December is I :::Heart::: the Holidays month at my blog. During these next twenty-two days, besides the usual blog posts, I’m featuring authors who write holiday romance. Today, I have Daryl Devoré in the interview chair. We’re discussing Christmas Notes. Be sure to check out the excerpt.
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1. What draws you to writing holiday romance?
Daryl: The beauty of the story. In this chaotic world two people find happiness and love.
2. How many holiday romances have you written so far? And which one would you recommend for readers to try, besides the one you are featuring? Feel free to leave a link.
Daryl: This is my second Christmas romance. I released a book under my other pen name – Victoria Adams. It is comprised of 3 super short stories. https://books2read.com/Christmas-in-a-Flash.
3. What do you like most about writing holiday romance?
Daryl: In July – when I wrote it – it made me think about Christmas and family. Happy thoughts.
4. What do you like least about writing holiday romance?
Daryl: That people sigh and say – another Christmas romance.
5. What inspired you to write your featured holiday story?
Daryl: My former publisher requested seasonal stories and I figured I give it a shot. Then it turns out, I liked writing it.
6. If a reader asked you why they should read your holiday romance, what would you tell them?
Daryl: It is a heart-touching, seasonal short story about falling in love. With a mug of hot chocolate, a plate of gingerbread cookies and Christmas Notes – it will be a wonderful afternoon.
7. Lastly, how are you going to spend the holidays?
Daryl: Last year the family was not able to get together – border closure issues. This year, we will all be together. They will be tears of happiness, bursts of laughter and the warmth of a loving family.
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Title: Christmas Notes
Series: N/A
Genre: Sweet Contemporary Romance
Length: 27 pages, 8,203 words
Heat Rating: 1 Flame
Publication Date: November 15, 2021
Publisher: Self-Published
Can a slice of pizza and a flute erase the ravages of life and allow Giselle and Ethan to fall in love by Christmas?
Blurb: Collapsing in front the biggest department store in the city on one of the busiest days of the holiday season was not how Giselle imagined her day. Cold and hungry, she trudged through her daily existence wondering if she’d ever find happiness again.
Teenagers. Ethan loved working with them and turning their raw musical talent into something beautiful and rewarding, but that didn’t fill the black void in his soul.
Like fate, the songwriters’ muse nudged Giselle and Ethan together. But can Giselle overcome her fears and can Ethan get past the darkness that surrounds him, so they can find love?
Rock bottom is hard. And I’d smashed up against it. Bruised not only my pride but also my body. Guess that’s what happens when you haven’t eaten in a few days and pass out on the sidewalk in front of the largest department store witnessed by hundreds of Christmas shoppers. And all of them with cell phones recording another titillating moment in the biggest city in the country. Yeah, it just wasn’t my day.
Tears stung my eyes as I shifted to my hands and knees while watching feet scurry past. I didn’t look up. Didn’t want to see their faces. The judgmental disdain and embarrassment etched into their frosty red cheeks. Their sanctimonious scorn of myself and the condition to which I’d sunk. Their chagrin from not being willing to help and of desperately trying to pretend I was invisible.
Icy droplets fell from the sky, settling on my neck. It wasn’t quite snow but was no longer rain. And it was a raw cold right through to my core. I pushed up to standing, brushing away the frigid sleet from my arms and legs. I pressed my scraped palm against my hip to stop the bleeding, then checked my bag. It and its contents seemed all right. Yes, my existence has been reduced to having pretty much everything I own in a bag or two.
My life wasn’t always like this. How I got here doesn’t matter. Another sad sob story. A cruel twist of fate. A dream shattered. I could go on using a dozen more clichés, but I’m pretty sure you get the idea.
So again, I say, hitting rock bottom is hard. And, I might add, it sucks.
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Two writers in one. Daryl Devoré writes hot romances with sexy heroes and strong heroines and sweet romances with little to no heat. She has several published books available on Amazon in e-book or print, and available at other book retailers via Books2Read.
Daryl (@daryldevore) lives in an old farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and 2 cats. Daryl loves to take long walks on her quiet country road or snowshoe across the back acres, and in the summer, kayak along the St. Lawrence River. She has touched a moon rock, a mammoth, and a meteorite. She’s been deep in the ocean in a submarine, flown high over Niagara Falls in a helicopter, and used the ladies’ room in a royal palace. Life’s an adventure and Daryl’s having fun living it.
Find Daryl: Web Site/Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | BookBub | Linked In | Amazon | Newsletter Sign-Up
Maggie Blackbird 