All Callie wants for Christmas is to hibernate. She's still reeling from being dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and under no circumstances will she go home for the holidays considering her ex will be right next door with his new, perfect partner. Callie is officially in grinch mode, but her meddling sister, Anita, won’t let her give up on life, love, and Christmas quite so easily.
Anita stages a Christmas intervention for Callie with a homemade Advent calendar challenge—cheerful tasks to push Callie out of her comfort zone and into the holiday spirit, inspired by a childhood tradition. Callie reluctantly plays along, but when she comes face-to-face with a charming baker who just might be the spoonful of sugar she needs, her strict rules on love and the holidays are tested.
As they strike a deal to do the activities together, could the twenty four little doors on Callie’s Advent calendar not only open up one, but two closed-off hearts?
Full of Advent activities—carolling, sledding, hot chocolate, eggnog, and even ugly Christmas sweaters—this holiday rom-com will you have you decking your halls and jingling your bells. The Christmas Countdown is the perfect gift!
HOLLY CASSIDY is the pen name for internationally bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon. Her suspense novels include The Neighbors, Her Secret Son, Sister Dear, You Will Remember Me, Never Coming Home, The Revenge List, and Only One Survives.
McKinnon was born in England, grew up in Switzerland, and now lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and three sons.
Q & A with Holly Cassidy*
GWR: How long did it take you to write The Christmas Countdown, and how many drafts were there before publication?
HC: It took about 4 months to write and self-edit the first draft I shared with my editors. After that we had a large round of structural edits, followed by two smaller ones. Once those were done, we went through another few rounds to cover line, copy, and proof edits. I’m so happy with the result and adore Callie and Marco’s story.
GWR: What was the inspiration for the novel?
HC: At the end of my first Holly Cassidy rom-com, The Christmas Wager, the protagonist Bella describes a homemade calendar she has prepared for her boyfriend, Jesse. That tiny segment was the inspiration for The Christmas Countdown although the books are standalones and feature a new setting and an entire new cast of characters. It was fun to have one of my books inspire another.
GRW: Do you have a favourite chapter or scene?
HC: I loved the carolling and sledding scenes—and of course the one where Callie follows Dazey Rocket onto the roof, which made me laugh out loud. I adored everything that touched on Switzerland. I grew up in Interlaken and lived in Switzerland for decades before coming to Canada in 2010. Incorporating my heritage was wonderful. For example, the Mailänderli and Basler Brunsli cookie recipes are straight from my high school home economics book, which I still have and use.
GWR: What were the most important characteristics and dynamic that you wanted Callie and Marco’s relationship to have? What about Callie and Anita’s?
HC: I wanted the relationship between Callie and Marco to be a friends-to-lovers arc with a grumpy/sunshine dynamic. They’ve both been hurt by other people and are wary of opening their hearts to anyone. It was important for me to demonstrate those vulnerabilities, and how they can affect us.
Regarding Callie and her sister, Anita, I wanted to show a different side of Callie, not only her romantic one. She and Anita get along well, but like most siblings, there’s friction at times. Anita’s far more outgoing and spontaneous and thinks Callie should move on from her ex, stat. It was interesting to have siblings who are so different yet have a close and tender bond. It gave the story and the characters more depth.
GWR: The advent calendar was so creative—where did you get the ideas?
HC: It’s based on an Advent calendar I made for our three sons when they were young. Each year, I’d syphon off Halloween candy, which I’d pop into twenty-four little bags I’d string up on the banister. I’d add one little note to the bags, always alternating between a task and a treat. A task would be things for the boys to do such as laying the table or paying someone a compliment. A treat would be us reading an extra bedtime story together or them staying up 15 minutes later. This became the basis for the Advent calendar Callie and Anita’s mum made for them when they were small, and which Anita levelled-up to help Callie find her zest for life again. It was a lot of fun taking something so simple for my past and building an entire world around it.
GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be?
HC: Oh, fun question. How about the “Grinch Cocktail” mentioned in the book, made from midori liqueur, rum, lemon lime soda, and maraschino cherries? Delicious!
GWR: What are you working on now?
HC: My next Hannah Mary McKinnon thriller is tentatively called A Killer Motive and slated for publication in the fall of 2025. It’s about a guilt-ridden true crime podcaster, Stella Dixon, who promotes her show A Killer Motive on the radio. A disgruntled listener asks why there hasn’t been another podcast episode about her brother, Max, who vanished from a beach party Stella took him to six years ago. Days later, Max’s alleged abductor contacts Stella, and after she dismisses him as a crank, Max’s best friend disappears. The abductor challenges Stella to find him or he dies. If she succeeds, she’ll finally learn the truth about Max’s whereabouts…but she can’t breathe a word to anyone. I think it features my most twisted protagonist yet!
*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.