PG Forte: My current WIP is Christmas Angel--an M//M, second chance, angel-themed fantasy romance that's set primarily at a Christmas Tree Farm in Central Texas during December. It plays off a lot of classic movie tropes--A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life, Just Like Heaven, That Heavenly Kid, The Bishop's Wife, Spirited, and pretty much everything Hallmark has ever released. For example, one hero (Tony) is a frustrated, overworked, small-town-dwelling Christmas tree farmer, the other (Jake) is his ex-husband, a jaded financial advisor who lives in NYC. Jake is also dead, a probationary angel, and believes himself to have been cast in the role of Marley to Tony's Scrooge. Spoiler alert: not everything Jake believes about himself or his mission is necessarily true. Here's an excerpt.
But despite everything I have to be grateful for, I’m still feeling down. I guess the Christmas blues have set in early this year. See, I have this vision in my head of what my perfect Christmas would look and feel like. And every year that falls short of the mark, leaves me more and more depressed. The fact that my dream Christmas is based on the memory of an actual Christmas Past—my past, not the distant past—only makes it worse.
I think I’d feel a whole lot better if I could convince myself that it never really happened—at least not in the way I remember it. That falling in love at Christmas was a fantasy, a dream. Or failing that, something I could hope for in the future, a goal that I could work towards; not something I had once and lost.
After finishing up in the shop, I lock the door and head back across the parking lot toward the white limestone farmhouse where I grew up. The low, rumbling growl of a powerful engine turning off the highway catches my attention and slows my steps. “Who the fuck is this now?” I mutter as I stop to watch the showy, big-ass motorcycle cruise up our lane. The look of the thing—metallic red and creamy white, Santa Claus colors—is right on point for the season. All that’s missing is a wreath between the handlebars. Which, I guess, must be what he’s here for since no one in their right mind would attempt to carry a Christmas tree home on a bike, not even a super-sized, full-dress tourer like this one. Then again, considering that biker Santa isn’t even wearing a helmet, who’s to say he is in his right mind?
He’s a ginger, with the kind of rangy build I tend to fall for, a scruffy beard and hair that gleams copper in the sunlight. And even though I know it’s just my imagination playing tricks on me, like it always does this time of year, my heart still clenches at the sight. Because I’ll be damned if this jerk-off doesn’t remind me of my ex.
Except for the beard. That’s totally out of character. And…wait a minute. Is this dickhead smoking a cigar? Yes, he sure as fuck is. Which clinches the matter. I’ve never known anyone more dedicated to the preservation of his own health and well-being than my former husband. So this must be some sort of Christmas memory induced madness messing with my senses—more gravy than grave, as Scrooge would have it. Because Death-Wish Dude here can’t be Jake.
Except… Holy Guacamole. As he slows to a stop, close enough for his eyes to meet mine, I realize that this is, in fact, my very own Ghost of Christmas Past. “Jesus fucking Christ. Are you kidding me? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Whoa. Nice language,” Jake’s familiar voice admonishes. “You sing Christmas carols with that mouth?”
“Do I what?”
“You know. ’Tis the season, and all of that? What else are you gonna do with your mouth this time of year?”
“Well, I can think of a few things,” I’m goaded into replying. And then immediately regret it when the twinkle in Jake’s eyes hits me like a punch in the gut.
“Oh, I bet you can.”
“Fuck. You.”
“That an offer?”
“Don’t make me laugh. And don’t make me ask you this a third time, either. Why are you here?”
Jake spreads his hands in a what-can-you-do gesture. “Wasn’t my idea. I’m only here because you want me to be.”
“I do not!”
“Beg to differ. Apparently, I’m the answer to your prayers.”
* * *
Christmas Angel will be released on May 18, 2023 as part of the Redemption anthology (a limited-edition, fallen angel paranormal romance collection) and is available for pre-order now. https://books2read.com/b/br1JkE
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