Book Name: Christmas In His Heart
Release Date: December 4th, 2014
Author Name: Lee Brazil & Havan Fellows
Two favorite authors are here with their latest story, Christmas In His Heart. Did I have some questions for them both? Why, yes I did and here is my holiday conversation with Lee Brazil and Havan Fellows:
A holiday story should be like opening a Christmas or Chanukah present. What elements about your story had you both smiling with delight?
Lee: I just loved all the bright, cheerful banter between the leads. I may never see another sausage without chuckling.
Havan: Oh my god they were a hot fun mess when those two started talking. lmao Plus I loved the strong secondary characters and how they all genuinely cared.
Favorite holiday story for each of you?
Oh… White Christmas is one, but also… I just love It’s A Wonderful Life. The story of how one person’s life affects so many others, of how one missing soul can change the world really speaks to me. We’re taught these days that life is about everyone, that its society and the greater good that we ought to be concerned with. Sometimes we forget how valuable the individual is. It’s A Wonderful Life proves the value of the individual.
The Polar Express has always been a favorite in my family, but believe it or not I’ve never watched the movie. I guess some books I just can’t bring myself to watch the movie version no matter how good people claim they are.
I love the Holiday Movies, from Hallmark to It’s Christmas, Charlie Brown. What movies or specials do you look forward to if any?
Um… Clearly I misinterpreted the previous question. Sorry about that. My favorite Christmas cartoon was the one with the burgermeister. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. I was terrified of the Winter Warlock as a child, but the magic of the season just came alive for me.
I love the “claymation duo” as my family calls it: Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, oh and Frosty the Snowman is also enjoyed. But our favorite holiday movie is Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. We watch it every year on Christmas Eve, never fails.
You both have been so busy with the Pulp Friction 2014 outstanding series, why no holiday stories involving those couples? Or is there?
Well, that would be telling! The stories are sequential, timeline-wise. The finale takes place in December, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some seasonal elements crept into the finale.
*zips lips…sits on hands*
Do you both have any holiday traditions passed down from generation to generation? And have they ever made it into a story?
My family has a lot of traditions, and many of them I have foisted upon my SO. Stockings hung on Christmas Eve, presents opened Christmas morning, turkey dinner with stuffing and cranberries…
When my siblings and I grew up and had our own families we developed new traditions…but the bottom line is that all extensions of the family get together on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is dedicated to spending it with our individual broods. That way we get the best of both worlds, because no matter how much I love my whole family, I cherish those Christmas mornings with my kiddos.
What is the hardest thing about writing with a partner?
Waiting. The hardest part was waiting. Havan works an EDJ, and I wrote while she was working, so many times I’d have to wait for her feedback, and it was just finger itching.
*hugs* Lee never had to worry about my feedback – you’ve read his writing, you know how good he is at it. 🙂 But yeah…my EDJ was especially evil to me. We’d be chatting back and forth while I was at work and I’d get this brilliant amazing idea (well aren’t all my ideas brilliant and amazing? lol) but I’d be stuck at my desk for another two hours before I could run home and put it to paper and see if Lee liked it as well…and I suffer from youngest child syndrome, you know what I mean? The Now-now-now syndrome…I wanted to write the scene now now now so Lee could read it now now now. Not to be confused with the youngest child syndrome Mine-mine-mine which is a totally different thing…lmao
What is the easiest thing about writing with a partner?
Writing with Havan made writing easier. Her energy and creativity were just like a spark for me. The story flowed with an ease I seldom see.
That goes both ways I would say. He’d knock the WIP (work in process) over to me and I’d be so stoked to get my wordage in and kick it back to him…and within seconds (or it felt like seconds – do not insert ex-boyfriend joke here…lmao) he’d have it back to me. It was like we fed on each other’s excitement about this story and our guys. It was more addicting than any drug…um…not that I’d know about those types of things…can you see my halo from there?
What message or overall feeling would you like readers to take away from Christmas In His Heart?
There’s a magic to the holiday season, people are the best they can be, kindness flows, and love… well it just makes everything alright.
All of the above…and a smile can do wonders in any situation. I do like smiling…I count it toward my daily exercise goal. 🙂
What’s next for you both?
Pulp Friction 2014 Finale, and then… Pulp Friction 2015. Are you ready for New Orleans?
Let the beads start flying! *big huge grins*
Thank you Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for having us…you know this is one of our fave places to hang out!
My thanks to you both! Now back to our authors and story…
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Author Bio:
LEE BRAZIL:
Somewhere in a small town in up-state New York are a librarian and a second grade teacher to whom I owe my life. That might be a touch dramatic, but it’s nevertheless one hundred percent true.
Because they taught me the joy of reading, of escaping into worlds crafted of words.
Have you ever been nine years old and sure of nothing so much as that you don’t belong? Looked at the world from behind glasses, and wondered why you don’t fit?
