A great read to get you in the mood for the Christmas season

By Gabrielle Pantera

“As I was researching the origin of Christmas customs, traditions and songs, I learned that the Anglo Saxon translation of the word mistletoe is ‘dung-on-a-twig’,” says A Wallflower Christmas author Lisa Kleypas. “It may have forever ruined my romantic impression of kissing under the mistletoe.”

     In A Wallflower Christmas, American Rafe Bowman is in England to find a wife, or rather to propose to the woman his father has ordered him to marry. In his father’s mind Lady Natalie Blandford, the daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford, is the ideal choice, and if Rafe doesn’t go along with it, he’ll be disinherited.

     But, that’s not the big problem. Rafe has fallen for Hannah, Lady Natalie’s cousin and companion. Hannah does all in her power to help the romance between Natalie and Rafe, but she’s falling for the rake herself. What’s a girl to do?

     “A few years ago I did a series of four Victorian-era romances with an unusual premise…four unmarried women, the kind who always sit in the row of chairs at the side of the ballroom and never get to dance, decide to band together and help each other find husbands,” says Kleypas. “I called the series The Wallflowers. It turned out to be a celebration of female friendship, with a lot of humor, many adventures, and of course a romance for each Wallflower.”

     “Last year my editor Jennifer Enderlin approached me with a concept,” says Kleypas. “What if I wrote a short novel that showed all four wallflowers, and their husbands at Christmas time? I loved the idea because it gave me a chance to revisit the characters I enjoyed so much, but also to explore a little of what their marriages might be like. I've always been interested in what happens after the happy ending!”

     “I included a couple of new characters and a fresh new romance in A Wallflower Christmas,” says Kleypas. “And, I was able to weave a lot of fun research about Victorian Christmas traditions throughout the story.”

     “I alternate between historical romances and contemporary women's fiction, so next up is Smooth Talking Stranger in March 2009,” says Kleypas. “Also coming out in March is the paperback edition of Blue Eyed Devil.

     Lisa Kleypas is the author of at least twenty-nine full length stories and a handful of novellas. She was born in Texas, but grew up in Massachusetts. She currently lives in Washington State with her husband and two children.

     A Wallflower Christmas is a shorter book then other books by Kleypas, so there’s less character development, but it doesn’t detract from Christmas spirit in the book. The plot is uncomplicated. Kleypas' writing really flows.