In Cedar Creek, Christmas is no joke, and the annual seasonal play is the centerpiece of the festivities. As director, Bo Amaratunga is not only filling the boots of her mother, but fulfilling her role as community organizer—bringing people together for a night of queer joy and merriment.
When a local landmark goes up for sale, and the town looks to Bo to save it, she does exactly what her mother would do: draws up plans to produce the loudest, most magical play to save the day—or at least bring in enough ticket sales to fend off any prospective buyers. To pull it all off, Bo needs a set builder who can bring her vision to life, but the only option seems to be the newly returned Val Morales, Bo’s long lost high school sweetheart. Sure, Val’s incredibly talented, more than willing to help, and still makes Bo’s pulse race, but how can she trust the girl who ghosted her and left her devastated ten years ago? And why did Val come back after all these years, anyway?
Val Morales didn’t think she’d ever find herself back in Cedar Creek. Freshly divorced, unemployed, and floundering, she was glad to take the lifeline when her demanding parents offered her a job helping out with their realtor business. When they ask her to find a buyer for their lucrative property in Cedar Creek, she jumps at the opportunity to escape their disappointment at her life’s recent downturn and hopefully even impress them. She wasn’t expecting to run into Bo, her first, most pivotal love, or for Bo to ask for her help designing the set for the annual holiday play. When Val realizes the property she’s trying to sell is the same one the play is trying to save, she is forced into an impossible place—will she break Bo’s heart all over again?
As the past and their longing for one another creeps up on them, Bo and Val must figure out a way to maneuver around their conflicting goals and pressures.
Boteju's adult debut is a sizzling yet sweet festive second-chance romance. It is a sapphic slow burn that not only celebrates queer joy, but is a beautiful exploration of found family and self-discovery. This delightful holiday rom-com is a tender exploration of past love and finding oneself—the brilliant cast of characters make it worth the slow burn. Setting the Stage for Christmas is as cozy and warm as a cup of cocoa.
TANYA BOTEJU is a writer and educator living on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land (Vancouver, BC). Her debut novel was Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens and her other YA novels, Bruised and Messy Perfect, appear on the American Librarian Association’s Rainbow List. Typically, you can find her cozy in her cabin, writing at cafés, or smooshing any dog that will let her. In both teaching and writing, Tanya hopes she’s bending the universe even the tiniest bit toward justice.
Q & A with Tanya Boteju*
GWR: As an author who has written in different genres, do you approach each book the same way? What does your process look like?
TB: Generally, yes, because for fiction I almost always focus on character first. I spend a lot of time with my characters, brainstorming and monologuing from their points of view, getting to know them, discovering things about them. And then I set to writing the story. I find this helps me develop more fully realized protagonists. But each book, even if in the same genre, is different otherwise–sometimes I outline more, sometimes I dive into the story and see where it takes me. But I always start with character.
GWR: What was the inspiration for Setting the Stage for Christmas?TB: Christmas! And my love of romcoms! And the cosy cabin my wife built for me! Seriously, though. I was sitting in our cabin one December on winter break from teaching, reading a romcom, feeling festive for Christmas like I always do, and I was like, “I want to try writing a Christmas romcom!” So I did, just for fun. I aimed for 500 words a day for the rest of December. And then it turned into a story I actually loved and that my agent saw some potential in. My wife’s wood working abilities, my love for theatre, and the cosiness of small town holiday stories rounded things out.
GWR: In this novel you introduce a varied cast. Who was your favourite character to explore?
TB: Hmm…tough one, but I’ll say Val, one of the two protagonists. I love how she’s a softer soul who’s so uncertain of herself at the beginning, but then also claims her own strength through carpentry and the community of Cedar Creek. It was fun to discover how her own exploration of carpentry would reflect her growth as a character and to use my own wife as research! My wife is mostly self-taught when it comes to building, and Val is similar. I like how she takes her life in her hands, through working with her hands.
GWR: How do you reflect yourself in the characters you write?
