Spotlight & Giveaway: Defending Christmas by Carol Ross

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Carol Ross to HJ!

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

 
Happy Fall, everyone! Thank you, HJ, for having me over for a chat! It’s always so fun to be here.
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

Defending Christmas is part of the 12 Days of Heartwarming Christmas series. It includes twelve sweet romance books by twelve different authors, all taking place during the holiday season in the fictional setting of Christmas Town, Maine.
The title of my story, Defending Christmas, refers to a multi-million-dollar lawsuit threatening Christmas Town. Lincoln Vasser is the city attorney charged with handling the suit. Not only is the future of the town at stake, but his job and his relationship with his family are on the line. The title also hints at the perpetual holiday-esque spirit of Christmas Town that Lincoln impulsively “bought” into but is about ready to abandon. Until private detective Jax Marshall enters his life.

What’s your favorite line(s) from the book?:

One of my favorite moments in the story happens early when Lincoln and Jax meet in person for the first time. He’s asking/trying to coerce her into taking his case while she’s trying on bridesmaid shoes. Jax is low-maintenance and hates shopping. (Okay, so she’s a bit of a slob.) A snappy dresser, Lincoln enjoys the finer things in life and pays someone to shop for him. (Yep, he’s almost a jerk.)

This scene, especially the last lines, so aptly highlights their differences and sets the tone for their ongoing conflict.

She was peering at him in a way that suggested she was trying to come up with a suitable excuse to decline.
He resorted to a word he disliked ever having to use. “Please.”
After a pause, she sighed. “Fine, but I don’t—” She cut off the rest of the sentence and Lincoln realized it was because Evelyn had headed back their way.
“What did you decide?” Evelyn asked, gesturing at Jax’s feet.
They both looked at Evelyn.
“The heel,” Lincoln answered.
“The flat,” Jax said at the same time.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Since I cheated a little and hinted at their personalities above, I’ll talk mention how these two opposites finally attract.
Lincoln likes the way Jax calls him on his bad behavior. His cynical derision has finally met its match in Jax’s sharp wit and innate cheerfulness.
Jax’s warm-fuzzies begin when Lincoln saves her client’s cat. (Yes, there’s an actual save the cat moment in this book. Lol.)

When you sat down to start this book, what was the biggest challenge you faced? What were you most excited about?

My mom was very ill when I started writing this book. She passed away right before I finished it and I still can’t quite believe I managed to get to “The End.” I don’t think I would have if it weren’t for the support of my writing buddies, who all contributed to this series too. (It’s one thing to let a project go when you’re the only one affected. It’s altogether another to let other people down.) The grief that Jax feels for her late father is straight from my heart.
I was most excited to write about identical twin sisters with my writing bestie, Amy Vastine. Her story, The Hope Chest, features Jax’s identical twin, Evelyn. Amy has the best ideas and as soon as she suggested these tight-knit yet hilariously opposite twin sisters our characters, and their stories, took off on their own!

What, in your mind, makes this book stand out?

To me, the entire 12 Heartwarming Days of Christmas series stands out because this is our fourth year of penning these charming holiday romances set in the same fictional town. Christmas Town is a “place” in our minds and our reader’s hearts. It’s like an institution. We’re so grateful to all our fans, those who’ve been with us from the beginning and the ones who are “visiting” for the first time. And, this year, they are all full-length novels.

The First Kiss…

Lincoln is panicked because he’s afraid someone at the party (where he’s “working” undercover with Jax) will recognize him. Jax helps him out by instigating an impromptu “fake” kiss.

