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About A Christmas Love Song by Andee Reilly
Title: A Christmas Love Song
Author: Andee Reilly
Genre: Contemporary Christmas Romance
He gave her a song. She gave him Christmas.
Once a huge pop star, Jake Wilder hasn’t written a hit song in over ten years. Stuck playing small-time venues where only his most dedicated fans remember him, a comeback seems improbable. But even those gigs are quickly drying up, and if Jake doesn’t do something soon, he’ll slide into permanent has-been oblivion. In a twist of fate, a record executive with a soft spot for retro artists, holds a competition in search of pop musicians to write a new Christmas classic.
Longing to become a serious and respected journalist, Mackenzie Stone scoffs at her latest assignment to write a profile about a washed-up pop singer. She would prefer to cover hard news rather than light stories assigned by her editor who seems unwilling to give her a chance. Determined to write a noteworthy story and at the same time prove herself, it’s up to Mackenzie to help inspire Jake to compose a Christmas classic.
As Jake struggles to overcome his anxieties and write a great song, Mackenzie digs for a story of substance. Together they find love while also discovering the true meaning of Christmas.
Excerpt from A Christmas Love Song
© 2021
Andee Reilly
Being on stage was as natural as breathing. When audiences rejected Jake for the next one-hit wonder, he had been devastated. He’d lost his purpose, a dragon slayer without a dragon to slay. That was when the stage fright took hold.
He glanced outside to clear his mind. Every time he started composing, bad memories crushed the good ones. Frustrated and annoyed, he let the unpolluted white field of snow become a metaphor for the clean slate that could be his mind.
Jake stretched his legs to get the creative juices flowing. From his pocket, he unfolded a piece of paper. It was probably a note he was supposed to give to Bodhi. To his surprise, the scribbles turned out to be a melody Jake had written in the middle of the night. Having woken from a dream hearing music, he wrote it down and stuck it into his pants pocket so he’d find it the next day. He’d completely forgotten about it.
Not half bad. He hummed the tune and tapped it out on the piano. His mind scrolled through the Christmas song canon like a jukebox filliping through its record selections. Settling on “Silent Night,” he played the world’s most popular Christmas song. He remembered his piano teacher told him in Austria, the song’s birthplace, “Silent Night” was only played on Christmas Eve to preserve its sacredness.
Next, he played “White Christmas,” hearing the words. “Just like the ones I used to know,” he whispered the lyrics. The song was sad, melancholic, and full of longing. Did he want to create that sort of mood?
Then there was Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” a fun, pop song about the love and happiness Christmas could bring. He had a terrible experience in that particular department and pushed the thought aside before he gave up completely.
Jake accidently kicked the pedal. The old discouraging feeling of defeat snaked through his body. A throbbing big toe and a bad attitude does not a Christmas song make.
He needed fresh air and found a jacket, heavier than the vegan leather one Mackenzie made fun of and a pair of gloves. Careful not to lock himself out, he unlatched the door and went outside.
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About Andee Reilly
Andee Reilly was born and raised in Los Angeles. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside, Palm Desert. After many years of teaching writing and literature at California State University, Channel Islands, Andee moved to Maui to pursue her dream of teaching at the University of Hawaii, writing full-time, and surfing the beautiful waves of Hawaii. To learn more, visit www.andeereilly.com
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