'I've never felt less festive': the art of writing Christmas novels, 365 days a year

Drinking sherry, bingeing Downton Abbey ... how authors keep up the spirit of the season, even when writing during heatwaves and a nightmarish ChristmasChristmas novels are not a new phenomenon. Charles Dickens sold out of his first print run of A Christmas Carol in days in December 1843, while Agatha Christie played on seasonal stresses with titles including The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding in 1923 and Hercule Poirot’s Christmas in 1938. But these days, there are acres of festive crime and rags-to-riches romances under the mistletoe to choose from. All tastes are catered for, whether it’s a love of trains (Edward Marston’s Victorian railway detective story A Christmas Railway Mystery), religion (Unlikely Santa: An Amish Christmas Story) or even festive erotica. Ebook retailer Smashwords stocks romance titles including The Old Dragon of the Mountain’s Christmas, and the inventive-sounding A Cyborg’s Old Terran Christmas. (“Interstellar bride Nell and her three children are forced to enter space-sleep capsules in the hope of surviving a calamity. She wakes over 700 years later on a ship of cyborg warriors. In this strange environment, Nell can’t imagine what their future will hold, but she is determined to keep her promise and make Christmas for her children.”)It may sound futuristic, but it is part of a long tradition beloved by readers. As Christina Storey at Allison & Busby, an independent publisher whose titles this year range from Anna Jacobs’ Christmas in... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-12-17 15:22:04 UTC ]

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Lena Dunham's surprise book sells out in 24 hours

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[ The Guardian | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Profile turnover exceeds £10m

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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To Defy Amazon, Kinokuniya Corners the Market on New Murakami

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Batsford's half-million print run for Marotta

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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And Other Stories accepts Shamsie challenge

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SAGE acquires Pion

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printing and Publishing at Black Classic Press

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Industry seconds Franklin’s fears for further cuts to libraries

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‘It was a classic case of naive creatives, not protecting what they’d got’

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Halt sales of Jonasson bestseller, court tells UK publisher

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More UK publisher deals for Bookmate

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A&B acquires second title by Stockwin

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O/R Teams with 'Evergreen Review'

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Charlie Hebdo: murders a twisted vote of confidence in the power of ink and paper

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Apple, Google and Facebook lend support and money to Je Suis Charlie campaign

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Mark Smith to join Bonnier Publishing

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Same-day delivery from SelfMadeHero

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