“Shh.” Jax grabbed his forearm and peeked around the wall. After a moment, she said, “They’re headed this way again. Don’t move.” She stepped closer and looked up at him.
“Are you ready?”
“For what?” he asked, still admiring her eyes and skin and mouth, the latter of which, he realized now, he’d liked from the first moment she’d used it to insult him.
In one smooth motion, she reached up, slipped her arms around his neck and rose onto her tiptoes. Capturing his gaze, she whispered, “For this,” just before she kissed him.
Lincoln didn’t even think about the question or the reason she asked it. At the first taste of Jax’s lips, he was lost. Gone. Like wandering through a maze in a dream where behind every corner a new and magical wonder awaited, he never, ever wanted to find his way out. Or something poetic like that. Point was, he didn’t want this moment to end. He needed to figure out a way to make this feeling last.
Her hands wandered up to tangle in his hair. Tightening his hold, he brought her snug against him. This position provided the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss. It was the first time in his life he kissed a woman without giving the actual execution any thought. He couldn’t think because he didn’t want to miss one second of the sensation. Which, he realized, could never be put into words anyway.
He felt like…himself. Only better. So much better.
Ending the kiss, she whispered, “Lincoln?”
“What?” He pressed a kiss beside her ear, and then another right along the edge, gratified to hear that she seemed as out of breath as he felt. “You smell really good.” He kissed her neck and let his mouth graze the spot where he could see the rapid pounding of her pulse. Good. She was feeling this, too. He wanted to get out of here. With her.
“I think they’re gone now.” Chuckling softly, she loosened her embrace and rested her hands on his shoulders. “That was a close one, huh?”
And that’s when he remembered what was happening, what had precipitated this ruse in the first place. “Okay, yeah, so, uh…” Why couldn’t he seem to form actual words, ones with meaning? “Um.”
She watched him closely, smile in place, and Lincoln suspected that she knew exactly the effect she’d had on him. But the question was, did she feel it, too?
She said, “We need to get back. Poor Lola is probably freaking out, and I don’t blame her.”
“Right. But—”
“We’ll talk about what happened later and what we’re going to do.”
“What happened?” he repeated. What had happened? He’d lost his mind that’s what happened. He needed to snap out of this.
“Jax, I’m all…” He raked a hand across his jaw. He’d almost said messed up, which only proved how true it was. Lincoln didn’t talk about his feelings. He didn’t like having them most of the time. And yet, he realized he’d been having them for her since the moment he laid eyes on her. Granted they weren’t all as good as they were now. But these post-kiss feelings were too intense to ignore.
She was eyeing him curiously and now seemed completely recovered from the moment that they’d just shared. “With Carly, I mean.”
Oh, that. “Of course,” he said, confidently like there could be nothing else.
“Strictly for the record, you smell good, too.”
Then she sauntered away down the hall like she kissed men like him every day. Maybe she did. He wondered what other lengths she went to when it came to solving her cases. He should be happy that she was good at her job. So why did these revelations leave him with such a hollow feeling in his gut?

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

I would use the scene where Lincoln finally convinces Jax to take his case. She was late for the appointment. He’s annoyed yet intrigued by her. Jax is exasperated by his presumptuousness and a little amused by his uptightness. The actors would have to nail their mutual struggle between irritation and attraction.

Jax Marshall strode through the door looking nonchalant. And eating. Who did that? Who showed up for a meeting with their takeout lunch? Was that a burrito?
Lincoln took a second to absorb the obvious answers and to once again analyze the different-yet-same distinctions between her and Evelyn. Jax’s hair was a darker shade of blond but with it twisted on top of her head, she looked every bit as graceful and elegant as her sister. But only from the neck up, he realized as he took in her puffy jacket, cargo pants, hiking boots and… What was all over her pants? It looked like white fuzz. As she came closer, he realized her hair was slipping loose from its tether, and one pant leg was tucked into her boot. A smear of hot sauce slashed across one cheek.
“You’re late.”
Their eyes were the same stunning shade of green, although while Evelyn’s attention always seemed to be homed in on whoever she was speaking with, Jax’s focus shifted continually.
“Couldn’t be helped,” she said, sprawling onto his sofa where she took another huge bite.
He’d had lunch with Evelyn a few times. While they’d discussed suit cuts, fabrics, and ties, he’d never once seen her wolf down her food like a starving kitten. Jax shifted to look behind her and he wondered if whatever was all over her pants was going to transfer to his leather sofa.
Removing a napkin from her pocket, she wiped away the hot sauce, and added, “I had a client with an emergency.”
“What kind of an emergency?” Lincoln asked, skepticism lacing his tone.
“The kind that’s none of your business.”
“I’m only asking because I have an emergency, too, and yet you don’t seem inclined to make my case a priority. Apparently, in addition to shoes, even a burrito is more important than my urgent matter.” Silently he had to admit that the burrito smelled delicious. He wondered where she got it. He knew every eatery in this town and he’d never seen anything like it.
Her gaze narrowed in on him then, and not in a good way. He’d been going for intimidating, but he was struck with the impression that there wasn’t much that would intimidate Jax Marshall. Or impress her either, for that matter.
“Well, this person is a friend and he has a problem, which I’m now investigating. You should be happy that I can multi-task by eating and consulting with a client at the same time.” She shoved the rest of the burrito into her mouth where it swelled her cheeks like a chipmunk. Chewing ungracefully the whole time, she wiped her hands with another napkin and then crumpled it along with the foil wrapper into a tight ball. After making a show of swallowing the bite, she tossed the garbage toward the trashcan by his desk where it landed with a papery swish. Producing a bottle of water from an inside pocket of her puffy coat, she took a long, noisy swig, lowered the bottle, and then asked, “Now, what can I do for you?”
He’d begun shaking his head while she was still talking and now he insisted, “No. Not possible. Absolutely unacceptable.”
-#-
Jax knew she was staring at Lincoln Vasser like he’d lost his mind. Because she was pretty sure he had. That, or she’d misheard him.
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, she said, “I’m sorry? What’s not possible?”
“This new extremely urgent case for your friend, I need you to decline. How much will it cost for me to be your only client?”
“Seven million dollars.”
He gave her a slow blink but otherwise remained poker-faced. “That’s outrageous.”
“You’re outrageous,” she shot back. “And presumptuous. And condescending, since we’re on the topic. No amount of money will make me drop my other clients. I have commitments.”

