FAQ

When did you start writing?

My mom says I was born telling stories and never stopped. Storytelling is in my DNA. For me, writing is like breathing.

You’re a screenwriter, an author, a journalist and TV host. Do you sleep? How do you have time to do it all?

I’m thankful for my years working as a TV reporter, writing several stories every day, under tight deadlines, for different newscasts, teaching me to research and write quickly. I also believe you make time for what you love most. Writers write, you can always find a way.

What’s your advice for new writers?

Write every single day. Make it a priority, part of your routine. Get up early, stay up late, whatever it takes. Don’t worry about making it perfect, you can edit later.

What inspired you to write your screenplay and novel FINDING CHRISTMAS?

Growing up my dad would always send me on a Christmas scavenger hunt to find my present, creating clues I would have to follow. He has done this every year, including last Christmas. It’s a tradition I cherish very much and wanted to share in my latest story Finding Christmas. I’m currently in development for my Finding Christmas movie. Stay tuned…

Will you be also writing the movie for your 2020, CHRISTMAS EVER AFTER novel?

You wrote your novel CHRISTMAS CAMP after you wrote the movie. Why?

While writing the Christmas Camp movie, I fell in love with the characters, and there was still so much to tell that I decided to do the book Christmas Camp and the sequel novella Christmas Camp Wedding so TV viewers could find out what happened to Haley and Jeff and the rest of the Christmas Camp crew.

What prompted you to create a real-life Christmas Camp?

The more I wrote about Christmas Camp the more I knew I had to find a way to bring it to real life! Similar to Travel Therapy, I believe a Christmas Camp can truly help people reset, relax, and rejuvenate before the hectic holiday season, so they can embrace the true meaning and magic of Christmas. For my first Christmas Camp, I reached out to The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, one of my all-time favorite resorts for the way it treats guests and the way you feel when staying there. I feel very blessed to be partnering with The Phoenician to offer a one-of-a-kind, magical Christmas Camp experience, coinciding with my book and movie premiere this year.

When you wrote the NETFLIX hit, A CHRISTMAS PRINCE, did a real prince inspire you?

Yes, it was actually two princes who inspired my original screenplay. As the creator and host of an uplifting travel TV series called Travel Therapy, I travel the world doing TV segments featuring inspiring and empowering places to visit. In 2014, I was invited by Visit Britain tourism to travel to North Wales to the beautiful Isle of Anglesey and follow in the footsteps of where Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, had been living for the past few years. While I was being shown their favorite restaurants, shops, and beaches, I was impressed by how protective the community was in honoring Prince William and Kate’s privacy. I was a trusted journalist— there by invitation— but I heard stories about the shenanigans other reporters had tried. This got me thinking about how Prince Harry has also been a target of the paparazzi for years, and my story idea for A Christmas Prince was born. It was important to me that at the end of the movie Amber would see the prince for who he really was and realize how wrong the media and she had been. It was also really crucial to me that she stand up to her boss who was trying to bully her into doing a story that wasn’t true. Oh yeah, and of course, fall in love with the prince, just like he would fall in love with her, because I’m all about the happily ever after!

Why do you do Christmas-themed books and movies?

I was born on December 19^th and have always loved all things Christmas. Watching Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies has always been a family tradition. When I was a hard news reporter and reporting from war zones, I would come home and count on those uplifting and heartfelt Christmas movies to help me heal emotionally. Christmas movies have always given me so much joy and happiness that I wanted to give back by writing some of my own books and movies to share.

Where can we find your Christmas books?

I’m honored that many libraries around the country are offering a special hardcover edition of Christmas Camp. In addition to bookstores, Walmart and Target are also selling Christmas Camp in stores nationwide and online. You can also find out where to buy it on my books page right here.

Where can I see your Christmas movies?

You can watch my Christmas movie A Christmas Prince on NETFLIX and my other Christmas movies on the Hallmark and Lifetime TV channels.

How did you sell your CHRISTMAS CAMP books, at auction, to HarperCollins in the U.S.?

It all started with having a fantastic literary agent. Jessica Regel of Foundry Literary + Media saw my vision of doing a novel and sequel after I wrote the TV movie, even though it meant crash publishing with an incredibly tight deadline to write both books. The next visionary I’m so thankful for was editor May Chen at HarperCollins, William Morrow, who bought North America rights to both Christmas Camp books at auction and a third novel for 2019.

What other countries bought CHRISTMAS CAMP?

I feel so honored that Christmas Camp & Christmas Camp Wedding were also bought in the UK, by Anna Boatman at Little, Brown, Piakus Fiction, and will also be coming out in 2019, in Germany, Czech Republic and Poland!

What is your goal as a writer?

To tell stories that are uplifting and empowering, full of heart and hope.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on several new feature films and a TV project as well as writing my next novels and continuing my Travel Therapy TV series.

Can I interview you for my blog, radio, or television show?

I am always happy to do interviews and share any inspiration that I can. Over my career, I have done more than 100 TV and radio interviews and countless interviews for print, blogs, and social media.

Please contact:

Manager: Sydney Blanke | Fourth Wall Management | 323-549-8600 | blanke@fourthwallmanagement.com

Literary Agent: Christina Hogrebe | Jane Rotrosen Agency | 212-593-4330 | chogrebe@janerotrosen.com

How do I request you for a speaking engagement?

I very much enjoy doing speaking engagements. Please contact: