Spotlight & Giveaway: Christmas Comes to Snowfall by Erika Marks

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Erika Marks to HJ!

Hi Erika and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Christmas Comes to Snowfall!

 
First off, thank you for having me here today! I’m so excited to share CHRISTMAS COMES TO SNOWFALL with everyone.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

So when the story opens, it’s two weeks before Christmas, and no-nonsense web designer Maggie Iverson has come to cozy Snowfall, Vermont, to research the historic resort town. The only problem? She doesn’t know a snowshoe from a horseshoe.
Town veterinarian and confirmed bachelor Alden Marshall has never had much interest in Christmas traditions—especially not when his own family history in Snowfall has left many residents chilly to his new clinic—but when he meets Maggie, and their chemistry is anything but frosty, he agrees to play tour guide.
But as their friendship deepens, so does their attraction—and soon, two people who’ve never put much stock in Christmas wishes are wondering if they shouldn’t let the magic of the season cast its spell on their hearts.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

The first taste was nutmeg, slightly floral and peppery. Next, was the cloud of whipped cream, soft and pillowy as it brushed her upper lip. Then, at last, the kiss of sweet, velvety nog across her tongue…

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I had such a ball writing this book! Not only did Maggie and Alden’s chemistry start working from the first scene, which is not always the case (believe it or not, some romances take work to get off the ground—even on the page!;)) but I also knew I’d be writing many food-related scenes. In fact, it was my love of cooking and food that inspired me to give Maggie a little quirk—when she’s nervous, she uses a trick she calls her “Flavor Meditation” to calm her down. She imagines eating favorite foods, slowly, and savoring the tastes to clear her mind of stress. (That’s what the first three lines of the book show—she’s on her way to Snowfall, driving along twisty, dark mountain roads and imagines drinking a sweet, creamy cup of egg-nog to keep from freaking out!).
• This book also required a crazy amount of research. At one point, my search tabs included: snow tubing videos, gingerbread recipe for making ornaments, costs of nineteenth century medical procedures, and how to micro-chip your dog! I always do some research for my books, but this story really took the cake (or should I say, the gingerbread?;))

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?

I adore Maggie and Alden—because they both felt so real to me as soon as I started writing their story. They both have big hearts—and sharp wits that make for some wonderfully flirty banter (as a child of Cheers and Moonlighting, I am a sucker for couples who engage in witty banter as foreplay!). But like all of us, they have flaws. As a writer, one of my favorite parts of character-building is figuring out what those crucial flaws are, because they are often what keeps the lovers apart until they figure out how/why they need to grow/change. Alden’s carefree, spontaneous attitude about life and new experiences proved the perfect foil for Maggie’s need for control and constant planning. Ironically, both have been avoiding romantic commitment—but for very different reasons. Like in life, both people have challenges to work through—and when they can work through them together, that’s when the magic happens.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

This has to be one of the best questions ever! I would use the scene of Maggie and Alden making a batch of gingerbread in the Lodge kitchen. They’ve just had a wonderful dinner date—albeit an unexpected one, having been set-up by the Lodge’s match-making owner—and are trying to make ornaments to put on the town’s famous community Gingerbread Tree. The scene highlights their shared wits and the easy way they enjoy each other—not to mention their obvious attraction too. It would be a great measure of seeing if the potential actors had good chemistry!

Here’s a little bit from the scene:

Ten minutes later, their dishes cleared and washed, they stood at the butcher block, staring down the shiny mound of gingerbread cookie dough they’d retrieved from the fridge. The song ringing through the kitchen’s speakers was an easygoing version of “It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas,” but Alden couldn’t remember the last time he felt so utterly inept.
“Why do I feel like I’m about to perform my first surgery?” he asked.
Maggie laughed. “Don’t worry. Unlike a real patient, if you screw up, you can always squish the pieces together and try again.”
He chuckled. “Thanks. I think.” He considered the dough. “Now to get it flat.”
“That’s what this is for,” Maggie said, reaching across him for the rolling pin Ezzie had left, along with a bowl of cookie cutters. “We have to sprinkle the surface with flour before we roll the dough out,” Maggie said, the falling white powder reminding him of—what else—snow. And the inevitable pang of frustration followed. Why did everything have to remind him of their continued lack of the white stuff?
“We have to dust the rolling pin, too,” she said.
“Dust? Sounds like a technical term. How do you know all this?”
Maggie glanced up at him, her smile soft. “I designed a web page for a cooking show last year. Page after page of instructional videos, something’s bound to rub off.” She handed him the rolling pin. “The patient’s been prepped, Doctor.”
“All right then.” He cast her a playfully serious look as he made a big show of rolling up his sleeves, then stretched out his hand and said, “Nurse, scalpel. I mean, rolling pin.”
Maggie played along expertly, her voice equally serious as she laid the tool in his opened palm. “Rolling pin, Doctor.”
Alden pressed into the mound and gave the pin a few hard rolls, startled at the resistance from the thick dough. “Man,” he marveled. “I never realized you needed to bench-press a Buick to make cookies.”
Maggie smirked. “Well no one ever saw the forearms on Betty Crocker.”

