SNOWFALL by Jennifer Patricia O'Keeffe ~ Guest Post & Giveaway

Snowfall
by: Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: March 13, 2025
Publisher: DCL Publications

Melody is a simple woman with simple needs that include good clean books, safe and intelligible television, and a job that she loves. As far as she’s concerned, she has everything she needs, including a beloved gig as the assistant librarian of her local public library. When a Winter Reads program turns chaotic and Melody is caught in the crossfires of a massive child-induced food fight, her dream job becomes a nightmare – a nightmare that continues into a snow-covered, accident-prone next day. After waking up to a sudden massive snowfall covering her town, she becomes the unwilling victim of a snowball fight between two identical twin brothers. Melody must then decide if she has met her very own Mister Right, or if her perfect life can handle an imperfect interruption.

Lighthearted laughs and endearing moments fill this modern romantic comedy by humorist Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe.

Writing that Swoon-Worthy Meet-Cute Romance

Some romances just stick with you after you’ve read them. For me, the best part of any romance, or in my case any romantic comedy, is the moment when the protagonist first meets her new love interest.

As it happens, these moments have a tendency to differ between straightforward romance books and romantic comedies. In a straightforward romance, the love interest is often a sudden hero or someone passionate and intriguing, already in their life or that they have met when traveling or on an adventure.

In a romantic comedy, that swoon-worthy moment comes differently, and usually, there is some sort of humor involved. In my novel ‘Snowfall,’ the meet-up is accidental and, unless you’re the protagonist it happens to, it’s hilarious.

However, this moment in every book happens in very different and very special ways. In ‘Snowfall,’ Melody – my protagonist – is simply minding her business while reading a book as she walks through the snowy part. Unbeknownst to her, two twin brothers are having a snowball fight nearby. One of the snowballs goes rogue, and one of the twins tries desperately to catch it. This clumsy moment causes him to knock Melody down to the ground, planting her in the snow.

During this initial meeting, the only sparks flying are angry ones, but it is the brother’s eagerness to help her find a missing necklace in the snow that finally sparks her romantic interest. As they look for the necklace that got knocked off her neck in the tackle, Melody is able to see another side of him and – just maybe – she realizes he’s not the jerk she thinks he is.

This differs from, say, my story ‘All I Want is to be Happy.’ That story, which follows a young black man who works at a bookstore during the day and moonlights as a professional drag queen, takes its time with a slow build to the romance. He meets his romantic interest while at work in a bookstore. He recognizes the man from the back of a book cover – a famous author with classically handsome good looks and a good nature to match. But my protagonist is shy. So, he steals the author’s wallet, which is accidentally left on the counter at checkout, and uses it to plot how to make the man of his dreams his.

Perhaps my favorite of these moments is in my upcoming novel, ‘The Socialite.’ In this book, my protagonist is a wealthy young socialite who has made her fame and fortune as a social media influencer. She is engaged to a wonderful man – for the second time – and, once again, leaves him standing alone at the altar on their wedding day. She decides she’s unhappy with her life and picks up and moves, leaving her fame and her comforts behind for a small town in the middle of nowhere where no one knows her name. She buys a rundown farmhouse – just a place to escape, but the best of the homes the town had available for sale – and focuses on fixing it up and building her new life. Her ‘meet-cute’ moment comes when she meets the deliciously handsome owner of the hardware store.

Honestly, I’d have swooned over him, too. Strong, drop-dead gorgeous, and as kind as any small-town country boy comes. Since the book isn’t out yet, I won’t give too much away, but it’s a romantic comedy. I’m sure you can figure out what happens later.

Mostly, I love watching and reading those types of romances. They’re exciting, sometimes they bring tears to my eyes, and mostly, they restore hope that true love can conquer all. To be able to write such a moment that stays with the audience is something very special and, usually, not terribly easy. There are a lot of things to take into account.