If your hero had a sexy-times play list, what song(s) would have to be on it?

Despite Lincoln coming across as stuffy and uptight, he has a romantic side (of course he does!) He’s an R&B fan, so his list would definitely include “Teach Me” by Musiq Soulchild and “Trust” by Keyshia Cole.

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

Despite the light-hearted tone of the book, I hope people can relate to the difficulty of losing a parent or loved one. Like falling in love, grief is a journey that’s different for everyone. As much as you’d like to, you can’t avoid facing it at some point. A friend of mine described grief like a sliver, even if you try to ignore it will eventually work its pain-filled way out.

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?

My next Heartwarming book, In the Doctor’s Arms, releases in March. Number six in my Seasons of Alaska story, this one is about the youngest member of the James family, Iris, who comes home to Rankins and re-falls (is that a word?) in love with her teenage crush. (Crush being the operative word. Ouch.) I don’t think I’ve written anything that so widely spans the spectrum of emotions like this one.
I’m currently working on another Pacific Cove book. This will be the third in this loosely connected series set on the Oregon Coast. I love this place, and I adore setting scenes that are practically in my backyard.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A signed copy of my latest Pacific Cove book, Summer at the Shore. (US and Canada only for print copy. If winner resides outside the US or Canada, an unsigned Kindle e-copy will be provided.)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Lincoln and Jax are both “foodies.” (Something they DO have in common 🙂 I consider myself pretty adventurous when it comes to cuisine, too. But there are a few things I don’t think I could bring myself to try. Like insect larvae and chitlins. Are there any exotic dishes you wouldn’t (or would) want to try?

 
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Excerpt from Defending Christmas:

Even with her questionable work ethic on his mind, the last person Lincoln expected to see waiting beside the lift line was Jax Marshall. He might not have recognized her in her ski gear except that she’d removed her helmet and the thick blond braid hanging down her back caught his eye. Slim-fitting black ski pants showed off her long legs and the violet and lavender printed jacket hinted at her curves. She bent at the waist to adjust her boot and something about the way she moved cemented her identity.

Lincoln skied over to her. “Jax?”

She glanced up but didn’t seem surprised to see him, taking her time snapping and re-snapping the latch on her boot before standing and gracing him with a dazzling smile. Her gaze connected with his and despite his annoyance, he felt a hint of that same crackling awareness he had in his office. He’d never noticed Evelyn’s eyes being quite so green, but he thought they must be.

“Hey, Lincoln. How’s it going? Talk about a bluebird day, huh?” She swept one arm up in a half-circle. Lincoln squinted up at the sky and silently conceded it was indeed an intense shade of blue. “And how delicious is this snow? I love to ski!”

Everything about her radiated joy, and for a few seconds he vacillated between envy and annoyance. When was the last time anything had generated that kind of happiness inside of him? It didn’t matter was the response that took way too long in forming. Not that it mattered, he didn’t have time for such a superfluous emotion anyway. This only served to heighten his frustration because how could she smile at a time like this much less gush about snow and skiing and the color of the sky?

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, a sharper than intended edge to his tone.

Dropping her chin, she gave her skis an obvious once-over before bringing her emerald-packed gaze back up to punch him with scathing curiosity.

“Baking Christmas cookies,” she finally replied, sarcasm infusing her tone. “Later, I’m cooking up a batch of fudge.”

