Love, Christmas
The Long and Short of It
I enjoy writing short stories, which is a complete one-eighty compared to how I used to feel. I used to wonder how an author could convey so much meaning in so few words. It took practice and the motivation of entering competitions to change my mind.
Love, Christmas is my first attempt at a collection. Some of you may know that one of the genres I write in is romance, and I chose this genre to explore through short stories because there are so many tropes to play with: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, office romance, unrequited love (or is it?), forced proximity, single parents…the list goes on!
So, I’d decided to write a short story collection and I’d decided on the genre, but I needed a context, a thread to tie them together. I chose Christmas. Why? Because I bloody love it, that’s why! Is there any better reason?
It was also approaching the season of goodwill, so I was full of festive spirit. To me, Christmas is magical, Christmas brings people together, Christmas reminds you to think of others besides yourself. What better time to fall in love?
I’ll admit, writing this collection was extremely self-indulgent. I enjoyed escaping into the feel-good world of Yuletide romance every day. I lived vicariously through my characters when Christmas of 2023 was over and the world returned to normal. In my head, while the daffodils and tulips blossomed and the grey skies of winter turned blue, I was still building snowmen and drinking hot chocolate next to an open fire. I got the best of both worlds. And isn’t that the beauty of writing, whatever the genre?
Experience
I self-published Love, Christmas in the full knowledge that I would only get sales for part of the year. So what? I enjoyed writing it and I enjoy the thought that others are getting to escape for a while when they read about Noelle’s secret love for her editor; Annie’s healing after heartbreak; or Sylvia’s unexpected and life-changing encounter with a handsome-but-annoying stranger (yes, reader, I went there and I’m not sorry!).
So I guess the moral of my story is: be self-indulgent. Write what excites, interests or inspires you – or, like me, what gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling and makes you smile every morning when you power up your laptop.
Final Thoughts
Do you write short stories? Why/why not?
If you could set a novel during Christmas, what genre would it be and why?
Is self-indulgence a key trait for an author to possess?
If you’d like to read Love, Christmas or check out any of my other romance novels, here’s the link:
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