Interview with Donna Ashcroft - Author of 'Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands'
Interview with Donna Ashcroft
❄️ 🎄❄️🎄❄️
Author of ‘Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands’
Novel release date: September 29th, 2023
🎄
INTERVIEW
Can you tell us a little about your new Christmas novel for 2023?
My new Christmas book is an enemy to lovers romance set in Christmas Resort, which is an all-year-round festive resort nestled in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. The heroine, Holliday Harrison, who works there as an arts and entertainments manager is determined that nothing in her life – including the resort – must change. However, the hero, Damon McAndrew, has come to buy the resort in order to knock it down and build a hotel. The strong conflicts mean plenty of sparks fly from the start!
How is this novel different from your previous Christmas offerings?
I hope it’s quite similar in many ways – I always aim to make readers feel festive and this one includes plenty of Christmas ingredients, from mince pies and sparkly decorations to reindeer. But I think this book is perhaps a little more emotional than some of my other Christmas stories.
How important is the setting in Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands and how does it assist with the plot (without giving anything away)?
The setting is really important because essentially the story is all about Christmas Resort and what it means to the characters. Most of the scenes take place in the resort and the various activities and locations are used to drive the story forwards and in turn, to teach both Holliday and Damon about themselves.
Tell us about the two lead characters Holliday and Damon? Also, how/why did you decide upon their names?
Holliday Harrison is the arts and entertainments manager at Christmas Resort. She is reeling from the loss of her fiancé, Adrian, in a train accident two years ago. She wants to keep everything in her life exactly as it is so that she can pretend Adrian is still alive somewhere. I love including festive names in my stories and I stumbled across the name Holliday in an article and loved it.
Damon McAndrew is a business man with a heart that’s been frozen by his ex-wife’s infidelity. He’s trying to eliminate every memory that he has of his ex by changing them (and this includes all of his memories of Christmas Resort). I chose the name Damon because I wanted Holliday to be able to refer to him as ‘Demon’ at the point in the story when they are at odds with each other.
Animals are often a part of your stories. What part does a cat play in this one?
I love including animals in my books. Frosty is Holliday’s fluffy white cat. Damon is allergic to cats (they make him sneeze) and when Holliday first discovers this, she sets her pet loose, hoping that it will encourage Damon to leave the resort. The cat pops up a few times during the story helping to drive the plot forwards in various ways. By the end of the story Damon and Frosty have formed an uneasy alliance.
What is the main theme of Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands?
The main theme is memories, and how we choose to deal with them ie, by ignoring them, trying to destroy or forget them, or by embracing them.
Is there anything you would like to share about the writing of Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands that you found challenging, enjoyable and/or unusual?
I really enjoyed writing this book. I loved the idea of an all-year-round Christmas resort where my characters could experience the festive season without any of the stress. It was a book that in some ways wrote itself – as I wrote it the reindeer ornaments popped into my head, as did the resort’s photo albums, even though at the time I had no idea of their significance. But as I continued to write, I realised why they were there.
Is it hard to write a Christmas story during a non-seasonal period? What is your process like to get you thinking about all things associated with Christmas?
I really enjoy writing Christmas books throughout the year. I tend to start brainstorming by watching Christmas movies – they really help to get me into the right frame of mind and ideas usually start to pop into my head once I’ve watched a few.
What Christmas song would you say best reflects Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands? What are your favourite Christmas songs for the festive season?
‘Rocking around the Christmas Tree’ is featured in this novel – Holliday teaches some of the guests at the resort to dance, along with Damon. It’s a big turning point for him – the point when he starts to recognises that people deal with memories in different ways.
I love Frank Sinatra’s voice – so I pretty much love any festive song that he has sung and have a few of his albums on CD which I play at Christmas.
What novels have you read this year that you would highly recommend? What makes them special?
I’ve just devoured a three book series by Lucy Score that includes Things We Never Got Over, Things We Hide from the Light and Things We Left Behind. I love Lucy’s style of writing - the snappy, often hilarious dialogue, sassy heroines and heroes who make for fiery conflict-ridden relationships. They are quite steamy too, and Lucy writes about their encounters really well. I also love the small-town community she created in the books and all the supporting characters who were both quirky and sometimes unexpected. I thoroughly recommend.
What is your favourite activity during Christmas? Taking a sleigh ride, hosting parties, playing board games, cooking festive treats?
I particularly enjoy Christmas eve when we put out the presents in pillow cases and leave a carrot out for the reindeer (even though my kids are quite grown up now). We also watch Christmas movies and go carol singing in the town where I live. This all helps to get us into a really festive mood.
Do you have a new writing project in the works that you can share a little about?
At the moment I’m working on another Christmas novel which is set in Christmas Resort – it’ll be coming out in 2024 and features some of the characters from Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands along with a few new ones.
Thanks to Donna for being my guest author today and wish her much success on her new Christmas novel!
