I grew up watching and loving Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas movies where most of the couples didn’t declare their love or kiss until the very end of the movie. It always left me wondering, what happened after that kiss? Did they really get their Happily Ever After? Did they go on and date, get married, have a family? I wanted to know what happened next.
So when I wrote my TV movie Christmas Camp I decided to also write the Christmas Camp novel and sequel Christmas Camp Wedding, so everyone could continue the journey with Haley and Jeff and find out what happened after their kiss.
To do the TV movie and both book projects in the same tight timeline wouldn’t have been possible without the support and encouragement from my steadfast entertainment attorney Neville Johnson, my always encouraging Foundry + Media literary agent, Jessica Regel, and the truly talented and enthusiastic HarperCollins publishing team lead by Liate Stehlik and Jennifer Hart and my editor, May Chen.
From the moment I met May at HarperCollins, I am very thankful to say my publishing collaboration has been one of the most positive experiences in my career. I would also like to stay a heartfelt thank-you to associate editor Elle Keck, copy editor Anne Sharpe, Amelia Wood in marketing, publicist Pamela Spengler Jaffee, and cover artist Amy Halperin.
Before I send in the first draft of any manuscript, I’m truly blessed to have my mom, Lao Schaler, and bonus mom, Kathy Bezold, read everything I write and give priceless feedback, and my ingenious friend Heather Mikesell copyedit so I can write like the wind and make all my tight deadlines.
What a journey this has been! I couldn’t be more grateful for all the continued love and support from my family, including my dad, Harry Schaler, my grandparents Harry and Betty Schaler, my grandmother, Pat Crane, and the rest of the clan.
And for my treasured friends, Greta, Lee, Clint, Lorianne, Lisa, Amy, Tim, Denise, Delia, Heather, and Jeryl, who are like my family, who hung in there with me even when I basically had to disappear to make the TV movie and two books happen.
And finally, a heartfelt thank-you to you, my dear reader, for taking the time to share in Haley and Jeff’s story at Christmas Camp and at Christmas Camp Wedding. Thank you for also caring about what happened next . . .