Margo hadn’t minced words when she’d said this was do-or-die time, and that they needed to make some big changes to get Riley back on the best-seller list where she belonged.
Since Riley had started writing lighthearted, uplifting summer romance novels six years earlier, every book, even her first, had been a bestseller. In reviews, her loyal readers used adjectives like smart, funny, relatable, authentic, and heartfelt to describe her writing. But when Heart of Summer was released, those same loyal readers had been disappointed, saying Heart of Summer was missing the . . . heart.
There had been no one more disappointed than Riley to hear these reviews. She always put everything she had into her stories, and while she had struggled writing this latest novel, she didn’t think it was something her readers would pick up on.
She’d been wrong.
It was almost as if her readers knew her better than she knew herself. She had written Heart of Summer after breaking up with boyfriend, Tyler. The crazy part was one of the reason’s she’d ended their relationship was so she could concentrate on her writing career, a move that had apparently backfired, according to her book reviewers.
Margo had been even more blunt, saying that her last two novels had fallen flat and were missing what made her fans love her so much—a voice that spoke to them, that they could relate to.
So Margo had found Mike, the powerhouse publicist with an ego to match. He was all about doing whatever it took to make headlines and get media attention. His latest idea was to have Riley host an author event at a Christmas Camp over a weekend at a charming winter lodge in the Rocky Mountains. At the event, Riley would not only be talking about her first Christmas book coming up, she would actually be asking her fans at the camp to help her create that story by telling her what kind of things they wanted to see in a Christmas novel. In addition to getting feedback from the guests she met, there would also be an
ongoing social media campaign following her at Christmas Camp, where her fans anywhere in the world could also share their story ideas with her online.
Mike believed this kind of unique interactive experience would help Riley’s fans feel more connected and personally invested in her next novel, and hopefully, that would translate into more sales and put Riley back on the best-seller list. He also believed all the publicity could help boost sales of Heart of Summer.
Margo and the publisher had loved the idea. Margo also thought this Christmas Camp would help Riley get her Christmas creative juices flowing. This was critical because Riley needed to get a story outline to her publisher by the end of the year.
Riley was assured that one of Mike’s friends, Luke, whose family owned the lodge, would be planning everything for the Christmas Camp and all she had to do was show up and host an opening-night reception and interact with the guests. The guests would be some of Riley’s top fans who had been handpicked by her publicity team during a special social media campaign.
Riley had to give Mike credit for one thing. He’d been right about how popular this whole interactive storytelling idea would be. Within an hour of her publicity team announcing that she would be doing the Christmas Camp on social media, more than twenty thousand people had applied to attend.
While Riley had been stunned by the response, especially before they’d even posted a schedule of exactly what the Christmas Camp was going to be like, Mike had said it was proof that Riley’s Christmas Camp would be a win-win for everyone.
The lodge would get the publicity it wanted, and Riley would get a huge publicity boost herself, along with some great ideas for her Christmas novel.
Riley was counting on those ideas because right now, she was Christmas clueless when it came to what to write.
She was smart enough to know that the people who loved Christmas really loved Christmas. They were the kind of people who signed up for a Christmas Camp having no idea what it was. If she didn’t write something authentic, her fans had already proved they’d see right through her.
She hoped Google didn’t let her down and planned to start researching all things Christmas as soon as her interview was over.
If she ever got to the interview.
She laughed a little to herself.
This whole thing is crazy.
If someone had told her she would be here, in a cab driven by Santa during a freak snowstorm, racing to make a live interview announcing her upcoming Christmas story and Christmas Camp, she would have said they were nuttier than a nutcracker.
Another text from Mike lit up her phone.
THE PRODUCER IS GOING TO CANCEL YOUR INTERVIEW! WHERE ARE YOU?!
She winced. She could practically hear him yelling through her phone. She was just starting to text him back when the cab came to a screeching halt.
“We’re here!” her Santa driver announced in a jolliest of voices.
Riley looked up, and sure enough they were right in front of the TV station. Her laugher came from pure relief as she handed him a generous tip.
“I don’t know how you did it,” she said, shaking her head in amazement. “You’re the best! Thank you so much!” She hastily put the hood of her coat up, opened her door, and immediately got blasted with an icy mix of whirling wind and snow.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed, blinking several times to get the snowflakes out of her eyes. “This weather is ridiculous!”
“Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s Christmas weather,” the Santa driver answered back with another big belly laugh. “Merry Christmas. Good luck with your Christmas book!”
“Thank you!” Riley shouted back as she got out and shut the door behind her.
As she made a mad dash for the door, she realized she had never told her Santa driver about her book. Confused, she glanced back at the cab.
But it was gone.
When she turned
