Waves of Fiction: Author Spotlight: Chrisit Barth of Ask Her At Christmas

Friday, December 14, 2012

Author Spotlight: Chrisit Barth of Ask Her At Christmas

Today, Waves of Fiction is excited to spotlight Christi Barth author of Ask Her At Christmas.

Ask Her At Christmas by Christi Barth
Published December 3rd 2012 by Carina Press
Purchase: Amazon

About the book

Caitlin McIntyre’s heart stops when her best friend drops to one knee and proposes. Kyle Lockhart never once hinted over the years that he has any idea she’s in love with him. Not wanting to jeopardize their friendship, she’s never let it slip. Good thing, too, since it turns out he’s only practicing—he’s about to propose to someone else.

A business merger might not be the most romantic reason to propose to a woman he barely knows, but Kyle’s determined to win the respect of the dying father who’s never seen him as quite good enough. Kyle’s always depended on Caitlin’s friendship, while trying to ignore the physical response she arouses. So he turns to her when it comes time to craft his proposal, not realizing his decision will affect their relationship, forever.

This Christmas, Kyle and Caitlin get one last chance to admit their feelings for each other, and find a mutual happily ever after, before he commits his life to another woman and Caitlin leaves town and him…for good.

My Thoughts
Ask Her At Christmas is a holiday story about two best friends that take a chance at love after ten long years of friendship. This novella has the perfect Christmas background wrapped around a timeless tale of friends falling in love that will keep you both entertained and engaged.

Caitlin McIntrye and Kyle Lockhart have been there for each other for many years. So when Kyle is put in a position to enter a marriage of convenience for the sake of his families business, Caitlin hides her growing feelings for him to help him plan the perfect proposal. As the time draws near and their attraction becomes difficult to ignore, Kyle must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice to be with the one he really wants.

I love holiday stories and even more, I adore happily-ever-afters. I really liked both Caitlin and Kyle's characters, so it was sweet to see that it all eventually works out for this pair. This story does require a minimal amount of reality suspension, but when you're dealing with a short story, it just comes with the territory. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and finished it in one sitting. Very sweet Christmas story about love and friendship.

3.5 Suns

As an added bonus, Ask Her At Christmas can also be purchased as part of a Christmas Anthology.

Romancing the Holiday
Contributing authors: Jaci Burton, HelenKay Dimon, and Christi Barth
Purchase: Amazon

Author Interview

Waves of Fiction had the pleasure of interviewing Christi Barth! Check out what she had to say about her writing and future projects.

What do you hope readers will come to like about your main characters Caitlin and Kyle in this story?
That their friendship is the bedrock of both their lives. I think that makes a huge difference to a relationship. You have to genuinely like someone in addition to being in love/lust in order to last for decades together.

Your novel is also included in the book "Romancing the Holiday." How did you come about teaming up with Burton and Dimon to publish this Christmas anthology?
Great good luck. When Carina Press contracted my Aisle Bound series, my editor also tossed in the request that I do a Christmas novella. It scared the pants off of me. Everything I’d ever written was 98,000 words. I had no idea how to even contemplate a novella. But then she told me that there’d be two New York Times bestselling authors in the anthology, and I knew it was an opportunity not to be missed. So I stopped my whining, thanked my editor profusely, and dove right in. With some help on how to structure something such a different length from my brilliant chapter-mate Stephanie Dray.

What influenced you to start writing and publishing your novels?
I always wanted to be an author. As a bookworm and a speedreader, I’ve had a deep and undying love for writing forever. To stave off boredom during the summer between 8th & 9th grade (I was 12), I wrote a 60 page opus entitled Alyssa’s Last Look. It was a historical, and I’m very glad I can barely remember it. What with not being allowed to watch much television, writing gave me something to do over vacation. Of course, I also wanted to be a princess, just for the pretty clothes and tiaras. The chances of either career goal coming to pass looked slim. However, I first realized that I actually could be a writer five years ago, when I completed my first book (which I sold!). Having a complete manuscript under my belt made it real.

What is it about the contemporary romance genre that attracts you the most? Would you ever consider writing in a different genre?
The smart-aleck answer is that I'm too lazy to do research. Except I do still end up doing a surprising amount! Honestly, I enjoy how relatable all the characters and situations are. A contemporary books gives you an escape, but one you can easily picture participating in yourself, for real. I do have a contemporary trilogy I'm kicking around that has a paranormal subplot, but that won't happen for a few years.

When you're not working on your novels, what do you like to spend time doing?
Reading – I’m a huge bookworm. And I adore cooking. Love throwing dinner parties (at which I always try out new, complex recipes). I read cookbooks for fun!

Can you share with us a little something about your next project?
Last week I finished (whew) writing book 3 of the Aisle Bound series, Friends to Lovers. It follows Daphne the florist and Gib the British lothario as they journey from—well, friends to lovers! But after only taking two days off to recover, I started writing next year’s Christmas novella. I wrote Ask Her At Christmas in March, and discovered it really isn’t any fun thinking about Christmas festivities then. So I tweaked my schedule in order to write about the holidays during December.

So what book wish do you hope will be granted to you this holiday season? :)
Lots of foreign translation sales!!!

What are you excited to read next?
Sooo many good things coming out next year. Christie Ridgway's Beach House No. 9, Stephanie Draven's It Stings So Sweet, Victoria Dahl's Too Hot to Handle, and the 1st in Nora Robert's Irish magic trilogy.

About the Author