A Heartfelt Holiday
A letter from Canadian romance author Marie Landry
Last year, my mother-in-law suddenly passed away. Among her many amazing qualities, she was one of the most well-read people I’ve ever met, despite growing up in a small Michigan town and never moving outside a 15-mile radius her whole life.
If you have every suffer a loss, you know that often losing someone special changes you. It shifts your perspective, prompting you to reevaluate everything and everyone around you.
You assess what truly matters, asking questions like, “Am I doing enough with my life?” and “Are my relationships meaningful?”
What if these shifts made you question even the things you were most sure about?
On TikTok, I stumbled across an author brave enough to weave these questions into a heartfelt holiday romance.
I read it. I can’t stop thinking about it. I want to share it with you.
At Home With You This Christmas is a cathartic read for the holiday season, and I’m grateful I found it. Or perhaps, it found me.
I asked Marie, the author, if she would share the inspiration that led her to bring this book into the world, and she kindly agreed.
A Note from Marie 💌
In less than a month, I’ll be celebrating 13 years as a published author. Over the years, I’ve poured a lot of my own experiences into my books, particularly my experiences with grief, anxiety, and depression. I’ve dealt with a lot of loss and trauma in my life, and I think it’s important to write about those things so people who have gone through or are going through something similar see they’re not alone. My goal, as I weave emotional, relatable topics into heartfelt, swoony romances, is to leave readers feeling happy and hopeful.
At the beginning of 2024, I planned to take a publishing break for the year. I was dealing with some burnout after rapid-releasing a five-book series, so I decided to concentrate on other things while I refilled my creative well. I had no way of knowing that 2024 would turn out to be one of the most painful, traumatic years of my life.
My mum died in August after two months in the hospital. Mum was my best friend, my favourite person, my whole world. My life was turned completely upside down and I found myself scrabbling for a lifeline…and a distraction, preferably one I could channel my pain into. And so the idea for At Home With You This Christmas was born. I’d had the seed of an idea for a couple of years, but the story never came together fully until a couple weeks after Mum died.
The story is about a woman named Hazel who’s approaching her first Christmas since her mother died. In the aftermath of her mom’s death, Hazel dealt with her grief by pushing away the people closest to her and isolating herself. That included breaking up with the love of her life, Mason, because she needed time and space to figure out who she was outside of being a daughter and a girlfriend, which were two of the only roles she’d ever known. At the beginning of the story, it’s been months since Hazel and Mason have seen or spoken to each other, but they’ll be in the same small town for Christmas, and Hazel is worried about running into Mason or his family and not only dealing with the repercussions of her mistakes, but also having countless old emotions brought to the surface. The story is told in dual points of view, alternating between Hazel and Mason, so the reader gets to see how each of them has dealt with things over the last few months and that Hazel isn’t the only one whose life has been affected by grief.
I chose this particular storyline because I wanted to highlight how grief is different for every person. It’s complex and has so many layers; it can change you to your very core and make you do things you never thought you’d do. It can harden you or soften you, it can make you feel weak while also strengthening you in ways you never expected.
Writing this story was incredibly difficult, but also cathartic. An unexpected and wonderful experience I’ve had since publishing At Home With You This Christmas has been hearing from countless readers. Some have thanked me for sharing my love and grief through this story. Others have thanked me for not shying away from making Hazel’s grief raw and real. Many have shared their own stories of loss and have offered compassion and friendship. I’m so glad this story is resonating with readers and that a glimmer of something good has come out of this nightmare experience.
Thank you, Marie for sharing an inside glimpse at writing this holiday story. ❤️
📖 Book Blurb
Hazel Morris is dreading the holidays this year. Not only is it her first Christmas since her beloved mother died, it's also the first since she made the biggest mistake of her life and ended her relationship with the best man she's ever known.
After navigating life and grief on her own for the last six months, Hazel is relieved to be spending a quiet Christmas in Honeywell Hollow with her aunt. Except, in keeping with a year where everything has gone wrong, her aunt has forgotten their plans and left town...
Mason Reynolds hasn't told his family that the love of his life broke up with him six months ago. He meant to, really he did, but he's been holding onto every last shred of hope that Hazel would come back to him.
So when he walks into his parents' house the week before Christmas and finds Hazel there, he thinks she's a living, breathing Christmas miracle. But she's not there for him. And she's determined not to stay.
If Mason can convince Hazel to stay, he's certain he can remind her that they're meant to be and show her he can be her shelter after so much pain. Otherwise, he knows he’ll have to let her go for good and end up more brokenhearted than before.
Can these two exes embrace an unexpected Christmas together and let the magic of the holiday season heal their battered hearts?
At Home With You This Christmas is a sweet and steamy holiday novella. Despite the heavy themes of grief, it’s also hopeful, funny, and romantic. Please be sure to read the author’s note and content warnings at the beginning of the book if grief/loss of a parent is a sensitive topic for you.
Check out At Home With You This Christmas HERE for e-book, or click HERE for the paperback.
❤️❤️❤️
Is there someone you wish was still here with you this holiday season? If you want to share, I would love to know who that special person was for you.
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