This Christmas, let’s remember even in the harshest storms, even on the coldest nights, even when the sky is the darkest and the stars are buried deep in the clouds, even then, there is reason to be optimistic. Let’s remember when we are lost, someone may find us, or we may find them. Let’s remember kindness begets kindness. Let’s remember we can help, care, to expect the unexpected.
This is the season for miracles.
May your miracle find you.
When Emily St. Claire wrote these words in her blog, she was alone on Christmas night. She’d just returned from a work trip to the idyllic country of Marisol, where she traveled to cover the Royal International Canine Invitational (RICI), the world’s most prestigious dog show. She expected to work hard, but what she didn’t expect was to fall in love. Back home, in her New York City apartment, she’s grieving for what might have been—a life with the thoughtful and kind Prince Alexander, his two rambunctious children, and his shoe-stealing dog.
When I wrote those words in Emily’s story, I was locked down during the Covid pandemic. Like Emily, I was in limbo, wondering about the future, missing people I loved. The remedy: write a romance that would take me out of all the uncertainty.
The idea of Emily, an overworked executive, had come to me months earlier. I’d been walking through the snow with my dog, watching children sled down a hill, and marveling that the brown grassy landscape transformed into a blue-white fairyland. I don’t like snow, but as I watched my neighbors enjoy it, I started thinking about it as an escape, a respite.
During the Covid lockdown, the initial weeks were a respite, too, but as time passed, I felt isolated, in need of comfort—my dog, hot tea, video chats with friends and relatives, and, of course, chocolate. As the idea of the book began to take shape in my mind, I knew I wanted to create a space where readers could come for comfort, and, ultimately, hope.
Paws for Christmas is a novel about a woman at a turning point. She and her business partner Sebastian, both parents of rescue dogs, started an online blog to help their neighbors find dog-friendly restaurants. The blog quickly turned into a magazine, then into a nonprofit organization to help rescue dogs. Sebastian revels in their success; Emily is swept along. Finally, after years of working at a breakneck pace, Emily decides to take vacation. But Sebastian has other plans: He proudly tells her he’s secured credentials for their organization, Bow-Wow Enterprises, to cover the RICI, and she will write daily blog posts about the dogs and their owners. Already stressed after a disastrous television interview in which she confessed she doesn’t like her job, Emily is reeling because of a text from her ex, a former corporate executive turned artist who has made millions painting abstract pictures of Emily’s dog, Gracie, a dog he never liked. Emily plunges into despair knowing she’ll miss her vacation, her trip home, and Christmas with her parents.
Begrudgingly, she flies to Marisol, snarling all the way.
When she arrives, late and hurried, she learns Sebastian has hired a photographer to help her. She searches for him in vain, and when she overhears a man comment that, yes, he can take care of photos, she whisks him away, dragging him into the grooming area to help with her first story. But the photographer is ill-prepared, more concerned about playing with the dogs than getting good pictures. When he abruptly excuses himself, leaving Emily exasperated, her surliness intensifies, and she trudges to the prince’s opening press conference, prepared to be bored. Instead, she’s surprised, then mortified. The photographer who annoyed her is Prince Alexander, animal lover and RICI host.
Repentant and intrigued by Emily, the prince invites her to stay at the castle, where she can write in peace, away from the RICI crowds and noisy hotels. Emily appreciates Alexander’s attention and wonders if he’s simply being polite, but she senses there’s more. When his children and their dog visit, Emily finds herself looking forward to playing with them—and looking forward to the longer and longer visits with Alexander each time he comes to collect them. During the next few weeks, Emily settles into a happy routine—meeting wonderful dogs and owners at the RICI; writing in her castle room, designed to look like the inside of a seashell; laughing with the children and their dog; talking with Alexander and gazing deep into his dark eyes.
It’s all so perfect—until the dog show ends. Heartbroken, Emily leaves Marisol, with the realization she’s fallen in love with Alexander, his children, their dog. Now what?
Spoiler alerts: There is a happy ending. Love triumphs over distance and uncertainty. The dogs are happy, healthy, and spoiled.
One of the themes in this book is that, sometimes, not getting what we want is the best thing. That denial takes us on long, wild, glorious journeys, to wonderlands we never imagined, with people we never expected to meet. The message in Paws for Christmas is that love finds us, even when we’re not searching, even when we’re lost, even when we’re too busy to welcome new people into our lives.
If you’re looking for a cozy romance that includes a little comedy, a lot of comfort, and messages of hope, this book is for you.
Christmas, love, dogs. Happy holidays!
