It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year. Well, beginning in October and all the way through December is essentially my favorite. I'm in a pretty darn good mood during those months.

But there truly is something magical about Christmas. Whether it's the lights or the decorations, or change in weather with snow falling (at least I now live where we get snow - also something I love), the spirit of Christmas brings joy.

It's probably easy to guess that writing Christmas stories is also at the top of my list of favorites. And writing Christmas Cakes and Kisses, Book 2 in the Endicotts of Silver Bay Series (November 29th), is definitely included.

Eva Endicott is the sister of Chet who appears in Love At Meg's Diner. (Book 1) She is happy with her job at Baylee's Bakery but has a dream of owning her own cake business someday.

Tyler Vance is a personal trainer for professional baseball pitcher, Drew MacIntire. Tyler lives in Silver Bay because Drew made the town home, and he's been content with the rigorous travel schedule that comes with his job.

Then he meets Eva. Helping her achieve her dream of having her own business draws him more and more to wanting to put down roots and make Silver Bay home.

One of the things I love about writing stories is brainstorming with friends and family about characters. The journalist in me loves to ask a ton of questions. Get to the heart of what my characters think, believe, want or don't want.

I've had the chance to ride along with friends who are police officers, as well as interview a friend of mine who is a professional race car driver. I've listened over coffee as a girlfriend shares with me what it's like to be married to a Navy Seal. Every time I write I want to be sure to get a true feel for a character I'm writing.

In Christmas Cakes and Kisses, Tyler works as a personal trainer, but when it came to creating his backstory, I got stuck. While walking with one of my son's one day, we got talking about professional wrestling. He loves the sport and has invested years of interest in it. He's also a big guy like Tyler, so I was inspired. By the time we finished our walk, I knew that I wanted Tyler to have a background in professional wrestling and so began a wonderful part of the writing process for me - working with my son on details and essentially creating the life of Tyler Vance.

To write Tyler alongside Eva was too much fun. Because he's a really big guy there are a handful of times that being in a bakery alongside Eva, as he learns to make cookies and cakes, becomes somewhat comical. But don't worry, there's plenty of romance between those two as well.

Silver Bay is a setting close to my heart and I feel the same way about the Endicott family. I hope you do too as you read Tyler and Eva's story.

May your holiday season be filled with lots of time to read, as well as Christmas cakes and kisses.

Happy Reading,

Lara

Welcome to Silver Bay

When I first created the setting of Silver Bay, I was inspired by a small, coastal town in Northern California. It became a place my husband and I visited many times over the years; a place that captured my heart and became somewhere I had to put down on the page. A place where neighbors help one another, local businesses are supported, and families live for generations.

It became Silver Bay.

The first four books in the series share the lives of three siblings, as well as lifelong friends. Love At Meg's Diner, which releases September 7th, is the first book in a new series that is set in Silver Bay but focuses on the Endicott family. Within this family are four siblings who, while not born and raised in Silver Bay, have come to love it as their own. (Pre-order available now)

I hope you enjoy strolling Seapoint Boulevard while sipping a yummy coffee from Jamie’s Java or sitting and enjoying a pastry from Baylee’s Bakery. I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to share my stories with you. I hope you fall in love with Silver Bay as much as I have.

Please stop my by website–I love to hear from readers. And if you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll be first to receive fun information like cover reveals and book release dates.

Happy Reading,

Lara

Hannah's Hope - A Christmas Novella

Hannah's Hope is a Christmas novella written as part of my Silver Bay series, and will be available for purchase November 10th, 2021.

As a writer, it's easy to get attached to certain characters. Some of them are not a part of the original outline but present themselves as you write. For me as I continue to write, those personalities grow and develop, bringing with them friends and family members I didn't initially intend, but who become some of my favorite characters to write.

Hannah and Paul Wagner are two of those characters for me. They show up first in Return To Silver Bay - Hannah as Maggie's best friend from high school and Paul as Hannah's high school sweetheart. They are now married and run a successful real estate business in town.

In Return To Silver Bay, we get a glimpse of Hannah and Paul’s desire for a family, as well as their journey through infertility and eventually adoption. By the time I completed Return To Silver Bay, I had in mind a Christmas story for Hannah and Paul. For some reason I saw them as a couple who would love that holiday, and especially in Silver Bay. The fact that they both grew up there and share a love for their home town, made it seem like the right fit for their story to take place at Christmas.

I always start my stories with the characters. I "interview" each one to get the details of their background, what they like and dislike, and even what car they like to drive and why. As I dive deep into who each character is, their stories begin to form and from there, their connections to one another grow.

Hannah's Hope is the first time I have written about a couple who are already married, and I loved sharing more of Paul and Hannah's history together. I believe that romance does not die over time in a marriage, it deepens. It was fun for me to write a couple who already had a deep connection to one another and then see how they navigate life together.

I honestly believe that romance and Christmas are meant for one another, much like Paul and Hannah.

What are some of your favorite Christmas books?