Q&A with Jenny Holiday

 

 

 

Jenny Holiday is the author of the new novel So This Is Christmas, the third in her Christmas in Eldovia series. She lives in London, Ontario.

 

Q: So This Is Christmas is the third novel in your series--how do you see this story fitting in with the previous two?

 

A: These are standalone novels, so although you can read them as a series, you don’t need to. There are glimpses and mentions of characters from past books, but the books aren’t knit very tightly together.

 

Q: How did you create your characters Matteo Benz and Cara Delaney, and how would you describe the dynamic between them?

 

A: Matteo is the equerry to the King of Eldovia, and he’s very strait-laced and tradition-bound. He appeared in previous books, so he already existed.

 

When my editor at the time and I decided to do a book about him, I got to thinking about what kind of heroine would irritate him the most, and came up with the efficiency expert/management consultant Cara, who is hired to overhaul and modernize the royal family’s luxury watch company.

As such, I would describe the dynamic between them as strained bordering on confrontational. As the book progresses, though, they are forced to work together and develop a grudging respect for each other. 

 

Q: Is your fictional country of Eldovia based on an actual country?

 

A: Nope, it’s completely made up! 

 

Q: The Publishers Weekly review of the book says, in part, “Witty banter and sizzling love scenes played out against the backdrop of a dazzling winter wonderland make Holiday’s latest sparkle.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’ll take it! I was of course delighted (and flattered) by it! 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: A contemporary rom-com called Canadian Boyfriend, which is out in January 2024, in which an American woman invents a fake Canadian boyfriend to get her out of sticky social situations, but then meets a version of him in real life.

 

I also have a regency rom-com called Earls Trip coming in mid 2024. It’s book 1 of a series about a group of earl friends who take an annual trip together, except this year things get derailed by an inconveniently timed affair of the heart. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m answering these questions on October 31—Halloween—which means that tomorrow the Christmas carols start in my house!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Jenny Holiday.