Yesterday, I finished my first pass-through revisions on Her Billionaire Santa which launches 11/24. I loved writing this sweet Christmas romance!
As I have been writing stories for my Her Billionaire CEO series, I have usually tried to come up with the plot in this order: 1) title, 2) trope, and 3) short blurb. For Her Billionaire Santa, I knew it was going to be a Christmas story. But that was about it. Until a reader suggested that Katy Stevens, a sweet side character in Her Billionaire Prince, needed her own love story.
I thought, why not? In Her Billionaire Prince, Katy talked a lot about Guatemala. She’d gone there on service projects and was heartbroken when they experienced a devastating earthquake. As I daydreamed about a plot for my Christmas story, I decided it would be fun to have Katy try to convince a billionaire that her cause (a Guatemalan village destroyed by an earthquake) deserved to win his million dollar Christmas contest prize. A sweet opposites-attract Christmas romance.
I’d never been to Guatemala, so that was a challenge. Fortunately, there are plenty of people who generously share their experiences online, and I have friends who’ve been there provide me details. As I immersed myself in the setting, I’ve added Guatemala on my travel bucket list. It sounds like a beautiful country and people.
Something else happened as I wrote this story. Usually, I’m a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to Christmas. I put up the tree and can’t wait to take it down as soon as possible. To get myself prepped for HBSanta, I listened to instrumental Christmas music. As I wrote, Marcus’s story of heartbreak and new beginnings really spoke to me. Sweet Katy also reminded me there is still good in the world and hearts can be healed by love.
For my dedication, I wrote, “To those who still believe.” I was thinking not just of Santa, but of goodness, mercy, miracles, and love. And most of all, of His healing touch, at Christmastime, and always.
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