Jessica R. Patch is basically one of the coolest people I’ve ever met online…and then thankfully eventually in person! She was one of the very first people to read this blog when I haphazardly started it with no idea what I was doing. Seriously, I think her comments kept me going for several months.

She is also hilarious. And wise beyond measure. And she sends the best singing texts in the world.

AND she has a new Christmas novella, Hope Under Mistletoe, which is adorable and nostalgic and wonderful. You can get it FREE just by signing up for her very non-spammy enewsletter, Patched In. Sign up here.

Now it’s time for some Christmasy Q&A:

Melissa: Okay, the names of your characters, Knox and Eden…LOVE! How’d you come up with these characters? What sparked their existence?

Jessica: I know some writers have a hard time with character names, but I never do. I don’t really pick their names. They just tell me who they are pretty much the first minute I meet them in my head which comes in the form of a scene in the book. They’re dialoguing, generally, on screen and that scene rivets me. A story is then born.

Then I typically look the name up and 9 times out of 10 the meaning fits them perfectly. However, surnames don’t always come as quickly and I scroll through babynames.com or Google surnames and one jumps out if it hasn’t already come to me. Knox Everhart and Eden Snow…they came.

Melissa: I just finished writing a book about a football player and I knew hardly anything about the sport before starting that book. In this book, Knox is a former hockey player. Are you a hockey fan? Did you have to learn anything about the sport? 

Jessica: Oh that’s easy! I watched every single Mighty Ducks movie. quack…Quack…QUACK!

Interruption from Melissa: The Mighty Ducks! I was just talking about those movies this weekend. I used to have a crush on this guy. I don’t know why. I really don’t. Maybe it was the hair.

Jessica: I’m kidding. Well, I’m not. I have seen all the Mighty Ducks movies, but a girl who used to work for me also did the marketing for our Memphis River Kings. We started going and got very involved with the team. Even traveled out of state for a few games as well as adopted a couple players from Toronto. My daughter wasn’t quite two and she was raised at those games and on the ice. She’s ridden the Zamboni and the mascot loved to come get her and take her out on the ice. Her, Sheldon the turtle, and her pacifier! For Christmas one year, they gave her a jersey autographed with all their names. I think it might fit her now that she’s 16! Fun times.

So I didn’t really have to do any research. If it were football…oy with the poodles already…I just hope none of my characters want to be football players!

Melissa: I love how you fit a Gilmore Girls quote in there. Oy with the poodles already! So, I just looooved the nostalgic, Christmasy feel of your story. What do you hope readers take away from this story?

Jessica: A couple of things:

1. Entertainment that puts them in the Christmas mood. I think we get really stressed out come November and December and I want people to take a minute to just love Christmas and what it’s really all about. I hope they settle in with something yummy to drink, maybe on a snowy or rainy afternoon, and curl up to escape some stress.
2. Hope. Christmas and Christ (in general) is about hope. He is HOPE. He’s about changing lives and giving second chances. He’s about healing and joy. He’s about peace and strength. If anyone out there is reading this story, my prayer is when they’re done they’ll experience some of those things in their lives. They’ll be reminded that God can do anything with anyone. No matter how far you’ve fallen. The characters are fictional, but their struggles are real. The HOPE is real.

Melissa: You asked me this question several years ago when I was on your blog for the very first time, so now I’m going to ask you! Who would you cast as Knox and Eden in the movie version of Hope Under Mistletoe?

Jessica: Casting is one of my most favorite things! In fact I’d love for you to visit my Pinterest page: Hope Under Mistletoe. Take a peek at the cast and stroll through the fictional town of Mistletoe as well as share some of the fun scenes from the book. A story board is a blast for me. I don’t know if readers are as excited, but I hope so! Check it out!

I cast Colin Farrell as Knox Everhart. He has that bad boy, rough feel yet is attractive and big enough. Knox is big! I cast Liv Tyler as Eden. She has a soft, innocent look about her (whether it’s true or not)! If you come by my page, you’ll meet the rest of the cast including Eden’s son, Eli.

Melissa: Christmas Lightning Round! 

That time I got to hang out with Jessica Patch! Also pictured, the fabulous Lindsay Harrel and a really tasty cookie from Jessica.

Favorite Christmas Movie: Ack! Another tough one. Christmas Vacation is a classic funny movie. Elf is a new classic hilarious one. I enjoy While You Were Sleeping. Notice I like movies with the romance and the funny? But It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my all time faves. You just can’t beat it.

Melissa Interrupts Again: Points for mentioning It’s a Wonderful Life. I get hives when people fail to include that in their Christmas favorites.

Favorite Christmas Book: This is easy. The Gift of the Magi. I remember reading that as a young girl and falling in love with the love of this couple. It struck a chord in me. I read it every year.

Favorite Christmas Candy: Fudge! With nuts! All though, fudge is in a class of its own but still…

Favorite Christmas Present you received as a kid: I had so many great gifts. I loved Barbies and owned pretty much everything. I love baby dolls and had pretty much every one plus accessories. But two things stand out:

My red and white striped record player and the Strawberry Shortcake goes to the Big Apple record. I can still sing every word to Raspberry Rap…cause I like it like that… and the Disney Disco. Macho, Macho Duck might be my all time favorite and I loved the story books where you turned the page at the chime. My favorite story was The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Not a Christmasy story but still. Maybe that’s why I write suspense.

Thanks so much for being here today, Jessica. And folks, don’t miss out on Hope Under Mistletoe!

Connect with Jessica:

Subscribe to her Newsletter receive Hope Under Mistletoe for FREE as an exclusive gift!
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Visit her blog

Jessica R. Patch writes inspirational romantic suspense and contemporary romance. A passion to draw women into intimacy with God keeps her motivated, along with ice-cold Perrier and adventurous trips in the name of research. When she’s not hunched over her laptop or teaching the new & growing believer’s class at her church, you can find her sneaking off to movies with her husband, embarrassing her daughter in unique ways, dominating her son at board games, and collecting recipes to wonderful dishes she’ll probably never cook. She is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management.

Readers, your turn to answer one of the Christmas Lightning Round questions!

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