Beverly Jenkins is the author of the new novel A Christmas to Remember. Her many other novels include On the Corner of Hope and Main.
Q: A Christmas to Remember is the 11th in your Blessings series. How do you see this novel fitting in with the earlier books in the series?
A: Each book builds on the stories that come before it. We've watched the kids, the town, and the adults mature and benefit from Bernadine's vision of a better world.
Q: What inspired you to create the town of Henry Adams, Kansas?
A: Henry Adams is based on the real townships founded after the Civil War by free Black people. It’s also the setting for my first historical romance, Night Song, published in 1994 by Avon books. Please Google Nicodemus, Kansas, for a look at these remarkable towns.
Q: How did you come up with your characters Bernadine and Mal?
A: Bernadine has been with me a long time. I just didn’t know what her story was. Mal is a direct descendant of my 19th century outlaw family the Julys. You can meet his ancestors in my historicals: The Taming of Jessi Rose; Something Like Love; and Wild Sweet Love.
Q: Why did you decide to focus on Christmas in this new novel?
A: I chose to focus on Christmas for book 11 because I hadn’t written a Christmas book for the series and I wanted to give my readers a holiday gift.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m presently working on a contemporary romantic suspense and will follow that with the writing of the 12th and final book in the Blessings series.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Everyone who’s read the series wants Henry Adams to be a real place so they can move there!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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