, collecting bags, books, and shoes, and writing stories that resonate with others.
Catherine Castle 