He answered with his signature wilting glare before realizing the ineffectiveness of the gesture behind the lenses of his goggles. He wrestled them from his face and settled them atop his helmet.
He tried again. “It was a serious question.”

“Was it?” Her lips tightened, curling slightly at the corners like she was grappling with a laugh. “Well, what does it look like I’m doing? I’m skiing, same as you.”

“I’m here for a friend’s birthday party.”

Eyes narrowed, brow scrunching, she tilted her head to one side and studied him.

“Meaning,” he explained, “I have a good reason to be here.”

Her chin went up along with both brows.

“Instead of working,” he clarified.

Expression dimming, she said, “Wait a sec, are you implying that I shouldn’t be here? That it’s okay for you to be skiing today because you have a good reason, which is a friend’s birthday party, but I should be working? How old are you, by the way, thirteen? Will there be a sleepover, too?” She laughed at her joke.

He couldn’t blame her; it was funny, or it would be if it weren’t at his expense. Why had he said it that way and given her ammunition to mock him? Mocking was his thing. Granted, it was a habit he’d been trying to curtail in the last year since he’d taken the city attorney job. More to the point, since that stocking had come into his life and he’d bought into Kinley’s notion of fate and happiness and finding his purpose and tried to turn over a new leaf. Stupid leaf. He deserved her scorn. And he had implied exactly what she’d accused him of, which might be a little unfair on his part. He felt too warm and itchy beneath his layers.

But still, why couldn’t she comprehend the significance of this case? He inhaled a deep breath, letting the ice-cold air melt this fiery affirmation while it was still unspoken. “I just meant, I thought we agreed you were going to give my case top priority.”

“This again…” Her sentence trailed off with words he couldn’t decipher. Muttering, she reached down and snagged her helmet from the ground and then settled it on her head with a slap of one palm. With deft fingers, she latched the chin strap. For a few seconds, she seemed distracted by something over Lincoln’s shoulder. He glanced behind him, didn’t see anything, and turned to find her securing goggles over her eyes.

Pulling on her gloves, she said, “And I thought you understood that I cannot devote any more time to your case than I already am. It is literally not possible.”

“Not when you’re spending the day skiing that’s for sure.”

She slipped her hands into the handles of her poles, “Look, Vasser, just because you’re paying me to do a job doesn’t mean you get to dictate how I do it. I promise you, I know what I’m doing. You’re an irritating control freak, are you aware of that?”

He ignored her question and asked one of his own, “What are you doing then? Because from where I’m standing I can’t see that it’s much of anything.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Her tone had a bite to it now, and Lincoln couldn’t help but feel gratified, glad that he was finally getting through to her.

“What I mean is that you won’t answer your phone, you don’t return messages, text or email. And you’re never at your office. Who has office hours at the crack of dawn and in the middle of the night?”

“You stopped by my office.”

“Wow,” he said drily. “You are an amazing detective. You’re killing it.”

Her head was shaking, and Lincoln thought she might unleash her temper. Instead, she went with cool sarcasm, “I know. I am the best, and you are very, very lucky to have me.”

“Am I? Because from what I can tell you’re never working. You’re out who knows where—shopping, going to the Tree Lighting, looking at cats—I have no idea what that even means, but it sounds crucially important as does stuffing envelopes—and having lunch dates that include lingering over dessert. And now, here you are, skiing.”

“What are you even talking about?” She pushed her goggles back up on top of her helmet so that she could deliver the full force of her glare. Which, he had to admit, was formidable. He’d definitely managed to rile her.

She went on before he could respond, “The shoe shopping was for a wedding, and if you saw me at the Tree Lighting that means you were there, too, and—”

“I take my grandmother every year.”

“Well, good for you. I go with Evelyn. We met Lisa there and then we took care of some wedding details, not that any of this is your business.”

“Wedding details? For Lisa and John’s wedding?”

“Yes, same wedding I needed the shoes for. I’m a bridesmaid, Evelyn is the maid of honor. I’m also the photographer, so we headed over there to the carousel house afterward to check out the lighting and talk about what she wants. The envelopes were stuffed with invites also related to the wedding.”

“Hmm,” he said, refusing to feel placated because none of that changed the fact that she seemed to be doing everything but working on his case. “Why won’t you answer my messages or return my calls? And I heard you having lunch.”

“I don’t have time to answer your five-hundred phone calls and texts. If I answered the calls, returned the texts and emails of every client all the time, then that’s all I would have time to do. Instead, I streamline the process by compiling the information I gather into a report and meeting with my clients face to face. You agreed to this when you signed on as my client. It’s in the paperwork. I assume you read it?”

