Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Courtney Cole to HJ!
Hi Courtney and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Christmas Dress!
Hello! Thank you for having me!
Please summarize the book for the readers here:
A woman, Meg, who is out of her element, ends up taking care of her late father’s apartment building, and in doing so, meets a fascinating older lady, Ellie, who gives Meg an old dress that she’d worn on the best and worst day of her life, with the promise that Meg wear it. Through a series of escapades and harebrained plans, Meg ends up making all of her dreams come true, as well as those of some around her.
Please share the opening lines of this book:
“You can’t leave me,” my best friend whispers into the phone, her voice urgent and filled
with abject terror. In the background, I hear Lillianna Cox, the world’s worst boss, having one of
her legendary temper tantrums.
“Yikes. That’s at least one good thing about this whole situation. I’ll never have to hear that
again.”
It’s not the answer Cassie wants to hear.
Please share a few Fun facts about this book…
- It’s set in a historical building with some cool stories surrounding it.
- The dress is enchanted.
- The handymen turns out to be awesome!
Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?
She turned out to be mouthier than I planned. I wanted the book to be a bit more sentimental, but due to Meg’s wit, it’s a bit different than I intended.
If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?
The scene where they meet– she quite literally falls into his arms…
What would my dad do?
I eye the boxes lining the shelves above me. If I go through them, maybe I can find out. With a sigh, I put my phone back in my pocket and climb a ladder, pulling the lid off the closest box.
I’m not going to think about Drake or doubt myself another single minute today.
I’ve got other things to do.
[no ornament]
Unfortunately, I’m doing those things, standing on the third-highest step of the ladder, when the office door opens.
Also, unfortunately, the ladder is directly in front of the door, so it knocks over, and I fall flailing and very ungracefully into a pair of very strong arms.
Those arms are attached to a man with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.
“You must be Meg,” he says gruffly, his voice a combination of smooth caramel and a smoky jazz bar, filtered through a perfect mouth, while he still holds me in his arms, tucked next to a warm, solid chest. “Do you realize you’re not wearing clothes?”
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
What do you want people to take away from reading this book?
I’d like people to remember that relationships are everywhere, between so many people… and so often, we aren’t expecting them when they happen!
What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?
I am wrapping up another Christmas book… Home for Christmas, which will release next year. It ‘s about a girl who finds herself back in 1944 and learns a whole bunch about her family along the way.
Thanks for blogging at HJ!
Giveaway: A Print copy of THE CHRISTMAS DRESS By Courtney Cole.
To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What is your favorite Christmas memory?
Book Info:
An enchanted Christmas dress brings two generations of women together for the magic of the season in this delightful holiday story from New York Times best-selling author Courtney Cole.
One dress. Two women. The magic of the holiday season.
When hopeful fashionista Meg Julliard must return to her hometown of Chicago to manage her late father’s apartment building, she thinks her dreams of making it in the fashion business are over. Add in her father’s eclectic roster of tenants who all need Meg’s attention (ASAP!), a host of building-related disasters, and a handsome handyman she keeps embarrassing herself in front of, and this has all the makings for the worst Christmas she’s ever had.
Ellie Wade, one of the building’s longtime residents, is also not feeling the Christmas Joy this year. She is preparing to move into a nursing home (reluctantly), and is in the process of sorting through her belongings to downsize. Every corner of her apartment holds memories – some good, some bad. But there’s one dress she hesitates to pack up, as it represents both the best and worst night of her life.
Ellie and Meg strike up an unlikely friendship, and the story of Ellie’s dress comes out. Ellie gifts the gorgeous dress to Meg, hoping that it will bring her more luck – on the condition that she wear it to the building’s Christmas party.
The dress magically fits, and while it eventually leads to the best night of Meg’s life, it also acts as inspiration for Meg to follow a lifelong dream of her own, a dream that will help save the crumbling Parkview West and restore it to its former glory, keeping it as a safe home for all of the current tenants.
The dress and the magic of the holiday season help both Meg and Ellie find their own happy endings.
Book Links: Amazon |
Meet the Author:
Courtney Cole is a New York Times bestselling author who loves eating her emotions for breakfast. She also loves witty banter, cashmere socks, and walking along the beach at midnight. Speaking of midnight, she decorates for Christmas at 12:01 a.m. on November 1. She believes that blond hair dye and red lipstick can change your life, and a well-timed smile can change the world.
Website | Facebook | GoodReads |
Linda May
My Christmas memory is when I was about 8 years old for CT I received from my parents six 8 inch dolls and all the clothes to go with them and I loved dolls so this made me very happy. Thanks for your great generosity.
lasvegasnan
All my memories are my favorite.
EC
Definitely in my childhood when I still received separate presents during the holiday period as my birthday also falls within that range.
Pamela Conway
When my father was still alive
hartfiction
One of my favorite is when I was 18 – my mother’s last Christmas.
Mary Preston
All of my childhood Christmas memories are wonderful.
Debra Guyette
I remember playing with a pogo stick when it was warm and not snowing that year.
Lori R
We would drive 650 miles to my Nana’s house. It was such fun spending Christmas with her.
Lori Byrd
Getting a basset hound puppy.
janinecatmom
My favorite memory was when my neighbor gave me and my husband a handmade quilt with cats on it.
Glenda M
When my son asked Santa for a gift for his little sister before he asked for himself.
Kathleen O
The last time my family was altogether for Christmas in 2004.
dodgerfannnat
When my Mom and aunt prepared Christmas Eve feast together at my Aunt’s house and my family were all there. Mom and Aunt are gone and my close family are on the west coast. I miss them and this wonderful memory. My sister took a family photo every year.
Rita Wray
I took my two children to Australia when they were young to spend Christmas with my family. We had a wonderful time.
bn100
decorating
Summer
That I can’t sleep on Christmas Eve anticipation is something I still remember fondly from childhood.
Pammie R.
The year my parents bought my sister and me a piano keyboard.
Teresa Williams
The year I got a little record player and all of Elvis albums.
Charlotte Litton
My daughter’s 1st Christmas
Daniel M
don’t have one
Dianne Casey
My favorite holiday memory is my Dad at Christmas. He loved decorating the house and baking cookies.
Mary C.
My nephew’s first Christmas.
dholcomb1
as a kid, finding the Barbie townhouse under the tree
Diana Hardt
As a kid, we used to go to my Mom’s cousin’s house for Christmas Eve.
Bonnie
Decorating the Christmas tree with the family
Ellen C.
Being together with family at Christmas.
rkcjmomma
The first Christmas that my husband and I and our 4 kids had was in our 1st house we bought and had over our families all together!
Leeza Stetson
Spending the holiday with my best friend, helping her decorate the tree and house, baking, and mostly, laughing.
Linda Herold
Having 3 grandparents around to celebrate with until I was 30! (One grandfather died in 1966!)
Amy R
What is your favorite Christmas memory? How excited my kids were Christmas morning when they were little.
Vicki Clevinger
The morning when my sister and I forgot it was Christmas. WE jumped out of bed so fast when my Dad, yelled at us to get up.
Irma Jurejevčič
Going to the woods with my sister and father to pick out the perfect tree.
Patricia B.
My husband was shipped to Vietnam 5 weeks after we were married. He was supposed to be home for Christmas, but was extended. He was on a B-52 crew and planes were being shot down nearly every day. It was a time when cell phones and the internet were not available, so communication was spotty and very expensive, so I often wasn’t sure he was OK. He did make it home for Christmas if a few weeks late. That was an important lesson. Celebrations do not rely on a specific date. You are celebrating a person or event and that can be done when you can do it.