Bruce and me?

 Those 'If you like that, you'll like this.' comparisons for books have always been around, but right now they seem to be having a particular moment. Influence of TikTok maybe? Using familiar illustrations to sell a concept has always been a thing for authors. Jane Austen meets Jaws, as an unlikely combination, was always my favourite fantasy elevator pitch, but hey, someone successfully pitched Sense and Sensibility with Sea Monsters, so maybe not such a fantasy. 

But to get to the present - book comparisons do seem to be hot. With other authors, with other books, with films. At the moment films appear to be popular. Probably seasonal, as watching Xmas films seems to be becoming a tradition, from It's a Wonderful Life to The Holiday. Also at the moment a debate seems to be raging about whether Die Hard is a Xmas movie. Or is that just the circles I move in? 

Bear with me, this is going somewhere. 

My publishers, Joffe, who like to be on top of these things, featured the film comparison idea in a recent newsletter, selecting a Choc Lit book to match a favourite film. Now my Xmas book has always been a bit of an odd duckling as it is romantic suspense. I think it is very romantic, but it does have kidnapping, attempted murder and a few dead bodies along with the tinsel and snow, Yes, there is snow, in the Brecon Beacons/Bannau Brycheiniog. This is a Xmas book, It's in the rules.  So. I was very amused to find that my newsletter comparison was yes, you have guessed it, Die Hard. 

Now I'm really not sure that Bruce Willis is the model for Drew, the hero of What Happens at Christmas. In fact I know he's not. No guns, no vests, no ventilation shafts. The late Alan Rickman now, one of my all time favourites, even if he is playing the villain. He's not Drew either, even though I fell for him playing Valmont in Les Liaison Dangerous at the RSC some time before that film shot him to stardom. Drew is a very successful adventure/fantasy author with a reckless streak and is up for the dare devil stuff, in the name of research, up to and including a fake kidnapping that abruptly turns into something else ...  

I have to say there is a lot more romance in WHAC than Die Hard, but linking WHAC with an action thriller gives the reader a really good clue about what they might be getting into.

I'll take it.   

And if you're looking for some excitement along with the mince pies ...