It feels like forever since Rebecca Raisin was last featured on the blog so it's my pleasure to welcome her to the blog today to talk about her latest book Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop which was published last month.
Thanks for having me back! I’m a romance writer from Australia who writes for HQ Stories. About eight years ago I entered a competition with Carina (now HQ Stories) and won a two-book publishing contract. I’ve been with them ever since! I write heart-warming rom coms, usually set in exotic locations. My books always have a strong friendship element and my heroines are on the quirky side!
If you had to give an elevator pitch for your latest book Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop, what would it be?
Festive Flora’s life implodes so she jumps out of her comfort zone and into a Van Life and and sets off to Lapland, where she meets a Scrooge-like hero who is in need of a Christmas intervention!
Before she can say ‘sleigh bells’, Flora’s on her way to Lapland in a campervan-cum-Christmas-shop. She can’t wait to spend her days drinking hot chocolate and taking reindeer-drawn carriage rides, but something Flora didn’t expect was meeting Connor, a Norse god of a man who makes her heart flutter and snowflakes swirl in her stomach. There’s just one problem: Connor hates Christmas.
Can Flora convince Connor of the joys of Christmas – and will she find a festive romance along the way?
I love the idea of a road trip in a camper van to Lapland, where did the inspiration come from?
I’m fascinated by the Van Life phenomenon that’s gained in popularity over the last few years. The whole idea being you live a minimalist life, work on your own terms, either out of your van with a pop-up shop (like Flora does) or as a digital nomad, or whatever takes your fancy. These Van Lifers are leaving the 9-5 behind, the eye watering mortgages, and living simply while exploring the globe in their vans. It appealed to my sense of adventure and love of travel. If I could fit my family and pooch in a little van, I would!
How did you go about researching road trips? And have you been to Lapland yourself?
In terms of researching, I charted the course and figured the best way was for Flora to buy a van in Stockholm and drive from there to Lapland. It made more sense financially as she’s already trying to conserve her money until she sets up her shop, and it left her open to the challenges of buying a vehicle in a foreign country and navigating not only that but driving on the wrong side the road in snowy climes! I haven’t been to Lapland, and always wanted to just for the Northern Lights, but after researching everything Lapland has to offer at Christmastime, it’s at the top of my list now! There’s so much to see and do over Christmas, and I wanted to include more of that in the book but I couldn’t fit it all! There’s something for everyone and I cannot wait to get there one day.
What are the challenges of writing a novel set in another continent especially in a time of restricted travel?
Probably the yearning to travel and make my own plans and not having an exact date that will ever happen! While the rest of Australia has recently opened up for travel again, WA where I live hasn’t. We still don’t know when we will be able to leave our state/country, so it’s always bittersweet these days researching places that we can only dream about. I look forward to our first holiday, whenever that will be, that’s for sure!
So far we've seen a Travelling Tea Shop, a Travelling Book Shop and now a Travelling Christmas Shop, can we expect further on the road adventures in the future?
I have other plans after this one, but I do hope do to another Van Life book! I love the idea of exploring more places with new a character and a new set of circumstances. My plan was to have all of the characters from each book to meet up, so maybe you’ll see that!
Most of your books have been set overseas, have you any plans to write a book set in Australia?
I love reading books set in Australia but I don’t feel any inclination to write about it. I enjoy writing about glamorous places, or fictional villages and discovering what those places have to offer, just as my heroines do. It’s a way of living vicariously through them, I suppose! And in these times of restricted travel it’s been a joy for me to spend my days dreaming about all these beautiful places and having that escape even if it’s just through the screen.
What comes first for you, characters or plot?
It can be both. With Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop, the character came first. I wanted to write the most festive book I could. I wanted it to be the heart and soul of Christmas so I imagined Flora as this self-cofessed festive fanatic who lives and breathes Christmas – but tied to that is her reason why which makes it quite sweet. For her Christmas had been all about celebrating with her Nan, finding the joy in decorating and all the traditions they did together. Flora wants to share that joy with everyone, singing carols, and making gingerbread, all the simple things that conjure Christmas so when she meets Connor, who believes Christmas is a con, she’s incensed and feels she has to correct this injustice. The plot is then driven by Flora’s need to show him what Christmas is all about if he will just stop and listen!
Do you have a typical writing day or routine?
I’m at my desk for a couple of sessions a day. I usually break it up by taking the dog for a walk and then get back into it. In the afternoon I do more of the social media side of things as the UK wakes up! When it’s closer to deadline time, I’m chained to my desk and am usually surrounded by coffee cups!
Thank you so much for having me!
Buy links:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3ycZ6UM
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3gtWYSS
Amazon AUS: https://amzn.to/3sHpYLx
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