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

That, despite a temptation to want to keep ourselves free of risk, especially in matters of the heart, there is a beauty in the messiness of life and love. So try new things, and allow for life to change course, because it will. Go with the flow, and trust that the journey is what it needs to be—even if it’s not what you always expect!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m halfway through the first draft of my new novel, which is a wonderful place to be. The characters are finally gelling and the rhythm of the plot and the action is taking shape. I’m a terribly suspicious person (which shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who read CHRISTMAS COMES TO SNOWFALL. Did I mention there’s a town superstition—the Marshall Christmas Curse—involving Alden’s great-grandfather breaking the heart of a beloved resident and being blamed for the subsequent winter without snow for it? It’s true!) so I don’t dare reveal any specifics but I WILL say it’s a deeply romantic story, with a mystery sprinkled in, set on the coast and spanning several generations.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Tule tote bag, print copy of Christmas Comes to Snowfall and Tule swag.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Thank you again for letting me visit—and I wish everyone a peaceful and warm holiday season!
Now a question for all of YOU: Since one of the main themes in the novel is taking risks, what is the most risky thing you’ve ever done—and what happened as a result? (Anything from getting a short haircut to jumping out of an airplane—everyone’s risk is their own!)

 
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Excerpt from Christmas Comes to Snowfall:

There were more than a dozen cars parked when Alden passed Wintersong’s lot at seven forty-five, and almost all with out of state plates—all of which was good news. Enough to send a crackle of optimism through him as he took the paved path to the lodge’s front entrance, and definitely enough to absolve him—albeit briefly—of the responsibility he’d been feeling for the town’s lack of snow for the past few weeks. It was easy math: more cars meant more guests. And more people spending money in Snowfall, despite its festive streets and mountains not having seen even a dusting of powder.
He would admit too that he was more than a little excited to see Maggie Iverson again after their great dinner and their even better stint as master bakers.
Okay, sure, no one would be suggesting they open a bakery anytime soon, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something to celebrate Christmas and actually enjoyed himself.
More than enjoyed, actually.
Which explained why he’d decided to surprise her by picking her up at the lodge and not meeting her at the store at eight like they’d planned.
It was a risky move. They’d agreed to humor Ezzie’s matchmaking efforts by letting her know they were going out again tonight, but this new wrinkle in their plan might be a little too much encouragement. Now he was pulling open the front door, ready to take the full force of Ezzie Donovan’s delight.
“Alden?”
As if on cue, the lodge owner emerged from the dining room, just as Alden made his way through the foyer. Ezzie was wearing a billowing emerald caftan that fluttered in her wake like sails.
“If you’re having second thoughts about hanging the ornament, you’re too late,” she said, steering him to the tree. “I’ve superglued it to the branch. A safety measure, of course. Just in case we have any thieves in our ranks again this year—they’ll learn a new meaning for sticky fingers.”
Alden chuckled. He didn’t doubt she’d done it, either.
“See for yourself,” Ezzie said, pointing to his snowflake, Maggie’s right beside it, close enough that they touched. “They make a lovely pair, don’t you think?”
She was laying it on thick. He narrowed his eyes disapprovingly.
“What?” Ezzie reared back indignantly, eyes wide and innocent. “I was talking about the ornaments! Just that they look nice together.”
Alden rubbed his jaw. Sure.
“By the way, I thought I’d remind you that the Bijou is offering a ten o’clock showing of It’s A Wonderful Life tonight if you and your baking partner are looking for something to do after the toy drive. And speaking of partners…”
He glanced over to find Maggie crossing the lobby to meet them, wearing the same outfit she’d sailed down the tubing course in—including the red wool hat that, on her, looked downright sexy. And Alden had the sudden urge to tug it off, if only to watch the waterfall of all that gorgeous blonde hair spill out.
“I thought we were meeting at the store?” she said.
“We were, but I got an early start, and it’s such a nice night to walk.” He held out his elbow. “Shall we?”
“Have fun you two,” Ezzie said, waving to them as they made their way to the door. “Oh, and tell Rachel I’ll be in tomorrow to make my purchase!”
“Picking me up,” Maggie whispered conspiratorially as they slipped out into the crisp evening air. “Well-played, Doctor.”
The urge to tell her the change in plans hadn’t been for Ezzie’s sake was strong but Alden swallowed it. “I figured we could kick it up a notch.”
“And the arm was a nice touch,” she added, her hand still comfortably settled in the crook of his elbow as they took the steps down to the sidewalk.
“You should know I was originally planning to dip you backward and plant a toe-curling kiss, but I thought that might be a little over-the-top.”
Alden felt her fingers tighten around his bicep and he glanced down to find her blinking up at him quizzically, a small smile toying with the edge of her mouth before she managed to say, “Maybe just a little.”