TB: I make my way into most of my characters in some way or another. For this book, I drew on my experience as a teacher, performing in theatre productions, and being an extreme introvert, which can make me awkward lol. On a broader scale, I think one way I often reflect myself or the way I see the world, is in depicting queerness in every book, making my protagonists mostly people of colour, and imbuing a sense of hope in my books. I’m a hopeful person! But my hope is grounded in the power of the people, and in our diversity.
GWR: What are some of the most important characteristics and dynamics that you wanted the
relationships—whether romantic, friendly, or familial—to have?
TB: One of my biggest aims here, and in all of my books, is to elevate community care–how no one grows independent of the community around them. In Setting the Stage, both Bo and Val grow directly from each other, but also very much through the others in Cedar Creek–friends, found family, and mentors. Even Bo’s mother, who’s no longer living, impacts her daily. And I love a good elder relationship! This is seen in Bo’s relationship with Layla. I also believe that we need people in our lives who push us out of our comfort zones. That might annoy and frustrate us at times, but those moments of discomfort cause growth. I think a lot of relationships in my books–romantic and otherwise–show this.
GWR: Setting the Stage for Christmas features some of the best romance tropes—friends to lovers, second chance romance, small town romance, found family—what is your favourite trope to write and what is your favourite to read?
TB: My favourite trope to write here was the second chance aspect of Bo and Val’s relationship because it allowed me to play around with their past selves–the teenage selves that found each other in high school. That first meeting is so impactful for them both–even though they were young, even though it was a relatively short period of time. I enjoyed exploring those first moments and how they would show up when they meet in the present.
But one of my favourite tropes to read is enemies to lovers. I love some friction between protagonists and seeing how the writer moves naturally from that to lovers, especially when one of the characters is a ‘hard nut’ to crack. So fun!
GWR: What are some of the key elements that are a must in a holiday novel? Were you inspired by any holiday movies or other holiday rom-coms?
TB: Christmas for me is all about a festive, cosy atmosphere and good food, so I prefer a holiday story with a small town setting and people enjoying their holiday treats! But for a good holiday story, especially holiday romcoms, some shenanigans are also a must–playful moments mixed with some spicy bits and chemistry and humour. There’s a scene in Setting the Stage for Christmas that is reminiscent of some Home Alone shenanigans, for instance. I also drew from A Christmas Carol because that’s the play they’re putting on, and there’s an element of past, present, future in the book. And Ashley Herring Blake’s Christmas romcom Make the Season Bright was also an inspiration–I love all of her books and this one is a second chance romance, too, with a great balance of holiday cosiness, shenanigans, and spice!
GWR: What role did the small town setting of Cedar Creek play when constructing the romance?
TB: Like I said, I think a small town setting is essential to a good holiday romcom, and here, Cedar Creek provides the kind of community that Val needs in order to feel like she belongs and can be her true self. On the other hand, for Bo, the small town setting both contributes to her growth in some ways, and limits her in others, because she’s so tied to the legacy her mother has left in Cedar Creek, and everyone knows her to be this incredible community builder. That’s a pressure she needs to let go of a little in order to grow closer to Val.
GWR: What message do you hope readers will take away from Setting the Stage for Christmas?
TB: I mean, I want people to just escape into a cosy holiday story with some spicy bits! But also, there’s something here about our past selves, and how much they impact our present selves, sometimes for good, sometimes not. And there’s something about finding and/or creating quiet, private spaces where we can discover our true selves.
GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be?
TB: Haha…a Holiday Sparkler, of course! This is a beverage one of the characters in the book, Lux, specializes in. It has a mystery ingredient that isn’t revealed until the end, but that Lux says is “Christmas joy” and when people drink it, they’re supposed to light sparklers and make wishes. I hope Setting the Stage for Christmas has all the ingredients to give a little sparkle, joy, and magic to readers!
GWR: What are you working on now?
TB: I have two projects I’m super excited about—one is a young adult book about two girls who find
themselves in an alternate 80s teen movie-verse (the research for this one has been FUN). The other is my first attempt at an adult literary fiction novel–a queer retelling of Jane Eyre, but set in Sri Lanka in the early 2000s. Very challenging and very wonderful to dive into my parents’ home country for this one.
*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.