I. Love. Snow.
If you’re one of my Facebook friends, you may already know that my winter posts there consist of me criticizing my neck of Kansas for its deplorable lack of snow.
How bad is it here? Guys, we haven’t had snow that covered the grass since March of 2013! That’s almost five years ago.
Five years!!! I’m seriously beginning to think that I live in the Bermuda triangle for snow.
My youngest, who is nine, doesn’t really remember playing in the snow. My oldest has shoveled snow a couple times, but it has been awhile. And while I complain about not having snow and about the very mild winters where we live, I know that if we were ever to move back north, we would be in for the shock of our lives.
Yes, we’ve gone soft when it comes to winter. And while I really, really do like snow and want snow, I totally do not complain when we get that week in January where it’s fifty degrees. Or sixty degrees. Yep, I can take that all winter long. Unless there’s precipitation coming! Then the temperature needs to drop like a snow-covered ice ball. (But I know it won’t.)
Here’s the thing, though — when I write a book, it takes place in the… summer! Which is pretty much my least favorite season because it gets so hot. But yep, I’m a diehard summer-setting writer. It’s funny what writing reveals to you about yourself.
I’ve also learned that I don’t care for seasonal novellas. If a book is being promoted as a Christmas novella or a spring novel or if the season is being promoted in any way as a big part of the story, I’m not interested.
I’m so strange, aren’t I? I would like to figure out why I feel this way, but I have no clue.
As I was writing this post, I was searching for books I loved that had winter settings. All I could come up with was Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene, which is one of my all-time favorite books. There’s snow and cold weather and Christmases all over that book. But again, that’s not what that book is about.
So I’m turning to you, Inspy Romance readers, for your recommendations on the best winter setting or Christmas books. Help this Grinchy anti-winter reader! What books have you loved that had a Christmas setting or had winter all throughout the pages? Send them my way because if we get another winter like the last five… I may only be able to find snow in a book!
Sally Bradley writes big-city fiction with real issues and real hope. A Chicagoan since age five, Sally has been fascinated by all things Chicago (except for crime, politics, and traffic) for almost as long. She now lives in the Kansas City area with her family, but they get back to Chicago for important things -- like good pizza and a White Sox game. A freelance-fiction editor and former president of her writing chapter, Sally has won a handful of awards for Kept and another work-in-progress. Visit her online at sallybradley.com or on Facebook.
HI Sally. Great post! Living in Australia, Christmas is in Summer and often marks the beginning of the hotter part of summer- up until Christmas it is usually pretty mild, after Christmas- the heat turns up! The idea of snow at Christmas is bizarre to this Aussie girl!!
I love the Thoene’s Zion series too- they are regular re-reads. Two fun Christmas books I recently read were by an Aussie author Nicki Edwards “Operation White Christmas” and “Operation Mistletoe Magic” as well as a couple by inspy authors.
Blessings:)
Hi Sally This Aussie has only seen old snow which was like me defrosting my freezer and throwing it out on the lawn then playing in it. In other words the snow was really ice. I do enjoy reading Christmas novella’s because I get to experience Christmas in different places. Its not so much the season as I would read it weather Summer like here or Winter like where you are.
I don’t really take notice as much of the season books are set in because its different to here.
Funny how you write Summer books when its your least favourite season, maybe your secret writer side loves it and makes you write it. I personally love Summer but dislike winter. Although saying that I would love to see real snow.
Hi Sally, I live in the Southern hemisphere, so Christmas is in the summer and I love it. Once we’ve had Christmas Eve Service outside (when the church was undergoing renovations) and the congregation loved it so much that we’ve repeated a couple of more times — until the couple who was allowing us to use their space had retired and move to a beach town. I’ve also spent a few Christmas at the beach, which is a popular thing to do.
When I lived in Upstate NY I hated snow and couldn’t fathom a white Christmas–it just didn’t feel right. My Pastor always made fun of me because I used to hum Christmas songs in the summer, specially if there were fireflies (They totally remind me of Christmas time). Once I actually asked the organist if he’d play a Christmas song. He loved the idea, but Pastor said it wouldn’t be appropriate and people might misinterpret. Oh well.
We’re back south and my husband was making jokes the other day about sending a Christmas card to our friends with Christmas lights in palm trees this year–though he figured that might be a popular joke for everyone from Florida area, we still have some of those around here.
As for your question, I personally don’t care about the setting (which season and all that) for books. If the story draws my attention, they I’ll read it.
I dont really care what season the book is in. I love snow but we’ve moved southwest and won’t see as much. All we’ve had so far is a few flurries here in Kentucky.
