Making Christmas & What Happens at Midnight
By: Laura Chapman
Releasing November
8, 2016
Self-Published
Self-Published
Blurb for Making Christmas
While settling into
a new career in a new community, Ivy is determined not to let the holiday
season pass her by. Enter the grownup advent calendar: twenty-four days of
festivities to celebrate Christmas. What begins as a bit of fun turns into a
mission to spread cheer when she meets Everett. After learning about his bad
Christmas attitude, she invites him to join her quest. Despite his initial
reservations, Everett quickly gets caught up in the spirit of the calendar. But
when new feelings surface and are impossible to ignore, Everett’s inner
curmudgeon threatens to put a damper on the whole experience.
This holiday
novella from Laura Chapman brings the warmth of the holiday season to life.
“About my project,”
she begins. “I’ve always loved the holiday season. Everything from Thanksgiving
to Christmas Eve then Christmas and New Year’s Eve—it’s a magical time. Plus, I
was born on Christmas, so the holidays are extra special. But the past few
years I’ve been so busy with work and . . . stuff . . . that I kind of lost
track of them. It was always more important to focus on getting the next big ad
campaign out than stopping to smell the sugar plums.”
“Ad campaigns?
You’re in advertising?”
“No—not anymore.”
She taps her fingers on the edge of the counter. “I left my old agency earlier
this year to start an Internet-based company with my friend. We moved to
Lincoln in October because it’s a welcoming place for startups. Anyways, the
past few years the holidays have gone by in a hazy, chaotic blur. I want to
make sure it doesn’t happen again this year. I’m going to stop and smell those
sugar plums.”
I almost ask what
sugar plums smell like but go with a question that makes more sense. “So you’re
celebrating the holidays with a Christmas coffee?”
“Today,” she
agrees. “Then tomorrow I’ll have another festive activity waiting for me.”
She digs into her
purse and removes a piece of red card stock. It’s covered with tiny green paper
pockets, each neatly printed with a number counting up to twenty-four.
Twenty-four.
“It looks like an
advent calendar.” Just like the ones my grandma gave my sister and me every
Christmas until we graduated college.
Her eyes light up.
“That’s exactly what it is. This is my grown-up advent calendar. I saw one on
Pinterest—though, they had twenty-four bottles of wine lined up in a rack to
drink every day of December leading up to Christmas. I like wine, but I’m not a
big fan of all the varieties, which would defeat the purpose of drinking
twenty-four different wines. It also didn’t seem like the best way to celebrate
the season. Do you connect binge-drinking wine with Christmas?”
“No. But maybe some
people do?”
“I suppose, which
is kind of sad. But I probably shouldn’t judge what works for other people.”
She shakes her head. “Anyway, over Thanksgiving I started thinking about what I
wanted to do this holiday season. Books I wanted to read. Movies I wanted to
watch. Experiences I wanted to have. So I made a list. Using the list, I
created a calendar with each of the items reserved for a different day. I wrote
everything down on different pieces of paper. I folded them up and randomly
scheduled them throughout the month. That way, I’ll be surprised every day.”
“You made a random
schedule? How will you know if you have time or the materials you need to do
it?”
“I’ll make the
time.” She turns to the counter when the barista arrives with three cups. Over
her shoulder, she asks, “Do you want to try gingerbread or eggnog?”
I don’t know. “Eggnog.” I guess.
She hands me one of
the cups and takes the other two. “Actually, I do know what I’ll be doing one
day because I had to buy tickets. I want to see The Nutcracker—I haven’t been since I was a little girl. But
everything else will be a surprise.”
I’m listening to
her explanation so closely I don’t even realize we’ve stepped out of the coffee
shop until the cold bites my face. She has certainly shaken up my morning
routine. “Do you really think a Christmas to-do list will suddenly make the
holidays better?”
“I do.” She grins
when I shake my head. “Do you doubt it will?”
“I don’t know.” I
lift a shoulder. “It seems like a stressful way to spend the month. And for
what? An overly commercialized holiday that only racks up charges on our credit
cards while people are starving and struggling in the world. All the while,
people miss their deadlines and pile more work on your desk because you’re the
single guy in the office and they have to get to their kids’ Christmas programs
or go bake cookies at their mother-in-law’s house. Christmas was fun when we
were kids, but as adults, it kind of sucks.” I shake my head again. “No offense
to you and your plan, but most years I want to get through the month of
December with as little fanfare as possible.”
“Interesting.” She
says nothing else but studies my face again for a couple of seconds. I nearly
squirm under the intensity of her gaze. “Well, I hope you enjoy the coffee.
Merry Christmas.”
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Blurb for What Happens at Midnight
Romantic comedy
junkie Natalie lives out those fantasies in real life three New Year's Eves in
a row when fate throws her together with the same handsome stranger. A
heartbreaking turn of events leaves her swearing off of love, forevers, and the
holidays (bah humbug). That is until the mystery man from her past reappears
years later. Over a holiday season, Natalie struggles to reconcile the
whimsical notions of her past with the practical sensibilities she has worked
so hard to develop. With the countdown to a new year looming, she must decide
whether or not she is willing to give happily ever after another shot.
In this holiday
novella by Laura Chapman, celebrate the holiday season with a love story about
second, and fifth, chances and learning to trust your heart.
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Author
Info
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