Just Another Girl and her Books: *Holiday Spotlight* The Christmas Cottage by Samantha Chase

Author: Samantha Chase
Genre: Romance
Published: November 26, 2012
Pages: 172

Synopsis

Lacey Quinn does not believe in happily-ever-after or the legend of the Christmas Cottage. But her best friend does, and she's the one getting married. It's Lacey's job to make sure everything at the cottage is perfect for the newlyweds. Instead, she finds herself snowed in with the best man, and she begins to wonder if fairy tales really can come true.

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Excerpt

“Um, Lace?” “Yeah?” Something in Ean’s tone made Lacey worried about what she was going to see. She stepped up beside him in the open doorway and froze. Not because of the cold, but because of the scene in front of them. “How much snow were we supposed to get?” he asked.

“Only a foot!” she cried. “This is clearly more than a foot and it’s still coming down! How long were we in here?” She was starting to become hysterical and Ean wrapped an arm around her and led her back to the couch and sat her down before going back and closing the door. “I’m going to need my stuff, Ean!” “You’ll have to do without it tonight, sweetheart. I’m not going out in that mess and digging out your car to get to your bag and neither are you. There is most likely a big variety of everything you’ll need right here. It’s a guest cottage after all, and if I know my mother, she keeps it well stocked.” That was little comfort to Lacey. She didn’t want to use someone else’s stuff, she wanted her own. She was just about to voice that concern when she turned and saw Ean going through a chest of drawers beside the bed. “There are clean flannel sheets for the bed.” He tossed them on to the king sized mattress and opened the next drawer. “There’s a pair of men’s pajamas—again, in flannel. You take the shirt and I’ll take the pants.” “Ean, seriously, I want my…” He slammed the drawer with a little more force than necessary and headed over to the closet next to the bathroom. “Here are towels.” He tossed several onto the bathroom vanity. “There are new toothbrushes, toothpaste and a variety of soaps and shampoos,” he said as he dug through the shelves. “We have extra pillows and blankets in the hope chest,” he added as he shut the closet door, “and plenty of wood for the fire. Now unless you have some sort of medical emergency, there should be nothing that you need from your car.” “Slippers,” she blurted out. “The floors are going to be cold and I would really like my slippers.” He arched a dark brow at her. “Seriously? You want me to go out and wade through eighteen inches of fast-falling snow in freezing temperatures just to dig out your car for a pair of slippers? No way. I said medical emergency and from what I can see, Lacey Quinn, you are the picture of health.” Before she could say another word, Ean walked back to the chest of drawers and searched around until he found a pair of thick wool socks. He tossed them her way. “There. Now you won’t have cold feet.” Dammit, Lacey thought, he’s covered everything and we are seriously snowed in together for the night. There was no getting rid of him now. But did she even want to?

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40's to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well. When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.

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Interview

What inspired you to become an author?

I've always loved to write but it wasn't until I was homeschooling my son and was teaching creative writing to other students that I realized how badly I wanted to do it as a career. My students were all self-publishing their work and I was encouraging them and they, in turn, encouraged me.

I assume all authors also love to read, so what book inspired your love of reading?

I remember my 7th grade science lab partner used to read Harlequin romances. She got me hooked on them. But it was Sandra Brown's "22 Indigo Place" that really hooked me on romances

How old were you when you wrote your first story?

8 years old, third grade. I wrote a short story called "The Homework Machine". And that's what started it all.

Who are some of your favorite authors now?

Bella Andre, Melanie Shawn, Erin Nicholas, Carly Phillips, Jill Shalvis

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

A little of both. Primarily a pantser but I do throw in some plotting

Are your characters based on people you know?

Not really. there are certain elements of people that I've known but no one character is based on a single person

What are some of your writing rituals?

I keep social media up all day - so when something is giving me a hard time in writing, I just flip over to Facebook and play some solitaire. Or sometimes I go and listen to music just to get my head out of the scene.

How do other books influence your writing?

I like reading just for pleasure but sometimes I'll read a book and think that there are certain story elements that I could use in future books - just differently. Lol! Did that even make sense?

How do you get motivated to sit down and write with all the real world interruptions?

I'm very fortunate in that I can multi-task and that I am a full-time writer who has from 7 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon when I have the house to myself - other than my sassy pug sitting at my feet. But when real world stuff does happen - like when I had surgery last month, I brought my laptop to the hospital and just did my best to fit in some writing when I could.

Which one of your books is your favorite?

Oh no...that's like asking which child is your favorite! Ha ha!! But if I DID have to...I'd chose three. Is that allowed? First, it would be Jordan's Return, because it was my first. Next would be The Christmas Cottage because that's the book that really got my name out there. And last would be my new release I'll Be There because I think it's some of my best writing.

If you could have a writing retreat anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be and why?

I'm pretty boring with this stuff - I'd want to be at the beach. Not ON the beach (I hate sitting in the sand and I burn easily) but to have a house on the beach with a back deck where I could hear the waves crashing would be the ultimate retreat!

If your main character were an alcoholic beverage, which beverage would they be and why?

That one's tough for me because I don't drink. We'll let the readers answer that one!

If you could live in a fictional world, which world would you choose and why?

A fictional world? There are so many options!!

What’s the best way to hide a body?

You know, I've never really thought of it. I'm sure there are millions of ways but for me, I'd rather let someone else deal with it and know nothing!

This or That

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Paperback or e-reader? eReader

Facebook or Twitter? Facebook

Peeta or Gale? Gale

Edward or Jacob? Jacob