Hi Sally, I could send you some Michigan snow! I also LOVE snow, especially for December. Living in SW Michigan we have had an unseasonable warm fall, but received our first snow last weekend and it has been snowing gently off and on ever since. What caught Michiganders by surprise, was the bitter North Wind that came with the snow. Our bodies haven’t adjusted to the low temperatures. The brisk north winds created beautiful waves and ice formations on our beach and lighthouse. Our local photographer Joshua Nowicki daily braves the elements, so retirees can enjoy the beauty of Lake Michigan from the comfort of our homes. As a person, who enjoys the four seasons, I enjoy reading seasonal books with winter settings. Just finished reading the series: The Twelve Days of Christmas Mail Order Brides, set at Christmas 1876 in Noelle, Colorado. Holiday lights are spectacular during the early evening winter nights. Merry Christmas.
“Cozy in kansas” by Nancy mehl! Funny it takes place in kansas, but it had a ton of snow throughout the book. Reminded me of “the long winter” from laura ingles wilder.
I can relate to the lack of snow here in Oklahoma since i grew up in Minnesota. Thats what i miss most about mn. My other fav series is a young adult series by lois walfrid johnson. ” the northwoods” as a teenager i read these books over and over. They take place in winter in Wisconsin.
Dan Walsh has a couple of good Christmas books: Keeping Christmas is one of them. Melissa Tagg’s “Enchanted” series is a fun one too.
Wemble, summer at Christmas is just as bizarre to this Northern Hemisphere girl! :) It’s cold with snow on the ground where we’re at today, and I told one of my kids it’s only going to get a lot colder after Christmas. How opposite our conversations are, right?
Thanks for the tips. I will look at those.
Jenny, you’re very creative when it comes to creating snow! That’s not a bad idea. I bet kids would like that. :)
Priscila, isn’t it funny how we each have such personal feelings about how Christmas should be? I’m glad you have your warm Christmas again. :) And I say, sure, send out those Christmas cards with palm trees. Variety is a good thing, right?
Diana, it seems like when Kentucky gets snow, the state shuts down, right? And another reader who doesn’t care about the season! We’re alike in that way too.
Renate, we had a cool fall this year, and I loved that. Our first snowfall–just in the air–was before Halloween. Which is crazy since we’ve had so little snow this year. But it is possible to get snow where we live, and that possibility keeps me going, lol. I hope you adjust to the cold and that your photographer keeps taking those pictures! He sounds great. Do you ever share those on Facebook?
Ashley, thanks for the reads! I know parts of Kansas do get a lot of snow; we’re just in the Kansas Bermuda triangle snow here. :( Even just half an hour north will get so much more snow than us. It’s weird, like there’s a snow barrier there or something.
I was born in MN and have a lot of extended family there. It’s a beautiful state, especially in the winter with snow over everything! Every so often my parents would try to visit family over the holidays, but we always ended up having to leave early with a blizzard chasing us home.
Margaret, thank you! I’ll check those out.
I grew up on a beach south of San Diego and have lived in Southern California most of my life. But our 11 year sojourn in Chicago has spoiled me for these pseudo winters! I really miss the cold and snow. It has been in the 80’s here and just doesn’t seem right.
For winter or Christmas settings in books, I immediately thought of Cynthia Ruchti’s novellas- An Endless Christmas and Restoring Christmas. Love them both- and I don’t generally enjoy novellas!
Hope you get your snow, Sally!
my new one is The Silent song of Winter – and they live in Savannah GA!!! hardly even get actual “cold” temps let alone snow!! i lived in CO, though, for 16 years and we had our fair share of snow!! (and cold temps!)
for the life of me, though, i cannot think of a story with a winter / snowy setting!!!
I am a native Floridian. It has snowed twice in my lifetime. If it gets cold enough, we do get heavy frost that looks like snow. The only white thing around here is our sandy beaches.
I just finished Christmas at Carnton! It was all that I expected and more! Tammy Alexander does such a great job. And it’s the novella before three more , sure to be wonderful books!
Sally I think I explained it wrong I was so disappointed when I saw snow. (It was late Sept so it was really old) and that was my first thought. I want to see real snow. I don’t really like defrosting the freezer that often.
Sally, I do share them once in a while. I know some readers of this blog have just googled his name and looked at his pictures and videos.
So a funny story: during our last Christmas in NY I told my husband we’d been living there long enough to manage the snow (not love it, mind you, because I still started to look for a job right after the previous winter, which was really one of the worse ones we had while living there) that I wanted to embrace having at least one truly white Christmas (like in the books… or kinda).
We even decided to go further north into the Adirondacks just so that it would be more of an American-like experience. We even planned ahead to make sure we could fine a nice enough place to go — the only problem? A mild winter and no snow at all during Christmas time. It was around 50F in December (compared to below zero weather in January). Can you believe it? Such a frustration.
Some of my favorite Christmas books include Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K. Paul, Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber, and The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury.
I live in Florida now… NO snow, lol. I am from MY so I miss it!!
My favorite Christmas books are Valerie Comer’s Christmas in Montana series, three years of Christmas love stories!!