With her series 'Season for scandal' & 'Devils of Dover', both translated in french, Kelly Bowen is very appreciated here in France and she's becoming to be one of our favorite authors when it comes to historical romance ! She kindly agreed to give us a special Christmas interview, we hope you'll like it !
Hi Kelly, and thank you for having us in this christmas interview !
Thank you so much for inviting me !
Let’s talk about Christmas and decorations :
- do you have an artificial or a natural christmas tree ?
Funny you should ask this year ! We always put up a real tree, because it’s usually a fun family event to go and pick one out and we all love the way it makes our house smell. But this year, because of the pandemic, all the tree farms are closed. So instead, we strung lights and decorated our live trees outside and from our basement, dug out a very small artificial tree for inside.
- your decorations : do you like to have a theme and change every year ? Or do you keep the same decorations each year ?
I keep the same decorations every year. We have lots of home made decorations that our kids made when they were younger and they still have fun pulling them out every year. And I even have Christmas tree decorations from when I was a kid that we still put up !
About christmas music : if you have to pick one singer between these three artists, which one would you choose : Franck Sinatra, Mariah Carey or Michael Bublé ?
Michael Buble because I love his music but also because he is a Canadian too ! I have one of his Christmas albums. My two other favourites (not that you asked but because we’re talking Christmas music ) are Pentatonix and Charlotte Church.
Now let’s talk about the gifts’ opening : do you traditionally do that on Christmas Eve ? or on the 25th ?
We all pick one out for everyone to open on the 24th and the rest on the 25th. Adds to the suspense !
What is worst christmas present your ever received ? And the most memorable one ?
I don’t think I ever received a terrible present – at least not that I can remember . The best one was gifted to me by my husband – he and my brother-in-law made plans to to take my sister and I on a surprise trip. That was the best because my sister and I live in different provinces and don’t get to see each other as much as we would like. Time with my family was the best gift ever !
What did you ask Santa this year ?
If I say a safe vaccine for the world to help end the pandemic, is that too ambitious ?
Can you describe us your ideal christmas in a few words ?
Anywhere family and friends are – we spend lots of time together outdoors at Christmas skating and skiing and hiking. We have so much fun no matter where we are. That being said, living in a very cold climate, we once had the chance to travel to Hawaii and celebrate Christmas on the beach. From this Canadian girl, a white Christmas is definitely over-rated !
Do you have at least one ugly christmas sweater in your wardrobe ? Can you describe it to us ? Or even better, show us a picture of it !
Believe it or not, I have no ugly Christmas sweater. But if I ever find one with unicorns on it, I will rectify that !
What’s your favorite christmas treat ?
Chinese Mandarin oranges that get imported right around Christmastime. We go through a LOT of oranges in a few short weeks !
What are your favorites christmas movie and book ?
Movie : While You Were Sleeping
Book : ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Which is technically a poem, not a book, I know. But for sentimental reasons, I still have the bound copy of the poem with illustrations that my parents used to read to me as a kid !
Ok now, let redo the epic scene in ‘Love actually’ : which fictionnal character would you dream to see on the other sides of the cards, to declare you his undying love ?
Oooh, good question. This is a very fictional toss-up. I’d have to say Wyatt Logan (from Timeless). Though I wouldn’t be slamming the door on Uhtred Ragnarsson (from The Last Kingdom) either !
Which character.s from your own books or from other authors would like to have at your christmas table to "spice the things up"?
I would definitely like to have the Dowager Duchess of Worth from my own books to keep things entertaining ! The Dowager Duchess of Worth was based on the very real person Elizabeth van Lew, who was a spy for the Union during the American civil war. She has always fascinated me.
Now let’s talk about the writing … You already wrote a christmas novella, "The lady in red" (unfortunatly, this one isn’t published in french .. at least not yet) : did you like writing a book with a christmas set ? Was the writing process any different than for your other books ? Would you like to do that again ?
The Lady in Red is set around Christmas but to be fair, it is not a dedicated ‘Christmas-novella’. (Christmas during the Regency period was very different from our current Christmas traditions). Because the plot of the story didn’t hinge on the season, the writing process was no different. But I will say that this novella was a LOT of fun to write – the ‘girl pretending to be a boy’ trope has always been one of my favourites !
Now it’s almost over, but I have one more question …’A rogue by night’ was released here in France in early december : can you tell us which present Harland would offer to Kate for christmas ? and vice versa ?
These two would probably be more practical than romantic (especially Kate), but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt here . Harland would gift Kate with the latest medical journals – no doubt the latest published anatomical research- but I think he would also find a beautiful piece of jewelry to remind her that she is both a woman and a doctor.
Kate would gift Harland the newest and the best surgical instruments (practical, sigh) but I could also see her giving him books filled with tales of adventure, Like Robinson Crusoe or (later) Moby Dick.
Thanks a lot for your time, Kelly, we wish you a merry Christmas and happy holidays !
Happy holidays to you as well ! Thank you again for having me !