A Holiday Wish by Courtney J. Hall Contemporary Romance

Courtney J. Hall will be awarding a $15 or $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you want to play your main characters? I love “casting” my stories and have my dream cast posted on my website. For A Holiday Wish, since I first envisioned it as something one might catch on the Hallmark channel at Christmas, choosing the actors was especially easy. I’ve got someone in mind for almost every character, but for the mains, I like Torrey DeVitto for Noelle, Kit Harington for Everett, Chris Pratt for Drew, Gabriella Wilde for Brooke, Teresa Palmer for Erin and Dylan McDermott for Will.

How do you come up with the titles of your books? It depends. For my first novel, I struggled to come up with a title I liked until I happened across a line by Shakespeare that I loved. The line is “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” The first half fit really well with the book, and the second gave me a great jumping-off point for its sequel. But while I was in the middle of trying to plot the sequel, I got the ideas for the Silver Bells series, and each idea came along with its own ready-made title.

What does your writing space look like? It’s a cozy little spare bedroom in my house, with white walls and built-in bookshelves. I’m a raging Anglophile, so in addition to being my writing space, it’s also my shrine to England. I have pictures and souvenirs from my trip there in 2014 and a map of London from the sixteenth century above my desk. I also have an ottoman in the corner with a Union Jack pillow. And finally, I have a corkboard on the wall with writing-related mementos, and a few stacks of books for research.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing? I love cooking and baking! I’m definitely a frustrated chef. I love reading, of course, and I spend as much time as I can with my family. My sister’s my best friend. I also dabble in graphic design, doing book covers for myself and fellow writers.

What is your favourite color? Black – not because it’s depressing, but because so many other colors go with it. There’s a lot of room to play with black!

What is your favourite pleasure food? Definitely pizza. I can be eating pizza, see a commercial for pizza and think “Mmm, that looks good. I wish I had some.”

What is your favourite season? It’s trendy now, but it’s always been fall.

What is your favourite television show? It’s been off the air for 12 years, I know, but I can still watch Friends over and over and over again without getting sick of it. I also love Game of Thrones.

What is your favourite movie? I’ve got three. Splendor in the Grass with Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty is a classic. I adore About a Boy with Hugh Grant, and Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow.

Who is your favourite actor? I honestly don’t know that I have one. I’m not really a huge movie or TV person. I will say that one person I’ve enjoyed in every single thing I’ve seen is Stanley Tucci. I don’t know why, but I’ve just loved every movie of his that I’ve seen.

What is your favourite song? Depends on my mood, but I’ve got a few. “Moonage Daydream” by David Bowie. “Something” by the Beatles. ”Constantine” by Something Corporate. And right now pretty much anything by James Bay.

What is your favourite comfort clothing attire? I have these awesome fleecy joggers that zip at the ankles – since I got them I’ve only taken them off for work and washing! I like them best paired with my “Targaryen/Stark 2016 – Make Westeros Great Again” long-sleeved shirt. I can stay like that all weekend.

What books might we find on your bedside table? Historical fiction by authors like Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, YA fantasy like Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments, and books by authors like Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner.

Describe yourself in three words. Introverted, creative, dreamy

Noelle Silver has been a wedding planner for six years, and in all that time, the only bride she's failed to get down the aisle is herself. Abandoned by her fiancé and disillusioned with love, Noelle is ready to pack it in and leave town when Brooke St. John, orphaned heiress, offers her a staggering amount of money to do Brooke's Christmas Eve wedding to a much older man.

Though she's reluctant at first, the payment Brooke offers is enough for Noelle to return to her hometown and start a new life. It's also an opportunity to prove to herself - and her former fiancé - that despite her broken heart she still has what it takes to pull off a wedding worthy of an heiress in the mere two months Brooke has given her. But the best man, Brooke's gorgeous older brother Everett, seems dead set on stopping the nuptials. Will he succeed, driving the final nail into the coffin of Noelle's career as a wedding planner - and completely shattering what's left of her expectations of love?

Excerpt

The crisp autumn air smells clean in a way heavy, humid summer air never can. It bites at my cheeks and ruffles the edges of my burgundy scarf. Through leaves burnished gold and crimson the sun dapples the sidewalk and bounces off the shop windows as I hurry past. It’s so nice out this morning that if it weren’t for the promise of coffee, croissants and Drew, I would have been a little disappointed to come to the end of the half-mile walk between my apartment and The Daily Grind, which is on a quaint tree-lined street just a few doors down from my own shop—Silver Bells Wedding Designs. It’s a play on my name, Noelle Silver, and the fact that I specialize in Christmas weddings. They’re my absolute favorite. Something about the holiday season just lends itself to gorgeous weddings. But Drew’s the outdoorsy type and has his heart set on getting married outside. If he didn’t, we would definitely do it at Christmas.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Courtney J. Hall is the author of Some Rise by Sin, a historical romance set in the tumultuous final days of Mary Tudor’s reign, and A Holiday Wish, the first book in the Silver Bells contemporary romance series. She lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband and a stolen cat.

Website: http://www.courtneyjhall.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/courtneyjhall.author

Twitter: @courtney_j_hall

Instagram: @akacourtneyjhall

a Rafflecopter giveaway