My author day has been changed. Instead of being in November, it will now take place on December 5th from 1-3pm EST. By Grace is making this a day long Christmas Party on our Yahoo Readers Group. Besides my book, the By Grace Anthology entitled, Christmas Grace, will also be realeased. So, there will be four authors on the loop that day at different times. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bgpreadersloop/ To learn more about the anthology visit Laura Hamby’s website at http://www.freewebs.com/laurahamby/sneakpeakspotlight.htm. I look forward to seeing you all there. And remember The Spirit of Christmas will be released on December 15, 2006!

Nick is our tall, tawny haired, hazel eyed hero who is always well-dressed and well-mannered with never a hair out of place. He is Kathryn’s writing partner and the senior of the group. He’s been there about two years longer than her. Nick is definitely the mild mannered reporter type. He is the nice guy around the office who is always in good spirits, available to take hysterical phone calls 24/7, and he also happens to be in love with Kathryn. So, it’s no mistake that when he learns Kathryn has lost her spirit of Christmas that he intends to help her find it again.

When I came to naming this character, I decided to think Christmas since this is a Christmas book after all. So, I named him Nick Pringle which is like St. Nick and the Pringle is close to Kringle. Nick Pringle. Silly I know, but it works.

Nick is mild mannered so much so that he doesn’t want to rock the boat with Kathryn. Of course, he likes to tease her; and he loves how riled she can get – but it is always in fun. He knows that he loves her now (that was a big surprise for him all by itself). And he doesn’t want to change things because things are good. But then he starts sending her gifts from a Secret Santa, and Kathryn starts falling for him because he seems to know her so well. This finally gets Nick to move into action culminating in the finale.

This week my friend, Rebecca Goings, is celebrating her birthday on her Google Group, The Magic of Romance. Visit us this week for her B*E*A*S*T Birthday Bash all this week. This fun will include Becka and many of the other authors in the group. There will be excerpts, games, prizes, and cameos of our heroes/heroines/villains. So, make sure to come on out.

(http://groups.google.com/group/themagicofromance)

Kathryn is the dark haired, blued eyed heroine of our story. If you really want to understand her character, think “Lois Lane.” I have to admit to being a huge Superman fan, and when I came to write this novella, I thought it would be great to use LL as my inspiration. Kathryn is not exactly like Lois, but you will see similarities. When it came to naming this character, I decided to use the name of a great newspaper woman. I named her after Katherine Graham, the famous journalist and later owner of the Washington Post. I changed the spelling of the name, making her Kathryn and the hero, Nick, calls her Kat.

A few words to describe Kathryn: smart, attractive, stubborn, and sometimes abrasive. She is the type that puts on a hard exterior but inside she’s mush. She isn’t close to her family, so she puts everything she has into her job. She wants to be a part of the legitimate press instead of having to write all these “puff pieces,” as she calls them. You know, public interest stories. She doesn’t find them important enough. To quote her, “Give me a shoot out, bank robbery or a scandal any day of the week. Then I’ll be happy.” Oh, and did I mention that she hates Christmas? Well, there is a reason for that. To find out why, you will just have to read the book. And then there is Nick. He is the one person in the world that she calls in the middle of the night and actually cares to spend time with. But she has never thought of him as anything more than a friend, and a best friend at that.

Remember the release date for The Spirit of Christmas is December 15^th at By Grace Publishing (http://www.bygracepublishing.com/). I hope to see you around next time as we find out about our intrepid reporter’s hero, Nick Pringle.