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| Photo credit: Girl Well Read and #HarperPresents. Do not use without written permission. |
What better way to get in the holiday spirit than with holiday cookie decorating at the world famous Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery Historic District?
Karen Schaler—known as 'Christmas Karen' for all of her holiday themed books and films—was joined by Refinery 29's Carli Whitwell to talk about Karen's Netflix sensation A Christmas Prince, and her new novel Finding Christmas.
A former military reporter, Karen was a hard news reporter (al-Qaeda, homeland security) who would pitch every day. She said that they were the saddest, hardest stories to hear. As cliché as it sounds, Karen wanted to make a difference and decided to try her hand at her new passion, travel journalism. She was a one-woman show with no photographer and no producer. It was just her!
When she was in Toronto doing her a travel show, she had a bit of a medical issue that required surgery, and she couldn't travel for three weeks. It was right around the holidays and Christmas movies became her therapy.
"It is a very formulaic story and surprisingly, they are difficult to write because you all know the ending," Karen said. So she studied the formula (the meet up, so many problems, the "near-miss" kiss, the "oh-no" moment when all is lost) and researched how commercials are timed. Her desire was to pull from her travel adventures and to tell love stories that anyone can watch.
In less than two years, Schaler has written original screenplays for Netflix, Hallmark, and Lifetime Christmas movies, as well as three Christmas novels for HarperCollins. Her original screenplay, A Christmas Prince, became one of Netflix’s most watched movies of all time. In 2018 she wrote the Hallmark original movie, Christmas Camp, and was then offered a book deal with HarperCollins. Even though she had the screen play for Christmas Camp, she wanted to do a novella (Christmas Camp Wedding: A Novella) and wanted to do a stand-alone book which turned out to be Finding Christmas (Karen also wrote the screenplay for it). Her newest movie, Rediscovering Christmas, will premier on Lifetime on December 15th, 2019.
"Finding Christmas was inspired by my dad." Schaler's parents split up when she was six and she grew up with very modest means. They didn't have a lot, but every Christmas, Karen's dad would set up a scavenger hunt for her to find her present. She didn't realize until she was older that it was the actual hunt that was the gift.
When Karen is writing, she doesn't describe someone by their hair colour, or their skin colour. This is done on purpose because she wants the reader to put themselves in the story and envision the character the way that they want to. "If I put diversity that might (in the Hollywood world) you know, throw somebody off. So if I don't say, it's kind of odd I think as an author, but I'm a new author and nobody told me I couldn't, so I don't say blonde hair, blue eyed."
Why do you think people want these movies right now?
"Things have been very divisive no matter what side you are on. There's so much anger, there's so much anxiety, there's so much uncertainty. We've gone backwards decades with some of our politics," Karen said. "A Christmas Prince is a safe place, it's an escape." You know you are getting your happily ever after.
Karen watches Hallmark for her wish fulfillment. She wanted to be part of that type of family, have all the beautiful decorations, and experience a happy ending because she didn't have any of that growing up. It is a connection—people are feeling a sense of family and these Christmas movies/novels are bringing people together. (As a side note: almost all of the Hallmark movies are shot in Canada and Karen is a proud member of the Writers Guild of Canada.)
In writing novels, Karen gets to be the director and the producer—they are in her own time. "When you can pick up a book and can be taken to that place, and you can be cozy with your mulled wine and your cookies. Novels will always be the ultimate number one storytelling in my mind." She went on to say that it is the purest way for an author to tell their story.
To end the afternoon, we all toasted with our mulled wine.
Finding Christmas
With all the glittering decorations, twinkling lights, snow angels, gingerbread men and mistletoe, Christmas is Emmie's first true love.
This year, she can't wait to share her favorite Christmas traditions with her boyfriend, Grant. Especially because she thinks he's "the one." So when Grant's hectic work schedule has him more "Bah Humbug" than "Ho, Ho, Ho," Emmie creates a holiday-themed scavenger hunt to help him find his Christmas spirit. At the end of the journey, Grant will arrive at the charming town of Christmas Point where she's planned a romantic weekend filled with holiday activities.
But Emmie's plan backfires—a mix-up has the wrong guy following her clues! Sam, a best-selling mystery writer, thinks that Emmie's clever Christmas riddles are from his agent to help him get over his case of writer's block.
When he arrives at Christmas Point and finds the stunned Emmie, he immediately feels she's someone special. But Emmie can't get past the fact that the wrong guy has shown up. Inspired by the charming town, Sam decides to make the best of it and convinces Emmie to join him in a little holiday fun while she waits for Grant.
When Grant finally does shows up, Emmie is disappointed that he's not enjoying the activities she so carefully planned and can't help wonder if he really is the one. She also can't get Sam out of her mind. With Christmas fast approaching, Emmie will need the magic of the season to help steer her in the direction of true love…
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KAREN SCHALER is a three-time Emmy Award–winning storyteller, author, screenwriter, journalist, and national TV host. She has written original screenplays for Netflix, Hallmark, and Lifetime Christmas movies, including the Netflix sensation A Christmas Prince.
Traveling to more than sixty-five countries as the creator and host of Travel Therapy TV, Karen is constantly inspired by the diverse people, places, and cultures she encounters. All of Karen’s stories are uplifting, filled with heart and hope.
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