Jane Porter takes over the Tule Blog!

ACMFD-300dpiI have a weakness for all things Christmas…candy, cookies, lights, carols, decorations, books, movies.  I have so many traditions and things I love to do to celebrate Christmas with my family, including the midnight Christmas Eve service and how it always ends in candlelight with the congregation singing Silent Night.

But then, Christmas comes and the frantic weeks of preparation are done and Christmas ends so fast.

I’ve learned over the years that Christmas is the most fun before it’s actually Christmas, and in my mind there is no better way to start the holidays then with Advent…along with the arrival of Santa following Thanksgiving Day.

Not everyone loves the holidays as much as I do.  We’re all familiar with the Grinch and Scrooge for a reason.

Like most American kids born in the 60’s and 70’s, I grew up on the cartoon classics…Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, The Little Drummer Boy.   And then as an adult, I fell in love with the old musicals, White Christmas and Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby.

I never loved It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street because both struck me as quite sad.  So it was a huge surprise to me when I flew next to Santa Claus (okay, he was an old man that looked just like Santa Claus!) on a trip to Seattle last June and had an entire story come to me in a flash.  I even told the old gentleman that he was giving me story ideas and he needed to stop it.  The old gentleman was a psychologist and counselor and thought it was hilarious.  I didn’t.  Because the story that came to me in a flash wasn’t the story I’d started to write for Cormac and Whitney, and I didn’t want to change it, particularly not to a story that is an ode Miracle on 34th Street.  But the new idea would not go away.

It bugged me all summer.  It argued with me in the fall.  I resisted it.  I didn’t want to write it.  Again, I started my story in an entirely different place and tried so hard to do one thing, but no, the miracle and magic of Christmas took over and made this story what it wanted….A Christmas Miracle for Daisy.

You’d think with such a strong sense of story I’d find the writing easy.  No, again.  I wrestled with this one, a fierce creative battle between what I wanted to do, and what the story wanted to do, and ultimately, Kris Krinkles, my kindly old man in A Christmas Miracle for Daisy, won.

You can see some of my inspiration for my new Taming of the Sheenan story here on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/thejaneporter/a-christmas-miracle-for-daisy/ ).  I had such fun setting the story in Marietta, at the historic Graff Hotel, which has been decorated for the holidays and is hosting Santa Claus every afternoon and evening until Christmas—much to Cormac Sheenan’s unhappiness.  He’s not a fan of the old guy and really wish Kris would stop filling his four year old’s head with nonsense.

FullSizeRenderXX46XDo you have a favorite Christmas show or movie?  I’d love to know!  Please share with me in the comments below and one of you will win a festive Marietta, Montana Christmas gift that includes a hand-glazed mug made just for our Montana Born Christmas, a $5 Starbucks gift card, a collection of Montana Born holiday romances, and lots more reader sweets and treats!

 

 

 

 

auth_JanePorterNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author of forty-nine romances and women’s fiction titles, Jane Porter has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award five times and won in 2014 for Best Novella with her story, Take Me, Cowboy, from Tule Publishing. Today, Jane has over 12 million copies in print, including her wildly successful, Flirting With Forty, picked by Redbook as its Red Hot Summer Read, and reprinted six times in seven weeks before being made into a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear. A mother of three sons, Jane holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and makes her home in sunny San Clemente, CA with her surfer husband and two dogs.

53 Comments

  1. I’m a child of the 70’s and had parents that loved classics so I’ve been in love with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney for forever. I loved AMC and TMC channel for feeding the hunger for all kinds of classics. My favorite Christmas movie over the last few years has to be Christmas Lodge with Michael Shanks and Erin Karpluk. I love the message and the spirit which is why I love the Montana series so much. Marietta, MT is my fictional wonderland and I enjoy all my visits.

  2. I have two favorite movies… Christmas Story and Christmas in Connecticut. I also watch every Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel! Love the Sheenan Series, Jane!

  3. I love the old Christmas movies, but I have never seen It’s a Wonderful Life. I do love Miracle on 34th street. And I absolutely adore your Christmas stories and have been waiting for this one!

  4. I have so many Christmas movies I love! Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, And a miracle on 34th ST is my favorite!

