Hi, all—
Christmas is in the air! Since I was about to craft your December Reader Crew News, I spent last week giving a bit of thought to content. A fellow writer told me that she likes to talk about her holiday-themed books in her newsletters, because her readers enjoy that. I admit, I was bummed. In fifteen+ books, I've never set out to write a holiday story. Not even one around the 4th of July--and I cut my writer's teeth on the military romance side of traditional publishing.
And then it hit me: I do have a Christmas book. It's BLIND EDGE. Yeah, I know, those of you who've finished reading the second installment in Regan's Deception Point Military Thriller series are laughing your hind ends off right about now. But think about it. What qualifies as a holiday story?
As near as I can figure, there are two major elements: 1) The story takes place on or around the holiday in question. 2) There must be an adherence to holiday theme.
Let's take element 1) Hmm...BLIND EDGE opens at midnight on a very snowy Christmas Eve during the aftermath of a hit & run--of Christmas carolers, no less! Special Agent Regan Chase then catches the first in nearly a dozen murders & suicides, which she then investigates in the wee minutes of...Christmas Day. So, check! ☃️
2) Regarding an adherence to holiday theme: consider the opening paragraph to chapter 1 of BLIND EDGE:
US Army Special Agent Regan Chase stared at the five-foot fir anchoring the corner of the deserted lounge. A rainbow of ornaments dangled from the tree's artificial limbs along with hundreds of twinkling lights, each doing its damnedest to infect her with an equally artificial promise of home, hearth and simpering happiness. Fifteen months ago, she might've succumbed. Tonight, that phony fir simply underscored the three tenets of truth Regan had crashed into at the tender age of six. One, no one sat around the North Pole stuffing sacks with free toys. Two, reindeer couldn't fly. And three, if there ever had been some jolly old geezer looking out for the boys and girls of the world, he'd been fired for incompetence a long time ago.
Yep, we've got another check! ❄️ And, since there are further sprinklings of Regan's somewhat unique take on Christmas & all the festivities that surround it throughout the book--including a scene near the end that includes Regan's most memorable (albeit horrific) Christmas as a child--I'm going to bump the previous check up to a solid double check. 🎄
Plus, there's a bonus. Christmas involves presents, right? And you're all mystery & thriller readers. Hence, you're all just twisted enough (like a certain author whose thriller name ends in "g") to consider a dead body in a book a net positive...which is sort of like a present, right? And since Regan's nemesis in BLIND EDGE is bent on taking down an entire US Army Special Forces A-team, there are plenty of "presents" to go around in this story...all adding to that lovely holiday theme. 🎅🏼
So there you have it! Just as DIE HARD is a time-tested Christmas movie, BLIND EDGE is a Christmas book. 🦌
But, seriously, guys. You know me & my writing well enough by now to know that Regan's going to have to deal with her very somber Christmas issues eventually. And since that conversation with my writer friend has allowed me to reconsider holiday books, you may just see that resolution centered around some December 25th in the not-too-distant future. What better way for that healing to come full circle? (Yep, I'm already sensing the beginnings of a plot for a book 8 in Regan's series.)
I'll have to give it some more thought. And, of course, I'll need to sprinkle in plenty of "presents" for Regan & readers in that coming Christmas story...in the form of bodies. 🎁
—Candace