For instance, where it happens and the circumstances that it happens under. The moods of the characters are equally important, and there has to be something different in fresh in the person that the other finds intriguing enough to want to learn more about them. It has to be organic… to feel natural. Otherwise, it won’t be believable to the readers. No matter how wild or fantastic or off-the-rails a book or a plotline or a character or situation is, the reader still has to find it believable – like that person or place could really exist or that situation could really happen. If I can make my readers find my characters or situations believable, then I know I’m doing my job.

Thank you for enjoying this moment with me here at Read Your Writes Blog! I do hope you’ll take a chance on my style of romantic comedies and read my latest release ‘Snowfall.’ I promise, it’ll put a smile on your face and a tickle on your funny bone!

If you’re interested in reading more of my musings, or my book reviews, movie reviews, or the occasional recipe or household tip I feel the urge to share, please follow my blog.

Much love and many laughs,
Jenn

Melody reached into her coat pocket and found the receipt from where she’d tucked it in there yesterday. “Sure,” she said and gladly handed it over to Miss Pam.

Miss Pam read the receipt, but her smile lessened a bit. Melody was puzzled by this.

“I thought you said it was forty dollars?” Miss Pam looked up from the receipt. “This says thirty.”

“Yes,” Melody explained. “All I had in cash was two twenties and I couldn’t pay on my phone because service wasn’t up yet. The locksmith insisted on exact change and he wouldn’t make change for me, so I had to give him forty dollars.”

“Ah…” Miss Pam said and smiled big again. “I see. We’ll get you reimbursed. Don’t you worry about it at all.” She put the receipt in the drawer behind the counter and noted, “It sounds like you had a rough weekend. At least you had your new book. How was it? Have you finished it?”

That brought Melody to her next problem, and she swallowed and took a moment before she replied. Finally, she opened her mouth and just came out with it. “I – I damaged the book.”

Miss Pam’s eyes grew wide in shock and she slapped a hand over her heart. “No!” After a pause, she asked, “You?”

“Yes… it’s true.” Melody looked at the floor as she hung her head in shame. “I was reading in the park this weekend and I… fell and landed in the snow. It has watermarks on several of the pages… all because of me.”

“I – I am in shock, Melody!” Miss Pam exclaimed and stood from her chair. “I can’t believe how… human you behaved.”

Melody cocked an eyebrow and looked up at Miss Pam. “Huh?”

Miss Pam began to laugh again. When she calmed her chuckles a bit, she said, “Honey-child, accidents happen. Things happen. Humans – people like you and me – make mistakes. It just means you’re human.”

Melody smiled. She wanted to cry in thanks but she’d cried enough lately. Instead, she said, “Thank you, Miss Pam.”

“How bad is the water damage?” Miss Pam asked. Melody fished the book out of her bag and handed it to her. Miss Pam thumbed through and shrugged. “Everything’s dry and there are a few wavy places, but the book is still in really good condition and can still be read and enjoyed by the next person to read it. You don’t owe a thing for it.”

“Are you sure?” she questioned.

“Of course,” Miss Pam continued. “You’ve seen how some of these folks return things. It’s in much better shape than most of the things we find in the drop-box.”

Purchase Snowfall from:

Amazon | Goodreads

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Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe is a humorist fiction author whose works include the stories My Name is Not Cupid, The Scent of a Man, and the beautifully reviewed thriller about a mother who would stop at nothing to save her child, Hot Chocolate on a Cold Winter’s Night, among others. Known for her quirky romantic comedies that feature realistic women of various ages and races and the trials and tribulations of adulting and dating, Jennifer’s writings allow real women to see themselves in her characters. Jennifer is also a proud LGBTQ+ ally and often features gay characters in her stories, including the tale All I Want is to be Happy, which features a wonderful gay protagonist. Jennifer, herself, is a single straight woman, still looking for love, and living with her cats in an apartment in Nashville, Tennessee.

Places to find Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

You can follow the Snowfall Blog Tour here.

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