1--What is the title of your latest release?
The December Market
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
In the snowy town of Shelter Springs, shop owner Amanda Taylor is still grieving the fiancé she lost a decade ago. Sparks fly when she re-connects with Rafe Arredondo, a widowed firefighter reluctant to open his heart again — but their shared painful history threatens to keep them apart. As Christmas magic fills the air, Amanda and Rafe must decide if they can let go of the past and embrace a second chance at love.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
This was easy as THE DECEMBER MARKET is a follow-up to my previous book, CHRISTMAS AT THE SHELTER INN and is set in the same small town of Shelter Springs, Idaho. I created this town as a spinoff to my Haven Point series, set in the same general area on the shores of the fictional Lake Haven.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely! I loved Amanda, who is trying hard to help her community become a better place by organizing the town’s benefit holiday market every year.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Loyal, passionate, committed
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I spent a great deal of time studying European Christmas markets and watching YouTube walk-through videos of them. I love the charm and nostalgic appeal of a snowy holiday market!
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I usually write a very raw unedited first draft then edit in the second draft and do a final “polish” third draft.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
My husband has an outdoor Gozney pizza oven and makes spectacular wood-fired pizza. So very good!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I am fortunate enough to have an office next door to my house. I have a standing desk I use with a TV in the office that I usually turn to YouTube worldview live video feeds or travel walking videos so that I feel like I’m seeing the world from the comfort of my office in a small northern Utah town.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I admire so many authors and am so grateful for the incredible journeys their stories have taken me on.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
My very first romance novel as a reader was an early Jude Devereaux book, THE ENCHANTED LAND. I was only twelve and I fell in love with her storytelling and the adventure of her words. Because of that love of reading developed through reading so many wonderful books, I grew to love writing and dreamed of writing a romance novel myself. Seventy-five books later, I can’t believe I’ve been able to make a living doing something I continue to love so much.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I’m not sure my memory will stretch that far! It was in 1995, and I had been trying to write and publish for five years. After numerous rejections and giving up a few times only to try again, I finally found the right editor and the right story at Bantam Loveswept. In October of 1995, an editor I had been working with for more than a year on revisions etc., called one afternoon while the dog was barking, and my daughter was running around the house with friends to let me know she was offering me a two-book contract for the only two books I had finished. I can remember going out to dinner with my husband that day and thinking that my life was going to completely change now. It did!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love historical romance. It was my gateway to romance and remains my favorite.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Pride & Prejudice, the Kiera Knightley version.
15--What is your favorite season?
Spring.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
My birthday is in April, so I love spending it at the garden store buying flowers!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’m addicted to true crime shows and my absolute favorite is A Date with Dateline, which recaps Dateline episodes.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
This is tough as I like most foods but probably Italian.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to hike with my dog in the northern Utah mountains near my home. It’s gorgeous any season.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I just finished my 76th book, THE LOST BOOK OF FIRST LOVES, which will be out in June. This was a fun book to write and will feature a missing manuscript, a famous author and lots of secrets.
The magic of Christmas—and a second shot at romance—is in the air in Shelter Springs this holiday season…
Amanda Taylor isn’t a fan of Christmas, but as the owner of a local soap shop, ignoring the holiday season isn’t an option. To forget the pain of Christmases past, Amanda focuses on making the season bright for her customers at the Shelter Springs Holiday Giving Market. But when her beloved grandmother, Birdie, starts dating the dashing new resident of the Shelter Inn retirement community, Amanda smells trouble. Fortunately, Rafe Arredondo, the grandson of Birdie’s charming suitor, is equally dubious of the match. Unfortunately, he's just as fiery as his grandfather—and Amanda has zero interest in getting burned.
As a single father, paramedic and assistant fire chief, Rafe has more than enough on his plate. Sure, he and Amanda share a common goal in keeping their grandparents apart. Still, that doesn’t mean he should allow himself to feel as drawn to her as he does. Even if she is great with his young son. Even if she does help the burden of his own painful past feel a little lighter… But when their paths keep crossing at the holiday market, it starts to feel like fate, prompting them both to wonder if taking a chance on love might gift them everything they’ve been wishing for.
Romance Holiday [Canary Street Press, On Sale: October 8, 2024, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781335929358 / eISBN: 9780369750914]
Love sometimes needs a little push.
Second Chances and Love at Christmas...What More Could a Reader Want?
Stories of Hope, Healing, & Heart
RaeAnne Thayne will do anything to tell a story. In 15 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, she rode along with a motorcycle gang, took a trip in a hot air balloon and even gave a hunky country music star her home phone number (it was for an interview -- honest!).
When she wasn't working as a journalist, though, RaeAnne worked on her real love -- writing romance novels. She dreamed of publishing a book long before she ever thought it was possible. In fact, college friends used to spend hours when they should have been studying, trying to help her come up with a good pseudonym (none of which she actually ended up using, since she writes under her own name!).
After graduating from college, she took a job as a reporter at a daily newspaper, then moved to news editor. It wasn't until she was home on maternity leave after the birth of her first child in 1990 that RaeAnne seriously tried her hand at fiction writing. She sold her first book in 1995 and quit her editor job two years later to write full-time.
She is a two-time recipient of the Heart of Romance Reader's Choice award and has been a finalist for the RITA and for the National Reader's Choice award.
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