I would like to preface this by admitting that I am not a lover of Christmas (or really, any occasion where I have to receive things—I turn into an awkward weirdo unable to find the words needed to sound sincere in my thanks; it’s a curse). Having admitted this, I swear on Cate Blanchett’s Christmastime Carol that I’m not a Grinch. I love that other people love the holiday season, but Christmas is just another day for me, albeit one with free rein to eat and drink whatever I want and in whatever quantities I want.

So, why did a person who’s not a Christmas person write a Christmas story? For the same reason I’ve written all my novels—I had an idea!

I don’t recall when the idea first hit me, but I think it was a few years back, probably near December when all the holiday stories seep out of the woodwork like they’ve just been lurking, waiting to jump out and shine. And, as I tend to, I had a little mind wander—this time about two women from different countries sharing their Christmas traditions. Of course one would be gung-ho about the whole shebang, and the other less so.

And so, Merry Weihnachten arrived, and my main characters of American Evie and German Annika were created (and yes, that’s their nationality, not their actual full names). I’m sure people are wondering about the title, which is a portmanteau of Christmas greetings: Merry Christmas (English) and Frohe Weihnachten (German), and why of all the nationalities I could have had for my not American character, why did I make Annika German? Honestly, it was mostly because I really like to amuse myself and the sound of “Merry Weihnachten” amuses me.

But on a serious, authorly note, I also made Annika German because German Christmas stuff lasts a long time, with events on more days than just the 25th of December, so it gave me more opportunities to put my main characters together, which is one of the hardest things about romance writing—you have to give your characters space to interact and fall in love. And with all those German Christmas events, and Evie and Annika being neighbours, giving them time together was the easy part.

So I had the easy part, which meant, of course, I had to have a hard part. In this case, it was my usual issue: I knew eff-all about the important thing I was writing about—American and German Christmas celebrations. So I went first to one of my favourite research sources, social media, and was rewarded with Americans, Germans, and some Austrians sharing their traditions with me, which helped me round out the novel. 10/10 for this method of research, and I remain staunchly committed to it as my first go-to when I need information for a book. I also had my Pocket German, Chris Zett, to help me. Even though I’ve thanked her in the acknowledgments, she deserves an extra mention for going above and beyond assisting me with Merry Weihnachten (I don’t know how she feels about the title, though…)

On the enjoyment-of-writing scale, this one ranked very highly for me, and I’m excited for everyone to spend time with Evie and Annika. I hope you all have a great holiday season, however you choose to celebrate, or not. And if you have an American-German household, enjoy your Merry Weihnachten! (Feel free to credit me every time you say that.)