Lincoln didn’t want to admit that he had indeed read that fine print but had assumed it didn’t apply to him.

She continued before he could formulate a suitable way to dodge the question, “And, again, not that it’s any of your business, but I can’t remember the last time I had any date at all, much less a lunch one where I lingered over my dessert. I eat dessert. I might even savor it if I have time, but I don’t linger it. Unfortunately, I usually eat on the go. Often, when I’m—Wait, you heard me having lunch? How did you hear me having lunch?”

Lincoln had never met anyone with the ability to turn his words around on him and make him feel quite so ridiculous. As an attorney, he did it to people all the time. That was his job. He didn’t like being on the receiving end.

He pitched his tone to accusatory hoping to regain control of the conversation, “On the phone. You ordered two meals, including dessert.”

“Ah.” She nodded and answered calmly, “That’s right, I did.”

“Ha. I knew it. Must have been some date if you forgot about it.” He couldn’t shake the feeling of displeasure he’d had at the vision of her on a date. It was unsettling because it had nothing to do with her dodging work.

Her brows were pinched together in a combination of annoyance and confusion. “You really don’t know anything about me or my work, do you? I mean, I am astounded at the conclusions you’ve been jumping to. It’s a good thing you’re in law because you’d make a terrible detective.”

“No, I wouldn’t. I’d be an awesome detective,” he countered defensively, sounding more like a sulky teenager than an attorney.

“Sure you would, Inspector Clouseau, but what you heard was me ordering food for a stakeout on Dalton Frobisher’s house.”

“Dalton Frobisher? Our subject’s name is Toby.”

“I’m aware of that, but Dalton Frobisher is Toby’s older brother. Toby’s last known address is his brother’s house. I spent three nights, and part of the days, camped outside it hoping I’d get a glimpse of Toby, Dalton, or Dalton’s girlfriend, Carly Denning.”

“Why would you—”

“Dalton and Carly both have criminal records, and I have a strong suspicion they’re involved in this somehow.”

“But—”

“Vasser, before you ask another insulting question, I don’t have time for this right now. I’m not here for a day of skiing or a birthday party.” Her tone was sardonic, and she punctuated the statement with an arch of one eyebrow.

Gripping her ski pole, she tapped the hand to her shoulder. “I am working. Right now. On your case. Both Carly and Dalton are currently employed here at Blue Spruce Resort. Toby worked here before the accident. He’s a well-known ski bum, or at least he was before the injury. I’m talking to their co-workers.”

Lincoln felt his face flush even in the frozen air. “Oh,” he muttered. “Well, maybe if you kept me better informed then I could—”

“And I will,” she enunciated, with a trace of condescension that he knew he deserved. “But right now, I need to get back to work. And I’m sure you want to get back to your party. You’re probably missing the pin the tail on the donkey game in the lodge as we speak. Oh, wait, they probably can’t start that without you to pin the tail on, huh?” And with that, she expertly shoved off with one ski and slid gracefully into the single-rider queue.

Lincoln watched her join a group of two and the threesome smoothly loaded the lift. He stood there for a long time watching her chair float up above the hillside and trying to decide whether to trust her or fire her. Then there was this tiny inexplicable part of him that wanted to follow her. What was up with that?

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

Christmas Town’s city attorney Lincoln Vasser suspects the multi-million-dollar lawsuit threatening the town is a fraud, but he needs help proving it. Private Investigator Jax Marshall comes highly recommended, but when Lincoln hires her he can’t quite figure out why. Her laid-back attitude, questionable work ethic, and apparent unconcern for the urgency of the case rub him the wrong way. It doesn’t make sense for him to be attracted to her.

Jax Marshall knows that taking a case for the arrogant Lincoln Vasser is a mistake. But when he makes her an offer much more tempting than money, she agrees. She soon wishes she hadn’t. The guy is demanding and uptight, and, worst of all, he keeps trying to tell her how to do her job! He’s almost completely unlikable. Almost.
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Meet the Author:

USA Today and national bestselling author Carol Ross grew up in small-town America right between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains, in a place where you can go deep sea fishing in the morning and then hit the ski slopes the same afternoon. The daughter of free-range parents, she developed a love of adventure and the outdoors at a very early age. She’s grateful for the “research material” that every questionable decision, adrenaline-charged misstep, and near-death experience has provided.
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