posted on November 22, 2016 by Jeanne Devlin

Once Upon a Thanksgiving

Writerspace - Let's Talk Books icon.inddThanksgiving has always been my father’s favorite holiday as much for what it isn’t as for what it is.

He loves that there are no gifts, no Madison Avenue commercialization (or at least less than for most American holidays), no Mom running up the credit card balances.

He believes Thanksgiving comprises all that any holiday needs: a nice meal with the family, maybe some touch football on the front lawn, and a paper-plate dinner of homemade leftovers, followed by a game or two of Scrabble.

He is a man of simple tastes. Not the kind of fellow most authors would make the hero of a romance novel.

a-small-town-thanksgivingAs for Thanksgiving, well, that’s another story.

Thanksgiving may well be the perfect backdrop for a romance novel, the ideal setting to figure out if that special someone is actually “The One” — if only because it provides a chance to see how they get along with the extended family, including your crazy Uncle Fred or your ne’er do well younger brother who dreams of being a rap star.  Do they think your family traditions are corny?  Or do they join in when everyone takes a turn at the Thanksgiving meal to share what they are grateful for in 2016?  Yes, seeing your significant other on your home turf can quickly make it clear whether or not you see them becoming part of the family.

Author Marie Ferrarella explored just that dynamic in A Small Town Thanksgiving, Book 8 in her Forever, Texas Series.  Ghostwriter Samantha Monroe finds the warm Thanksgiving welcome of the Rodriguez clan has awakened her yearning to be part of a family. Eldest son Mike Rodriguez hired Sam to preserve his great-great-great-grandmother’s story for future generations, but over pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce the quiet rancher comes to realize his future holidays wouldn’t be complete without Sam as part of his family’s story.

Do you remember the first time you brought a special person home for Thanksgiving?  How did it go?  And what advice would you give someone contemplating doing so this week?

—Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin is editor of The RoadRunner Press, an award-winning traditional publishing house based in the American West. An editor of newspapers, magazines, and books for more than thirty years, she has also worked on national marketing and publicity campaigns with such publishers as Simon and Schuster and St. Martin's and for a number of New York Times bestselling authors, including Robyn Carr, Sabrina Jeffries, Debbie Macomber, Linda Lael Miller, and Wendy Corsi Staub. A graduate of the Stanford University Publishing Course, Jeanne is a member of the Children's Book Council, the National Book Critics Circle, and the Oklahoma Center for the Book of the Library of Congress. She also consults with boutique publishers.

http://www.theroadrunnerpress.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Latest from our Blog

Women in Sacred Dream History

While most scriptural accounts were recorded by men within the historical setting of their time and cultures for an audience of other men, much can be learned about the true nature of  the historical-cultural mindset about gender in relation to the art of sacred dreaming, by evaluating what these sacred texts say about women as… Read More

Read More