Someone hands you a book, and then you turn the page and see… There you are, running from Injun Joe in a dark graveyard; there you are fencing with Athos; there you are…beneath the deep blue sea- marveling at exotic creatures with Captain Nemo.
I found myself between the pages of books, and that is why I write now. It’s why I taught English and literature for so many years, and it’s why my house contains more pounds of books than furniture.
If I’d had my way, I’d have been a fencer…or a starship captain, or a lawyer, or a detective solving crimes. But instead, I am a writer, and I’ve come to realize that’s the best thing in the world to be, because as a writer, I can be all those things and more.
If I hadn’t learned to value the stories between the pages, who knows what would have happened? Certainly not college…teaching…or writing.
HAVAN FELLOWS:
I annoy, love, respect, scare, seduce, hurt, anger, infatuate, frustrate, flatter, envy, amuse and tolerate everyone. I just do it better in writing thanks to a little thing called…edits.
Okay no, seriously…I’m a simpleminded person who enjoys the escape from real life through a book. I write with the group Story Orgy and hope to continue doing so for a long time. I also am privileged to be with the Pulp Friction writers, creating intermingling books in a world all our own. And just like every other red-blooded human—I love hearing from people. So feel free to drop me a line—whether it’s a comment on my blog, an email, a tweet, or you track me down on FaceBook or Google +…it’s easy to catch someone who wants to be caught.
Authors Contacts:
Publisher: Lime Time Press
Cover Artist: Laura Harner
Sales Links: amazon All Romance (ARe)
Blurb:
Christmastime brings joy to hearts everywhere. Between snow angels, festive clothing, holiday decorations, and of course, all the beautiful lights, it’s hard not to partake in the season.
Unless you no longer have Christmas in your heart.
Dermot Alasdair has never shared the horrific memories that keep him from celebrating the happiest time of the year, nor does he ever plan to. He’s fine being alone and shut off from everyone; he has his restaurant and that’s all he needs. He believes that, too…until the craft store next door from his eatery hires a perpetually smiling annoyance. Really, it isn’t normal for someone to be that happy all the time.
Xander Leahman didn’t know what he was getting into when he accepted an invitation to visit his best friend and help her interview people for the newly created position of manager at Craft Time. When a surly man bumps into him and then walks away with an enticing sway to his hips, Xander decides the position—and Dermot—are perfect for him. Now all he can think of is finding ways to get Dermot out of his clothes. Well that, and how to open this grinch’s heart to the Christmas season and, hopefully, love.
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Romance, Holiday
Excerpt:
“Hey! Good morning!”
The cheerful greeting broke through his concentration, and Dermot looked up to see the new manager of the Craft Time craft store sweeping the sidewalk in front of the shop. “Hey,” he muttered sourly. Xander Leahman made his head ache. Just one glance and he wanted to snap at the man to comb his hair, put on a heavier jacket, and for Christ sakes why wasn’t he wearing gloves outside in this weather?
Dermot wasn’t going to stop. He had no plans stop and talk to the smiling man. Xander bubbled more than a bottle of shaken soda water. Dermot didn’t have time for his chatter, and he didn’t have time for the strange, compelling not-quite-nausea he seemed prone to in Xander’s company.
Maybe he was allergic to the man’s cologne, or deodorant, or shampoo. Dermot leaned forward and sniffed surreptitiously, but he couldn’t smell anything other than cinnamon and vanilla. An overwhelming urge to bake overcame him, and he jerked himself upright.
He was an executive chef, not a pastry chef. He didn’t bake, and especially not something as…plebeian as oatmeal raisin cookies, which was what Xander smelled like.
“Excuse me.” He deliberately stepped around Xander, who put out a hand and caught his arm.
“I saw you coming down the street.” Xander set the broom aside and picked up a steaming mug from the windowsill. “It’s not as good as Prudence’s coffee, but I made it fresh this morning.”
Blinking in astonishment, Dermot stared from the mug to the hand on his arm. He could really… “Thanks.” He accepted the mug and inhaled the rich aroma of good coffee, scented with cinnamon and…yeah, vanilla. And he’d thought it was Xander who smelled so good? He didn’t know whether to be relieved or embarrassed. “I needed this. That walk feels longer every day that the temperature drops.” The first sip exploded on his tongue with soothing heat and delicious flavor and he bit back a moan of appreciation.
Words: 35,562
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Xander Leahman wasn’t happy with the corporate life so when his best friend called and asked his help to find a manager for her craft store, he jumped at the chance for a change in scenery and time with his bestie. But Xander wasn’t prepared for the attraction he felt when he saw the grumpy but gorgeous owner of the restaurant next door to Craft Time. On impulse, Xander found himself agreeing to take the job and relocate on the chance that his heart knew what it was doing.
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