Today I am so pleased to welcome Eve Morton to Joyfully Jay. Eve has come to talk to us about her latest release, Holidays in Blue. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

“The Ice Storm” Story

I know the title for many of my stories right away. I find a phrase I like or something that sparks my imagination, and the characters develop from there. Sometimes I’ll plot out the story first, and a particular line emerges. I often refuse to write anything official without a title, too, since I find it helps to define who the characters are and what they will accomplish.

HOLIDAYS IN BLUE was not one of these stories.

I spent a majority of my time writing this story and calling it “The Ice Storm” since its genesis occurred during the 2013 ice storm that overtook the Toronto area. My husband and I were supposed to see his family and we nearly didn’t make it. Our doors and car were ice over, and power went out almost continuously. It was a harrowing experience, but one which, looking back, made our relationship that much stronger.

When we returned, I wanted to write about that particular experience by exploring the question: how can a national disaster–or at least, very bad weather–inspire (or re-inspire) love? The characters came to me right away, and since I’d already lived through a bad ice storm, the rest of the plot was easier to develop than most.

But the title remained difficult. I changed my mind a dozen times, including long after submitting it for publication. So this begs the question now: why HOLIDAYS IN BLUE?

At some point during our adventures in this ice storm, I remembered looking up and seeing the landscape in a completely new way. It was the middle of the night, the power was flickering, and falling tree branches and power-lines were causing small bursts of colour–almost all of them a strange blue. I couldn’t help but think of the entire experience as “blue” in some way–yet “blue” as a colour is often associated with negative experiences, and that’s not what I wanted to represent in this story.

Then I remembered George Gershwin’s musical piece Rhapsody in Blue. It is a delightful instrumental number, utterly upbeat, and so it associates the colour blue with the happily ever after that I wanted my characters, Eric and Cosmin, to also feel as well. It fit perfectly, and so finally, I had a title!


Blurb

Sometimes it takes a little ice to discover a whole lot of heat.

Cosmin Tessler is going home for Christmas. Eric Campbell is too.

Neither expected a homecoming quite like this.

When Cosmin Tessler’s radio show is canceled and Eric Campbell’s acting jobs dry up, they find themselves unexpectedly back in their old Toronto neighborhood…and back in each other’s lives years after they’d gone their separate ways. With a series of failed relationships and one ill-advised marriage behind them, both believe their chance for love has come and gone.

Luck, in the form of a massive ice storm, throws the former neighbors together again and they find themselves stranded, alone, for Christmas. Despite their difference in age, long-ago crushes and undeniable attraction prove too much to resist. But when the ice melts, only time will tell if their burgeoning romance will become just another missed chance—or a love story whose time has finally come.


Bio

Eve Morton is a writer living in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. When she is not teaching classes at the local college or spending time with her family, Eve is often reading a lot of books, listening to music, or researching something new. Find more information on authormorton.wordpress.com.

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