This week: Christmas in July Romance Edited by: StephBee  
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“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year.” – Charles Dickens
“A good conscious is a continual Christmas.” – Benjamin Franklin
Welcome to July, everyone! Summer is here and it’s hot, hot, hot! Lol. Well, pretty much it’s hot. In the USA we celebrate our national birthday on the 4th of July and it’s one of my favorite holidays because I love the fireworks displays. I especially love seeing fireworks over the water, or a coastline, and I miss the days we’d go to Catalina Island for the 4th.
July is also National Hot Dog and Watermelon month. Perfect calls if you ask me. Last month, I put up a poll asking what was your favorite summer movie. I want to thank everyone who took the poll. The choices were: Grease, Mamma Mia, Dirty Dancing, and Say Anything. The winner of the poll was….drum roll… Grease! This month I came up with a Christmas in July mablib. If you take the madlib, review it, and send me your madlib, I’ll send you back a merit badge for madlibs.
What’s so appealing about Christmas in July romance stories anyway? It’s hot as hectic in July! Well, maybe that’s one aspect of the appeal – A Christmas romance in July will cool you off. In this newsletter we’ll look at the appeal of Christmas in July romance, how the concept got started, and examine some of the elements and tropes that make a good Christmas romance in summer.
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So, what’s the appeal of Christmas in July, anyway? As I mentioned above, a heartwarming chilly Christmas romance just might be thing needed to cool off halfway through the year. When we think about the Christmas season we think about hope, joy, and goodwill. We tend to be a bit more generous during the Christmas season. Anticipation builds our excitement and goodwill. Being with loved ones warms the heart. July is a good time to remind ourselves of these feelings, especially since Christmas is still a long ways off.
The history of the concept ‘Christmas in July’ has its roots in the 1890’s. A French opera called “Werther” had a group of children rehearse a Christmas song in July, because when you sing Christmas songs in the summertime, the idea was you rush the season into coming back.
In the USA, one of the earliest “Christmas in July” celebrations took place at Keystone Camp in Brevard, North Carolina during the summer of 1933. The camp went all out and used cotton for fake snow, put up a tree, and had a Santa Claus. In 1940, Hollywood came out with a movie called “Christmas in July.” It was a comedy where a man is fooled into thinking he won $25,000 in an advertising slogan contest. Then, in 1942, the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington DC collected cards and gifts to donate to missions around the world. In the 1950’s marketing companies began to use the concept to market items early and cheap for Christmas.
So, what makes a good Christmas story? Classically speaking you need a feisty heroine, a rugged hero, a cozy small town, snow, pointless low stake drama such as hot chocolate or mulled wine for the party, lots of Santa hats, well-meaning friends, and a sprinkle of Christmas traditions that you just can’t just miss.
Location is big. You want to make the reader feel like it’s Christmas. If you’re going for the Christmas in July comedy, a little cotton or pillow stuffing like they used at Camp Keystone is acceptable. Still, it’s Christmas so a little chill is a must to warm the heart.
Tap into the senses, and Christmas offers a lot of options. There’s pies, candles, tinsel, pine trees, frost, Christmas carols, stockings, don’t leave anything out. Soften the reader up with the scents and tastes of some of the season’s favorite foods and hit ‘em with some romantic low light from the candles. Stir the heart with the sentimental songs.
And remember it’s not all high points. There are some low points. Maybe someone’s car runs out of gas because they bought too many presents. End the story on a good note and leave the reader smiling.
Here are a couple of Christmas tropes that work well in romance:
1. Two people who are just friends, but are secretly attracted to one another, agree to share a dinner because other friends and family are out of town.
2. The Christmas ornament is enchanted.
3. Someone is on a quest to find the ‘right’ Christmas gift for that special someone.
A gentle reminder about the good hearted feelings Christmas stirs, just might be the thing to get you over sizzling summer of July. Enjoy!
References:
https://www.southernliving.com/holidays-occasions/christmas/how-did-christmas-ju...
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A Rondelet poem written for the Christmas in July Contest.
#2163043 by Jeff  |
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Feedback from my Romance/Love NL dated 14 June 2023:
Incurable Romantic 
Steph, in your Romance/Love NL of 6.14.23, you asked us, "What was that first hint you detected when you met your significant other?"
On the night my late wife Linda and I met, it was 11:00 PM on Tuesday, March 8, 1966. We'd just finished a pit orchestra rehearsal for the high school musical, and she and I both, independently, walked to the orchestra conductor's office to use the phone to call our parents to pick us up (no cell phones in 1966 ).
She tried her parents first, and got a busy signal. I called mine with no problem, then she tried again. This time she couldn't even get an outside line to try her call. Dad and I gave her a ride home that night.
NOW. In answer to your question, that first little 'hint' I caught was when, as my dad drove, Linda laid her head on my shoulder, and kept it there all the way until my dad pulled into her driveway. Only when he stopped the car in her driveway did she take her head from my shoulder.
Needless to say, I've never forgotten that moment, and she and I shared many a warm, tender moment talking about that "little" gesture of love during our few short years together before she passed away.
Jim - aka Incurable Romantic
Thank you for sharing such a heartwarming memory.
Max Griffin 🏳️🌈 
Steph, Interesting article on demographics of readers. My publisher once told me that over half of the readers of my M/M romance novels were str8 women, so the "gay" reader demographic may understate the demand for M/M romance. Still, I admit M/M romance is a niche market. As to how I meant my SO, it was through an email feedback to one of my webpages, of course.
Thanks for sharing. If anything, I wish I could have found more timely demographics, but I used the most update I could find. I think demographics are useful in marketing and targeting audiences, but they have to be accurate, and it’s good that your publisher was able to give you some deeper insight. Heck, if you never take a chance, like your SO did with an email, you’ll never know. 
s 
How did I know my ex-wife was interested? She literally told me. I am appalling at reading those cues, and after being in group situations for a few months, she came up to me and said something like, "Are you going to ask me out or do I have to do all the heavy lifting?" I told her maybe she should. She did.
You know, sometimes it’s like that.
NaNoNette 
The last romance that I read was a fantasy YA book. The romance in there developed as the girl and boy characters saved each other's lives repeatedly while fighting demons. Touching each other's hair or elbow would be strange.
A word on touching a person's hair or elbow. Unless that has been explicitly agreed upon, this can get people in trouble in the real world now. That's why I don't think any character should take liberties with another character's body in any way before the romance is established and consent can at least be assumed. The most touching I would do is the accidental finger touching while handing over an object. Or something similarly neutral.
I appreciate you sharing the insights into the romantic fantasy YA book. I suppose, I’m an old fashioned writer, and I need to take a look outside of my comfort zone, especially in today’s modern world, but you make an excellent point: Consent is a must in regards to romance.
StephBee is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her story, "Arrow Through the Heart" is now avail on Amazon as an ebook. Ella is a tennis pro in danger. Can Logan find a way to keep her safe?
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Romance/Love: July 12, 2023 Issue [#12059]
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