Why We Love Holiday Love Stories: An Exclusive Guest Post from Jasmine Guillory, Author of Royal Holiday
We’re not going to hold back anything here — we love, love, LOVE novels by Jasmine Guillory. She writes some of the best meet-cutes out there in the world of romance. But nothing would hold up if it weren’t for her protagonists — smart, independent women with open hearts for the right romance. Here, the reigning rom-com queen writes about our collective obsession with holiday love and the inspiration behind her latest swoon-worthy novel, Royal Holiday.
Royal Holiday
Paperback $17.00
Royal Holiday
In Stock Online
Paperback $17.00
There’s just something about the holidays. Twinkling lights, big sweaters, chilly temperatures — even this Californian loves cold weather at that time of year, especially when it’s inside a book. It’s a time when everyone wants to cuddle up and get cozy, when everyone feels a little more generous to the world at large … and when everyone loves falling in love, in or outside of a book.
Nothing can put a smile on my face like a holiday romance, and I don’t think I’m alone here. Just say the words “trapped in a cabin in the snow together” to any romance lover, and the glee on their face might blind you. Out in the real world, the holidays can be overwhelming, or frantic, or stressful, or sad, but books give you all of that magic the holidays promise us. A holiday romance is the ideal escape from anything stressful going on in life — in books, people figure out how to resolve their stress, they get to relax and have fun with the holidays, and on top of that, they fall in love and have a happy ending. Perfect.
When I wrote Royal Holiday, I wanted to bring that magic of the holidays alive in the book and sprinkle a little royal sparkle on top. Some of the things that I love best about the holidays — and about holiday love stories — are spending time with family and glorying in family traditions. But I also love reading about, experiencing and embracing new traditions. So, in Royal Holiday, when I sent Vivian Forest and her daughter Maddie to England to stay with members of the royal family, I did a lot of research about not just British Christmas traditions, but also Sandringham, the estate where the British royal family spends every Christmas, to see what Vivian and Maddie would experience there. It brought me a lot of joy to give Vivian a fun, relaxing, very British Christmas, one where she meets and falls for the tall, dark, handsome private secretary to the Queen. And, of course, along with Christmas crackers and Christmas cake, I had to make sure she enjoyed the shared British and American tradition of a kiss under the mistletoe.
The holidays will be different for all of us this year, but thank goodness we still have holiday love stories to bring us joy.
There’s just something about the holidays. Twinkling lights, big sweaters, chilly temperatures — even this Californian loves cold weather at that time of year, especially when it’s inside a book. It’s a time when everyone wants to cuddle up and get cozy, when everyone feels a little more generous to the world at large … and when everyone loves falling in love, in or outside of a book.
Nothing can put a smile on my face like a holiday romance, and I don’t think I’m alone here. Just say the words “trapped in a cabin in the snow together” to any romance lover, and the glee on their face might blind you. Out in the real world, the holidays can be overwhelming, or frantic, or stressful, or sad, but books give you all of that magic the holidays promise us. A holiday romance is the ideal escape from anything stressful going on in life — in books, people figure out how to resolve their stress, they get to relax and have fun with the holidays, and on top of that, they fall in love and have a happy ending. Perfect.
When I wrote Royal Holiday, I wanted to bring that magic of the holidays alive in the book and sprinkle a little royal sparkle on top. Some of the things that I love best about the holidays — and about holiday love stories — are spending time with family and glorying in family traditions. But I also love reading about, experiencing and embracing new traditions. So, in Royal Holiday, when I sent Vivian Forest and her daughter Maddie to England to stay with members of the royal family, I did a lot of research about not just British Christmas traditions, but also Sandringham, the estate where the British royal family spends every Christmas, to see what Vivian and Maddie would experience there. It brought me a lot of joy to give Vivian a fun, relaxing, very British Christmas, one where she meets and falls for the tall, dark, handsome private secretary to the Queen. And, of course, along with Christmas crackers and Christmas cake, I had to make sure she enjoyed the shared British and American tradition of a kiss under the mistletoe.
The holidays will be different for all of us this year, but thank goodness we still have holiday love stories to bring us joy.