A Blizzard of Fun teemed with customers—so many that Alden and Maggie had to wait a moment under the store’s candy-cane-striped awning for a group to exit before they could make their way inside. The air was warm from so many bodies and the smell of hot chocolate was as thick as the line of customers waiting to check out.
“How wonderful to see all these people helping out,” Maggie said.
“Hi, Doctor Marshall!”
A tall woman with tumbles of curly brown hair waved cheerfully from behind the register as they squeezed their way past the crowded counter.
As they toured the store, Maggie scanned the overstuffed shelves and brightly decorated kiosks, awed at the selection. “Remind me again how this works?”
“You buy a toy and the store will donate another one to their children’s charity.”
A wintry display, featuring stuffed polar bears frolicking around a small Christmas tree, caught her attention. She slowed to admire the detail in the beautifully made animals.
“How will you ever choose?”
Alden grinned. “That’s why you’re here. You pick, I buy.”
“And here I thought you just asked me along because you liked my scintillating company…”
“I can’t have both?”
Even though they’d successfully moved past the crush of people, the layout of the store remained tight so that when Alden glanced down at her, Maggie found their bodies close enough that he had only to lean an inch or two to give her a teasing nudge. Even through her jacket, she could feel the heat of his sweater sleeve, could detect the warm, earthy smell of the wool. The memory of his confession on the way over returned—had he been only kidding about a possible dip and kiss? His eyes had flashed with a curious mix of humor and intention that had left her wondering.
“Nothing better than a toy truck,” Alden said, picking up a bright yellow Tonka from the shelf and admiring it.
Maggie smiled. “I bet you had one of those you wore out as a kid.”
“I sure did. Bruce.”
She blinked at him. “You named your truck?”
“Don’t judge,” he said, even as she bit back a laugh. “I know most kids take a stuffed bear to bed. I took Bruce. I used to hold that truck so close to me, I’d wake up with tire tracks on the side of my face.”
She clapped a hand over her mouth. “You’re not serious?”
“True story.” He wedged the truck under his arm and steered them to another display. “So what was your favorite toy as a kid?”
“It definitely wasn’t Barbies,” Maggie said as they passed a display of dolls. “Much to my grandmother’s never-ending disappointment. She’d buy one for me every birthday and Christmas and I could never figure out what I was supposed to do with it. No, what I really loved were these,” she said, slowing at a rack of jigsaw puzzles.
“I should have guessed that.”
She squinted at him. “Why?”
“You told me you like to know where things go, that you believe there’s an order to life. Puzzles are all about order. You get all the pieces and there’s only one place each piece can go.”
Maggie considered his answer as she set down the box, startled by his spot-on assessment of her. She’d dated men for months who never understood things about her, basic things, and here she was, barely a week into their friendship and Alden Marshall might have known her better than her last three boyfriends. The realization filled her with a strange mix of pleasure and doubt. But moving on to the next display, she pushed the pleasure back and made sure the doubt remained. She had come here to help generate business for a resort town, not find herself a perfect mate.
The only thing that needed to fall in Snowfall while she was here was snow.
“So am I right about you and puzzles?” His gaze was fixed on her, intent and searching, his study causing her to feel suddenly feverish.
Maggie looked away, feigning interest in the display to mask her blush, but still a smile escaped. “Yes, as a matter of fact,” she admitted. “I was fierce at them. You have no idea.”
“Is that a challenge, Miss Iverson?”
She met his playfully narrowed eyes—and that crooked smile, which was as irresistible as his wager.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said before she could answer, already scanning the selection of puzzles as he laid down the terms of their bet. “Rules. Each person chooses their puzzle. First one to finish wins.”
“We should agree on the piece count,” she suggested. “I think three hundred is safe. Otherwise we could be puzzling all night.” And would that be so awful? a tiny voice inside her whispered. She silenced it with another question. “And what exactly is the prize, Doctor Marshall?”
“Dinner. Loser buys.” Alden stuck out his hand. “Deal?”
Excitement charged through her as Maggie slid her fingers inside his, the heat of his palm not helping to cool her skin. “Deal.”
He tilted his head toward the display. “Okay, Iverson. Pick your weapon.”
Maggie sized up her options and settled on a box with a painting of a Christmas scene on the front, shaking it for effect. “Seems right for the season, don’t you think?”
Alden chose a collage of classic cereal boxes and they carried their purchases to the front of the store where the line had finally thinned.
The curly-haired woman behind the register lit up when they dumped their load onto the counter. “Doctor Marshall, you’re too generous.”
“It’s not all me,” said Alden, stepping back. “Rachel, this is Maggie Iverson.”
The woman’s brown eyes grew behind her glasses. “You’re the lady who’s redesigning the website! I can’t wait to see what you’ve done.”
“This is on me,” said Alden, nodding for Maggie to slow her search for her wallet.
“It’s the least he can do.” The low voice, and the snort that followed it, came from behind them. Maggie turned to find an old man in a herringbone flat cap looking sour-faced. “It’s his fault we won’t see a single flake of snow this winter.”
His companion, an equally sour-faced woman, lowered her gaze to the floor, searching for rescue in the striped carpet.
“Cal Wilkins,” Rachel scolded as she fumbled to bag their puzzles, the store owner’s freckled cheeks now stained as red as the scarlet ribbon looped around her register.
“What? You know everyone’s thinking it,” the older man muttered.
“No they’re not,” Rachel said firmly, her eyes pooling with apology as she handed Alden his change and the bag.
Outside, Maggie watched Alden’s gaze turn steely as they took to the sidewalk.
“Are you okay?” she asked carefully.
“I’m great,” he said, his jaw suddenly taut. “I just cut into a nice, juicy steak—and I’m chewing it really, really well.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Christmas with the confirmed bachelor…