  5. I love Miracle on 34th Street–the original. I’ve even read the book the movie is based on! My neighbor’s mom works for Macy’s in NY, so her kids get to be in the parade each year! We look for them on TV each year!

    Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Release day!

  6. Hi Jane,

    Thanks for sharing that story with us, it’s funny how the idea just wouldn’t go away.
    My favorite Christmas movies are White Christmas and Holiday Inn…I’ve been watching those since I was a kid. I also like Its a Wonderful Life, but it took me years to warm up to it!
    Thanks for the giveaway and Happy Thanksgiving :)

  7. Happy release day! I loved your new book and enjoyed looking at the inspiration on your Pinterest board and have come away craving cookies. I’m more into newer Christmas movies. The Holiday is one of my favorites.

  8. I love Miracle on 34th Street since I relate to those times and love the old school movies. What a delight. Loved your feature and post today.

  9. My favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas. I could listen to Bing Crosby sing all day and the snow, dancing and military aspect just makes for a beautiful story. Rosemary Clooney is a special singer, also.

  10. I have always loved It’s A Wonderful Life….more recently my family and I have watched 24 hours of A Christmas Story…over and over…lol! I also enjoy the obscure ones…Love Actually…About A Boy. I am a sucker for a heartwarming love or family holiday film! I cannot help myself!

  11. It’s a Wonderful Life and the Hallmark Christmas movies. Daisy’s story would make a wonderful Christmas movie.

  12. I love A Christmas Story for the laughs. My husband loves White Christmas. I also like watching all of the Hallmark Christmas movies.

  13. My favorite Christmas movie is a newer one…Elf. Love the sweetness of the movie’s message, and Will F’s portrayal of Buddy the Elf reminds me of my youngest nephew. :)

  14. Christmas is the time if year for friends and family. Even strangers become much nicer. We need Christmas all year long.

  15. My favorites are A Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life. Another one to check out is We’re No Angels with Humphrey Bogart.

  16. My favorite Christmas movies are Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and The Nightmare before Christmas. Congrats Jane on your release day.

  17. Although I love watching White Christmas with Bing Crosby….I really love Holiday Inn, with Bing and Fred Astaire

  18. I have tons of Christmas movies I enjoy, but mostly I like the new Hallmark movies that are released every year. I keep a list of them so I know I get to watch every one of them

  19. I’m a huge Bing Crosby fan, I’m not sure why? I think he looked alot like my grandfather did, lol! I have always loved to watch “White Christmas,” “Bells of St Mary’s” and “Holiday Inn.” I’m also a sucker for the original “Miracle on 30th Street” too. Please count me in on your giveaway! Thanks, Lisa

  20. Every year for as long as I can remember I’ve watched the old Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman movies on TV. They’re two of my favourites :)

  21. My favorite Christmas movie is PRANCER I love Jessica’s belief in Santa and all things Christmas! She inspires the whole town!

  22. My favorite holiday mivie is The Sound of Music! Not your typical “holiday” movie but it always signifies the holidays for me! I never miss watching itevery year during the holidays!

  23. My favorite Christmas movie is The Gift of The Magi. When I was younger I couldn’t wait to see The Little Drummer Boy.

  24. White Christmas is probably my classic favorite Christmas movie followed by National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. Watching Vacation on Christmas Eve has been a family tradition since the movie came out years ago.

  25. I love “The Family Stone,” with Diane Keaton. It became my favorite when I saw how Meredith was trying to fit into a family that she’s meeting for the first time. I was married for a decade before I stopped feeling like Meredith.

  26. Depending on my mood, It’s A Wonderful Life or the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or the original Grinch Who Stole Christmas. All of them are like comfort foods to me….

  27. I am also a Christmas fanatic and I love Holiday Inn and White Christmas. They are classics and make me wish I could head off to a ski lodge somewhere!

  28. There are so many good Christmas shows/movies! I love watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas, The Santa Claus Movie (1985) and I love Scrooged with Bill Murray!

  29. I love watching the old movies that come on the Turner classic channel. I don’t have one in particular because they are all so much fun to watch each year. If I had to chose one it would probably be White Christmas with Bing Crosby

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