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Dana Marton | Christmas with an Intriguing Twist
December 12, 2010
 The
Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year, so I was thrilled when
Harlequin Intrigue published my latest book, THE SPY WHO SAVED
CHRISTMAS. Of course, as an Intrigue, THE SPY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS
puts a very different spin on the season. More gunfire than mistletoe, more car
chases than sleigh rides. No matter what the season, Harlequin Intrigue promises
an action-packed thrill ride, with an equal focus on two characters in danger
falling headlong into love. Passion in all its forms. I wanted to fulfill that promise by putting a twist on the traditional things
that mean “Christmas” to me. First and foremost, that’s family. Children bring
the magic to the holidays. They are the sparkle. They’re the tinsel on the tree,
the happy note in the carols, the whipped cream on the hot chocolate. 
People say that scent is the sense linked most closely to memory, and that’s
certainly true for me when it comes to the holidays. Whenever I smell bread or
cookies baking in the oven, I’m immediately brought back to my childhood
Christmases. Something about the toasty flour aroma mingling with the hint of
caramelizing sugar makes me feel warm and safe and loved.
In THE SPY WHO SAVED
CHRISTMAS, Reid is a highly skilled agent undercover as a baker next door to
Lara’s butcher shop. So for her, the scent of baked goods will forever bring to
mind the sight of his muscled arms working the dough and the time that passion
carried them away late one night in his quiet bakery. His hands were stained and rough-skinned. Large. They were the hands that
testosterone hath made, she would think later, when she could think. His grip
was all male and possessive. His fingers dug into the pale skin at her hips. Something in her responded to him. Everything in her responded to him. “You have that wild streak of your grandmother’s, Lara Jordan.” Her mother
had always poured her disapproval on her every chance she got. “Mark my words,
girls like you come to a bad end,” she used to say, then would add with a
disgusted glare, “Every time.”  Lara had fought that parental prejudice all her life, only to
realize now that her mother had been right. At the urging of the man who was
kissing all common sense from her, she lay back on the wood-top table—flour dust
be damned—and let him situate himself between her legs.
She was twenty two, alone in life for the first time, and she was about to
lose her virginity to the most dangerous man she’d ever set eyes on. The children who add the sparkle to Lara’s season are the twin sons who resulted
from that passionate liaison, sons that Reid never knew he had because his
mission forced him to fake his own death and disappear. When their baby boys are kidnapped, for the first time, Christmas means
something to Reid. He’ll do anything – and destroy anyone – to get his sons back
into their mother’s arms by Christmas morning. If you had to choose just two things that mean Christmas to you, what
would they be? What are the non-negotiable aspects of the holiday for you?
On a related note, what is your family’s favorite Christmas baked
good?
Dana Marton is known
for her thrill-a-minute international romances with Harlequin Intrigue, the
latest of which is THE SPY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS, available now. RT Book Reviews
Magazine says: “Readers are launched like rockets straight into the action when
past and present collide for commando Reid Graham and girl next door Lara
Jordan.” Visit her website
Comments
15 comments posted.
Re: Dana Marton | Christmas with an Intriguing Twist
I would have to go with family gathered around the tree to open presents on Christmas morning. I guess that's three- family, tree, and presents. When we can, we make tamales, which are always a special occasion food because they are so time consuming to make (but worth the effort!). Your book sounds exciting.
(Maria Munoz 4:53pm December 12, 2010)
Maria, The Christmas tamale tradition makes so much sense to me. Each tamale is like a little present you get to unwrap.
(Dana Marton 6:49pm December 12, 2010)
Having us all together on Christmas Day; for many years my husband had to work nights including Christmas and it made me very depressed, so I've asked my family to give me this one day a year.
As for baked goods, not really anything comes to mind but we do have a full breakfast in the mornings after stockings are opened: eggs, bacon, fruit, tomatoes, toast and coffee.
(Diane Sadler 8:22pm December 12, 2010)
Diane, I'm with you! Christmas isn't Christmas without the family around. I'm glad you've been able to work it out so that your family is home with you on that special day.
(Dana Marton 11:09pm December 12, 2010)
I love Christmas cards...both sending and receiving. I pin the ones we receive hanging down on velvet ribbons on the wall in our entry way. They become so colorful displayed that way. Folks who visit us during the Christmas season invariably look for their card. I later use the fronts of the cards when wrapping the following year's Christmas packages. Cards are not just left lying around at our house. I also love Christmas carols for they have such an inspiring reaction from folks. What do we bake? Cornbread dressing with chopped up celery and onion and lots of sage. Smells heavenly and tastes the same. Merry Christmas to you!
(Gladys Paradowski 11:46pm December 12, 2010)
I love mysteries and when they're combined with food, I savor them more.
(Alyson Widen 12:14pm December 13, 2010)
I love the Christmas music & we turn it on after Thanksgiving & sing along! I play the piano & it has been a source of joy to me that I get to teach all the kiddies in the family the old Christmas carols. So sweet the little high voices on tune or not raised in angelic song! It's another way to tell the Christmas story. Along with the music, making cookies & fudge ranks right up there. We all get a little over sugared the day of the cooking, but it's like that old I Love Lucy Show where she & Ethel are on the candy line & end up stuffing candy in their mouths. We become a lot more discriminating about what we want to indulge in. A good time is had by all though! Your book sounds like a good read. I love Christmas stories. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!
(Jean Merriott 12:58pm December 13, 2010)
Gladys, Christmas cards are a lovely tradition! How wonderful that you are able to reuse them in wrapping the following year. Your gifts must look very colorful.
Mmmmmm.... cornbread dressing!
(Dana Marton 7:05am December 13, 2010)
Alyson, Books and food just seem to go together!
(Dana Marton 7:05am December 13, 2010)
Merry Christmas to you, too, Jean! You paint such a wonderful picture. My eyes teared up when you talked about the sweet little high voices of children.
At our house, it's the same as at yours. When the treats are first made, we descend upon them like locusts, but when the novelty wears off, they sit undisturbed for much of the time. And yet, I can't bring myself to make less. ;)
(Dana Marton 7:08am December 13, 2010)
The two things that mean Christmas to me is being with the people you love, and remembering the Reason for the Season. By that, I mean remembering the real reason for Christmas, and to show a little goodness toward your neighbors or a stranger. Do something nice for someone, and let it come back to you tenfold. As for a favorite dish, since my Mother has passed on, I still make her trademark cookies to this day. I won't be able to be with my family this year since I live too far away, but I will still be making the cookies to share with my husband and company that will come by. That will be my comfort for this Christmas season. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
(Peggy Roberson 11:12am December 13, 2010)
For us it homemade Cinnamon rolls on christmas morning as a kid I can remeber the smell when I woke and have kept it up for my kids
(Vickie Hightower 6:40pm December 13, 2010)
I would say getting out our collection of christmas decorations, and spending christmas day with my son.
I make a fruitcake from a very old recipe. I use all kinds of dried fruit, nuts, and brandy. It is really good.
(Debbie Penny 8:21pm December 13, 2010)
Christmas cards and a Christmas tree. I'd probably have to add some Christmas music too. I've read the spy who Saved Christmas folks and it's a awesome read. It's one of those books you have to read in one sitting.
Lisa B
(Lisa Boggs 9:23pm December 13, 2010)
My Mother makes a divine steamed pudding - not exactly baked but it's a favorite.
(Mary Preston 4:02am December 17, 2010)
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