Quaint Christmas or quirky vacation? Newcomer Maggie Iverson comes to the small resort town of Snowfall, Vermont, for a one-week repreive from her high-powered marketing job in Boston. She’s designing a new website to boost tourism traffic (both virtual and foot) to Snowfall for the holidays. She enthusiastically throws herself into all things Christmas, but deftly dodges each match-making hint.

Long-time bachelor and veterinarian Alden Marshall has never embraced the holiday season, but when he meets Maggie, their chemistry is powerful enough to light up a dozen Christmas trees. Suddenly he finds himself immersed in the town’s merry-making with Maggie by his side.

Will the magic of Christmas cast the spell Maggie and Alden need to let go of their pasts and finally find a love that lasts?

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Meet the Author:

Erika Marks is a women’s fiction writer and the author of Little Gale Gumbo, The Mermaid Collector, The Guest House and It Comes In Waves (July, 2014). On the long and winding road to becoming published, she worked many different jobs, including carpenter, cake decorator, art director, and illustrator. But if pressed, she might say it was her brief tenure with a match-making service in Los Angeles after college that set her on the path to writing love stories (not that there isn’t romance in frosting or power tools!) A native New Englander, she now makes her home in Charlotte, NC, with her husband, a native New Orleanian who has taught her to make a wicked gumbo, and their two little mermaids.
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