Happy Tuesday, Book Lovers, it’s almost Friday! 😀 And to help you survive the wait I bring you Christi Barth, who is back to tell you more about her latest release, Ask Her at Christmas, a holiday romance released by Carina Press in their Romancing the Holiday anthology, containing 3 festive and romantic stories penned by Jaci Burton, HelenKay Dimon and Christi Barth! So please give a warm welcome to Christi and leave a comment, you could win a copy of Ask Her at Christmas!
How Marketing Infiltrated My Christmas Novella
One of the question most asked of any author is how do you come up with your ideas. Well, I’m going to give you a little behind-the scenes glimpse of part of that answer which might never occur to a reader. I had never planned to write a Christmas novella. Did not have the faintest inkling of an idea. But when my editor asked me to be in an anthology with two New York Times bestselling authors, I buckled down and came up with a plot in less than a day.
Here’s the inside scoop part, though. My story could’ve been set anywhere. Well, any big city. I could’ve made it really easy and set it in my hometown. But I thought strategically. Not in a way that would change the plot, but in the externals. I put on my marketing/branding hat and thought about how to tie together the Christmas readers and my series readers. I knew Ask Her At Christmas would release in between books one and two of my Aisle Bound series, which is set in Chicago. In a perfect world, people who loved my novella might be intrigued enough to want to read my other books. So I decided to set it in Chicago as well.
Not just Chicago. A pivotal scene in Ask Her At Christmas takes place in the Cavendish Grand hotel. It is a wholly imaginary swanky hotel that is prominently featured in the entire Aisle Bound series. Hopefully that crossover will delight readers. I know that one reviewer did notice the connection enough to ask if I set all my books in Chicago (the answer is no). My question to you is, do you get a kick out of that sort of thing? When authors manage to weave previous, unrelated books or characters into a separate series?
Ask Her At Christmas by Christi Barth
Caitlin McIntyre’s heart stops when her best friend drops to one knee and proposes. Kyle Lockhart never once hinted over the years that he has any idea she’s in love with him. Not wanting to jeopardize their friendship, she’s never let it slip. Good thing, too, since it turns out he’s only practicing—he’s about to propose to someone else.
A business merger might not be the most romantic reason to propose to a woman he barely knows, but Kyle’s determined to win the respect of the dying father who’s never seen him as quite good enough. Kyle’s always depended on Caitlin’s friendship, while trying to ignore the physical response she arouses. So he turns to her when it comes time to craft his proposal, not realizing his decision will affect their relationship, forever.
This Christmas, Kyle and Caitlin get one last chance to admit their feelings for each other, and find a mutual happily ever after, before he commits his life to another woman and Caitlin leaves town and him…for good.
Buy at Amazon – B&N – Carina Press
Find out more about Christi and her books at :
her website | blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page
Christi Barth has generously offered an ebook copy of Ask Her at Christmas to one lucky commenter!
All you have to do is answer her question:
Do you get a kick out of that sort of thing? When authors manage to weave previous, unrelated books or characters into a separate series?
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)
Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).
This giveaway is open worldwide!
Giveaway ends on 29 December 2012 and we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good Luck!
If it’s a series I’ve read, I definitely enjoy seeing past characters make a cameo in a new series– it’s nice to catch up with them, however briefly! If I haven’t read the other series, I simply miss the connection so no worries 🙂
Thanks for the fun post and congrats to Chrsti on the newest release! I’m an HEA addict. I love seeing previous characters and seeing them enjoying their HEAs. The more the merrier! 🙂
I think it’s great 😀 especially when you didn’t want to say goodbye to those character, so seeing them pop up in another book is like oo so thats what they been up to 🙂
I like seeing previous characters pop up in new books. It’s like running into old friends. Thanks for the post and giveaway.
I don’t mind when other other characters show up in a new series.
I enjoy characters from other series popping up in either a new series or a novella. If I haven’t read the other series before though, it can entice me to take a look! Thanks for the giveaway!
I absolutely do! I hate saying goodbye to characters I love and I think its fantastic when they are weaved into another story!
I think its great also. There are always characters you want to know more about and have their own storyline.
Yeah, it’s kinda cool! I mean, if I haven’t read the other books then obviously I wouldn’t care, but if I have and I see them, I’m like: “OH MY GOSH, IT’S [insert names here]!!!! EEEPPP!!”
In other words, I love it 🙂
I do like it when authors spin characters off into their own series.
Ask Her At Christmas sounds really good.And love the purply cover 🙂
I always appreciate running into old friends.
Yes! I love that! I like it when TV shows do it too – like when a couple of the ER docs popped up on Friends. So much fun! 🙂
Yes. I think that’s great. I enjoy when other characters pop up in other books. We get to see what’s going on with them after their HEA.