The final countdown
12 Tropes of Christmas is just around the corner ...
Okay, I might have ‘The Final Countdown' Europe music soundtrack playing in my ears - Do you remember that one? - because I’m super excited and struggling to keep a lid on it in the final days towards book launch of The 12 Tropes of Christmas!
It’s been such a massive effort pulling it together and I’m proud as punch with the result. What’s your favourite trope?
I think it looks great in whatever format you prefer, and there are a dozen heartwarming laugh-out-loud festive stories to be enjoyed. I hope you managed to take advantage of the preorder 99c price, if not, click on the books for the link:
As you can imagine, it’s been a busy time what with all the editing and publicity. We’ve all contributed in our own way, and I’ve loved listening to the podcasts in which one or more of us has chatted about the book. If you want to give your ears a treat, check out these podcasts:
And the Genre Fiction Podcast will be dropping soon!
Rather than my usual Author in the Spotlight interview, I thought I’d share an interview I did recently for New in Books. It’s coming out next month, but here is a cheeky preview with some additional information for my news subscribers! Don’t forget, if you have any burning questions you’d like to ask me, you can always ping me an email.
12 Tropes of Christmas: a collection of festive romcom stories
What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
I liked the idea of getting some of my romance-writing friends together to write a romantic comedy collection of Christmas stories and had it knocking around in my head for a while. Tropes, especially romance tropes, seemed to be all the buzz on Instagram and Booktok and among book-loving friends. I loved the idea of each author taking a different trope and writing a story around that trope, as it really wasn’t something I’d seen done anywhere else. When I met up with some fellow romance authors for lunch last year, I threw it out there and was shocked by how enthusiastic everyone was. A relatively simple idea very rapidly became a dozen friends with a dozen unique ideas and a dozen awesome romcom stories – collaboration has wrought the perfect festive feelgood vibes!
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be? This isn’t for the main character because there are too many, however, I jokingly call the authors in the anthology my ‘super tropers’, and the song that always springs to mind isn’t actually a Christmas one, it’s ABBA’s ‘Super Trooper’. When it comes to Christmas anthems for this anthology, I’d choose ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ by Chris Rea.
What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write? I love romantic comedy both to read and write because it gives me that double whammy of feels: the laugh out loud and the happy ever after. I think that’s the joy of romcom. Having said that, I also love straight contemporary fiction, romantasy and historical fiction. You might say, I’m a bit of a genre slut; if the story is compelling, I’ll read it.
What books are on your TBR pile right now? It’s more of a mountain than a pile, but top of the TBR right now is Anne Freeman’s ‘Me That You See’. She’s a terrific writer and I can’t wait to get stuck in.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write? The opening and the ending. Impossible to choose. I always get excited when I start a new story – there’s so much I want to get down on the page and so much potential – and the ending because  it tugs on the heartstrings when I finish knowing I’ve put my all into it and have to say goodbye to the characters … unless I’m writing a series. Then the opening excitement starts all over again!
Do you have any quirky writing habits? I do my best work in bed ;)
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by? Several actually. If you’re not dead, don’t give up. I also picked this up somewhere and think it’s a great philosophy to live by: Live without pretending, love without depending, listen without defending, speak without offending.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be? I hope readers remember the laughter, the joy and the love. I hope by the time they put the book down they feel so beloved they tell everyone else about what a great time they had reading our fun Christmas stories.
So, how would you have answered those questions? Do you have any other questions for me? Get in touch. I’d love to hear about your favorite genre to read, your trope sweet spot and why!
Last reminder: Don’t forget to grab your copy of 12 Tropes of Christmas before it become full price. I’ll be posting some more about the book launch after I meet up with some of the super tropers next week, so I’ll leave this here for now.
Best wishes and happy reading!
Anna
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