Patricia Rosemoor knows the magic of Christmas
Romantic suspense author Patricia Rosemoor, whoseHoliday in Crimson andNightmare in Crimson are out now, is the author of 91 other novels. Apparently, she thinks that entitles her to kill Santa Claus. Repeatedly. I'll let her explain …
Patricia: I grew up a junkie ... a Christmas junkie. All Mom's fault. She instilled the magic of Christmas in me. She made me believe that dopey artificial Christmas tree that sat on a table in our front window was the best tree ever. I was allergic to pine and couldn't have a real tree, and the fake trees back then were ... well, really fake. She had me anxious to decorate it every year. Properly. Lights, ornaments, Nativity scene, then tinsel. One. Strand. At. A. Time.
We used to get Christmas cards in those days. Paper ones. We literally hand-addressed nearly 100 cards every year. We got an equal number in return and set them on every horizontal surface in the house as part of our Christmas decor. They were more than cards, they were connections to people we cared about. I realized that people were filled with cheer and generosity during the holiday. I learned that it was time to make others feel happy, too, whether with a kind greeting or home-baked Christmas cookies or a donation in the Salvation Army bucket outside the grocery store. Mom taught me that// was the true meaning of Christmas.
Every Christmas, Mom took me downtown (in Chicago) to see the State Street department store windows. Best of all, she took me to Marshall Field's. Even as a kid, I knew those windows were special. They always told a story that touched my heart, that sent me home feeling happy, believing in the magic of Christmas.
As I thought about writing a romantic suspense novel set during the holidays, I wanted to tell a story that would touch my readers' hearts. But first I had to murder someone. Rather, my villain did. Though I don't exactly write funny, I have a wicked sense of humor, and I knew Santa Claus had to die. Twice. I had such fun using the Christmas theme in Holiday in Crimson, that I did it again in Nightmare in Crimson. Both books are set at the Westbrook Department Store (modeled after Chicago's late iconic Marshall Field's) and feature nearly the same cast of characters.
Holiday in Crimson blurb:
Westbrook Department Store's Christmas party wasn't that wild -- until, that is, Santa ended up dead. Now window designer Shelby Corbin is the prime suspect in his murder, and the holidays are anything but festive. If Shelby doesn't figure out who killed Santa, she'll be ringing in the new year behind bars.
Westbrook's impossibly sexy co-owner and CEO Rand McNabb's romantic attentions both thrill and frighten Shelby. But is he really helping her search for the truth about that fatal night? Or does Rand have a deadlier motive for courting the only possible witness to the crime ...?
Both Holiday in Crimson and its sequel, Nightmare in Crimson, are digital releases, gifts of holiday magic from my heart to you.
To find out more about Patricia and her books, you can visit her website, PatriciaRosemoor.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter (@PRosemoor).