by: Daryl Wood Gerber
Genre: Holiday Romance
Release Date: November 14, 2023
Publisher: Daryl Wood Gerber
Hope Lyons’s husband ran through all their money and split Portland, Oregon, forcing Hope to sell her beloved Pie in the Sky bakery and move with her two children back to charming Hope Valley, her hometown. She has been working as a waitress and pinching pennies to get their lives back on track; however, when her children win KPRL’s Spirit of Christmas vacation contest, Hope worries about the extra expenses she will incur on such a trip and turns it down.
Steve Waldren, the handsome KPRL sports anchor, is now of an age where he can’t afford to have a gap on his resume. His confidence is already shaky, ever since his fiancée dumped him, claiming Steve would never reach his potential. When Steve’s boss dubs Steve to be Giveaway Santa, he’s forced to accept. Steve, as Santa, readily travels to Hope Valley to award the prize. But when Hope refuses it, he’s at a loss. His boss threatens to fire him if he doesn’t convince Hope to take it, and Steve does all he can to change her mind. But Hope can be stubborn, life can be a challenge, and Hope’s children can be unpredictable. Not to mention, the truth isn’t always what it seems.
Will Hope and Steve find their happily ever after? It might take a holiday miracle.
Why Did I Decide To Write A Romance?
By Daryl Wood Gerber
When I started my career, I was working as an actress, doing television, stage, commercials, and the occasional film. I wanted more for my career and was told if I wanted to be a film star, I needed to come up with a screenplay for myself and independently produce it. I loved rom-com movies and believed that was how I could make a splash as an actress. I even told myself if I couldn’t star in the movie, I could be the best friend/sidekick.
So I took a screenwriting class and wrote a couple of rom-coms. However, I found it difficult to independently produce a movie. Sure, there were groups I could join to guide me, but I decided, if I was bold and could sell a screenplay to a named actress, that would be the better approach. I reached out to a few production companies and earned a lot of interest in my screenplays. Alas, that success was not meant to be. When we moved to Florida for my husband’s career, it was hard to “take a meeting” from three thousand miles away. Now, in the age of Zoom, maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult.
Anyway, as lots of you know, that was when I turned to writing mystery and suspense novels, and the rest became history. I’m thrilled that I did.
But there was a romance that lingered in my mind, one I’d written as an outline but had never completed as a screenplay. Long story short, a couple of years ago, I decided to try my hand at writing Hope for the Holidays. It’s not a bodice ripper. It’s not steamy. It’s a gentle romance set at Christmas about two people who need to find their happily ever after. How did I fit writing the romance into my busy schedule? I gave myself an hour of “joy” writing each day after I was done with my mysteries. It was sort of like having dessert. It felt yummy to write. Thinking about how two people fall in love over the course of a story brought a smile to my face.
In a year, I had written a novel. I spent the next six months polishing it and sending it out to early readers for feedback. And now, a year later, I’m proud to say I’m publishing my first romance. Will there be more? Well, there’s another story that is lingering in my mind. We’ll see if I complete it.
Purchase Hope for the Holidays from:
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She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. You can learn more about her books on her website.
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You can follow the Hope for the Holidays Blog Tour here.
Thank you for sharing your guest post, bio and the book details, I love the cover and synopsis and I can't wait to read Hope for the Holidays
ReplyDeleteLove Daryl's books. Looking forward to reading "Hope For The Holidays".
ReplyDeleteHoliday Romance - I love this genre along with the festive cover!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing it.
Happy Holidays! This sounds like a great book! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete